The Romerias de Mayo ("May Pilgrimages"), World Festival of Artistic Youth that is held annually in Holguin(eastern Cuba) on May 2-8, began this Sunday night, online, with a concert previous to the event, starred by creators belonging to the vanguard of the young art in Cuba.

With the presence of more than 20 guest countries, this 18th edition starts from the experiences of 2020, when the spread of COVID-19 forced to suspend this mega event considered one of the most important of the Hermanos Saiz Association (AHS) in the country, and one of those that distinguish the cultural life of Holguin, told ACN Lilien Aguilera, president of the organization in the province.

For this year, the Organizing Committee redesigned from the digital platforms and the media, the main spaces and events of the meeting that dedicates its days to the 60 years of Words to the Intellectuals and the six decades of the National Association of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC by its Spanish acronym) and the 35 years of the AHS.

Babel, a space for the visual arts, will be dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the El Alba Professional Academy of Plastic Arts and the 30th anniversary of the Provincial Center of Plastic Arts, origin and platform for the visibility of local and national art, respectively, and protagonists of this event in Romerias.

The performing arts, meanwhile, will remember Moron Teatro on its 30th anniversary and the 45th anniversary of the Higher Institute of Arts (ISA by its Spanish acronym).

Raices ("Roots"), a space that promotes the Casas de Cultura system, will dedicate its spaces to son, while Palabras Compartidas ("Shared Words"), a literary event, will pay tribute to the centennial of Cuban storyteller, poet and essayist Cintio Vitier, winner of the National Literature Award, in its extensive program of activities; there will also be poetry readings, promotional activities and the presentation of new publications of this imprint and others of the AHS and the Cuban publishing system.

Musically, these online Romerias will include the sounds of Toques del Rio, Raulito Prieto and his group, and Sintesis, Eme and Equis Alfonso, who will star alongside Gerardo and Tobias Alfonso in the intermediate concert of fathers and sons, a symbol of tradition and modernity.

The Rockmerias and Electroromerias, on the other hand, will feature national and foreign guests; and jazz will be highlighted by the presence of Roberto Fonseca, Ruy Lopez-Nussa, Orlando Valle and Cesar Lopez, as well as a master class by U.S. professor Victor Goines.