The 64th edition of the Casa de las Americas Literary Award invites today to the Rumbos de la actual literatura para niños y jóvenes (Directions of today’s literature for children and young people) lecture at the Manuel Galich Hall of the capital’s institution.

The prestigious award is being held until Friday with conferences, meetings of the jurors with the public, among other activities such as this Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. local time.

Cuban singer-songwriter Liuba María Hevia, Brazilian journalist Ricardo Fernandes and Dominican storyteller and translator Geraldine de Santis, who make up the panel of judges in the category of Literature for Children and Young People, will participate in the discussion.

One hour later, also in the Manuel Galich Hall, the panel Against the Canon will be held, with essayists Arturo Arias (Guatemala), Liliana Bellone (Argentina) and Leonardo Sarría (Cuba).

On the eve of the event, the panel Aciertos y deudas de la escena latinoamericana en este cuarto de siglo (Successes and debts of the Latin American scene in this quarter of a century) was held, with debates on the subject by Venezuelan director and actor Carlos Arroyo, Colombian playwright Carlos Satizábal and noted Cuban actor Fernando Hechavarría, members of the Theater Jury.

Likewise, the exhibition “Popular Art of Latin America in the Casa’s Collection” was inaugurated at the Mariano Gallery, located at 15th and B, in the neighborhood of El Vedado.

This year, the Casa de las Americas Literary Award is open to four genres: novel, theater, artistic or literary essays and literature for children and young people. The countries with the highest number of works submitted are Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Cuba.

The event accompanies 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.