From today, Cuba is hosting the XXI World Congress of the International Association of Theater and Performing Arts for Children and Youth (Assitej), which will last until June 1.

The forum is accompanied by the Festival of Performing Arts for Children and Youth ‘Voices of a New World’, and includes 29 performances from 15 countries, ten of which correspond to groups from the host country.

The activities begin this Friday with a Parade of Joy through the Historic Center of Old Havana, with a celebration with the participating artists and groups.

The official opening will be at 7:00 p.m. local time at the amphitheater on Avenida del Puerto, with a show starring the children’s troupe La Colmenita.

Cuba is the only country in Latin America that has hosted a major Assitej event, and this year 2024 the main venue will be the Hotel Nacional.

The Festival’s program is scheduled to take place in Havana in the theatrical circuit of Linea Street and at the headquarters of Argos Teatro; institutions in the Historic Center of the City, communities, schools and children’s circles.

In this participatory context, professional exchange will be enhanced through 61 proposals, including workshops, lectures and panels, including 10 workshops for adolescents, young people and children.

These initiatives will be held in sixteen venues in the capital, in addition to the Casas Museo del Centro Histórico de la Ciudad, Casa de las Américas, Casa del Alba Cultural and Sala Martínez Villena of the Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba (Uneac).

Nations such as Spain, South Korea, Australia, Brazil, South Africa and Italy, among others, will be represented in these days of theater.

The organizers also referred to the holding of a Post Congress, which from June 2 to 7 will bring to the provinces of Villa Clara, Cienfuegos and Granma, in central and eastern Cuba, the possibility of exchanging with the visiting artists.