The organization of the next International Book Fair, with Colombia as the guest country of honor, is today the priority of the Cuban Book Institute in this 2023 that has just begun.

Scheduled from February 9 to 19, the event that will take place again under the slogan Read to grow, has as its main venue the Morro-Cabaña Military Historical Park and Old Havana, and is dedicated to Colombia as the guest of honor country.

According to the ambassador of the South American nation in Cuba, José Noé Ríos, receiving the honor at the 31st edition of the cultural event with the highest public attendance on the Caribbean island constitutes a gesture of reaffirmation of the relations of friendship and cooperation cultivated throughout of the years.

‘It is an excellent opportunity to strengthen the ties of friendship that already exist between the two countries and that have been built by men and women of the arts and culture, such as our great writer Gabriel García Márquez,’ he said.

It will also be the moment to continue building the peace project for Colombia in which Cuba has played a fundamental role as mediator, added Ríos.

“We are preparing with great enthusiasm to arrive with our literature in Havana,” said the diplomat, who reported on the design of a delegation made up of authors from different regions of the country and ages, including writers belonging to indigenous and Afro-Colombian groups. .

Likewise, he extended the invitation to actively participate in the literary, academic and artistic programming “that we will offer for all Cubans”, in coherence with the words of the Minister of Culture of that country, Patricia Ariza Flórez.

On the subject, the president of the Cuban Book Institute, Juan Rodríguez, highlighted the symbolism imprinted in the fact of inviting Colombia, due to the systematic exchange of Colombian and Cuban literature over the years.

He added that he not only attends the event on the island, but also welcomes Cuban artists in different events related to the publishing industry. Likewise, he considered that “the maturity of the cultivated relationships naturally allows Colombian culture to be invited to have a very significant presence in our fair,” while he invited creators from all over the world to join this festival of letters. .

‘This message is reaching the 120 Cuban embassies in the world to multiply this information and send it to writers or friends, promoters and booksellers to accompany us in this special moment,’ he concluded.