As a tribute to the 109th anniversary of the founding of the former batey Violeta, from the 16th to the 23rd of February, the Week of Culture takes place in the municipality of Primero de Enero, which began with the laying of a wreath in front of the bust of the Cuban Apostle, located in the Martí Park of the municipal capital.

The Joseíto Fernández House of Culture is the main venue for the activities, including a meeting with cultural promoters, which was attended by Yelina Montes de Oca Hernández, president of the Municipal Assembly of People’s Power, and Mayor Lázaro Monzón Hernández.

They delved into community work, according to the characteristics and artistic potential of each demarcation, where projects such as that of the promoter Yumara Díaz Hernández, from the Grúa Nueva Popular Council, in favour of incorporating cassava into the menu in schools and, later, into the canteen of the Family Attention System, came to the surface.

The cassava was recently considered Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, following a petition supported by Cuba, Haiti, Honduras, Dominican Republic and Venezuela, due to its importance as an icon of identity and sustainable development in the Caribbean.

Equally interesting are the efforts to rescue the teaching of casino dancing in the community of Delia, the projects concerning urban and Mexican music in the villages of Ognara and Grúa Nueva, respectively, vocational training for children and adolescents in Pedro Ballester and the creation of rustic teaching aids, based on recycling, in Korea.

The cultural space foresees other initiatives dedicated to the plastic arts, to theatre with the Golden Age festival, to traditions, dance and music, from the perspective of interdisciplinarity in events such as the Children’s Round and the Youth Night.

The closing event will take place on 23 February, at the Victoria Theatre, with a variety show that includes magic, humour and the presentation of artistic units with local talent from the different manifestations of art.

The Week of Culture in Primero de Enero pays tribute to Miriam Lezcano, an actress and theatre director native to this municipality, formerly Camaguey, with a vast body of work in Cuba and the world, and to Wilfredo Carballido, a local painter with an outstanding career in the field of plastic arts on the island.