After conferences and meetings of the jurors with the public, the 64th edition of the Casa de las Americas Literary Award will conclude today with the presentation of the prestigious award at the Che Guevara Hall of the capital’s institution.

More than 1,000 works in competition from several countries aspire to such high distinction in the genres of novels, plays, essays on artistic or literary themes and literature for children and young people.

Venezuelan director and actor Carlos Arroyo, Colombian playwright Carlos Satizábal and noted Cuban actor Fernando Hechavarría will analyze 251 theatrical proposals.

Meanwhile, the Novel panel is made up of Mexican journalist and storyteller Fabrizio Mejia, Argentinean writer and sociologist Hernan Ronsino and Cuban playwright Lourdes de Armas, all of whom will evaluate a total of 700 works.

Guatemalan Arturo Arias, Argentine poet Liliana Bellone and Cuban researcher and professor Leonardo Sarría will select the most relevant text in the Essay section.

In Literature for Children and Young People, the jury will be made up of Cuban singer-songwriter Liuba María Hevia, Brazilian journalist Ricardo Fernandes, and Domin, American storyteller and translator Geraldine de Santis. To put the finishing touch to the gala this Friday at 7:00 p.m. local time, singer-songwriter Diego Gutiérrez will give a concert.

The event is part of the celebrations for the 65th anniversary of the prestigious institution, on April 28, and is one of the great protagonists of its history.

Called in 1959 and held for the first time in January 1960, the Casa de las Americas Literary Award is the oldest cultural contest in the country and the longest-running contest of its kind in the continent.

Since its foundation, it has been able to summon as jurors many of the most outstanding figures of literature and thought in Latin America and the Caribbean, which has not been an obstacle for it to gather, in addition, great personalities from other regions of the world.