The Argeliers León Music Documentation and Information Center in Pinar del Río reopened on Friday 10 December with three new exhibition rooms and an increase in the number of exhibits on display. 

The restoration of the building, located at Calle Martí #162 in the city of Pinar del Río, will allow for a greater social impact of the institution, due to the consultation services, auditions, and recordings that it will provide. 

It will also include a program of outreach activities, aimed at music students, cultural professionals, and the general public, which will provide the socialization of the funds in various ways. 

This institution was created in the last decade in recognition of the results in various fields of the branch and in homage to the first scholar of the processes of the traditional musical culture of the territory, the Cuban musicologist, composer, ethnologist, and teacher Argeliers León. 

"This center's social objective is the management, conservation, and promotion of the local and national musical heritage; its functions respond to the actions included in the program for the rescue, shaping, and dissemination of the heritage", emphasizes its director Elpidio Gómez Prieto, who adds that its multifunctional and interdisciplinary character promotes the provision of diverse services and the carrying out of musicological research. 

Gómez Prieto comments that with the remodeling of the premises currently occupied by the center, three new exhibition rooms have been inaugurated: Organology, Musical Reproduction, and Musical Honor, and the other four temporary rooms remain in place. 

Since its creation to date, the Argeliers León Music Documentation and Information Center has managed to considerably increase its holdings, which include more than 28 collections and personal holdings. 

Among the most significant collections, which constitute sources for the provision of specialized services, are the one dedicated to Pedro Junco, a famous composer from the westernmost region of the country, with 712 items, such as his diary, private correspondence, scores, original photos, and copies, official and personal documents. 

Another renowned collection is that of Rita Montaner, with more than 1,330 items, including photos, costumes, personal objects, and records. Also, the Polo Montañez collection, with official documents, objects, and clothing of high patrimonial value because they are originals that belonged to the renowned Cuban singer-songwriter. 

Meanwhile, the library collections have an extensive collection of more than 15,000 items made up of photos, books, records, sheet music, magazines, and cassettes. 

Since its creation, the center has kept alive the link with the artists and institutions of the territory, organized scientific events that have an impact on the national and international recognition of the patrimonial values of Pinar del Río's identity, as well as on the enrichment of the institution's collections.