The XI Week of British Culture in Cuba will open its doors today and until next 10 to seduce the capital’s public with multiple activities that include literature, music, theater and visual arts.
The event will dedicate this edition to that nation’s fantasy literature and to writer J.R.R. Tolkien, known mainly as the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, in the context of the 50th anniversary of his physical departure, organizers said at a recent press conference.
With the aim of celebrating the rich literary heritage of the United Kingdom and promoting reading and knowledge of the main works, the program will include talks, workshops, concerts, film screenings, contests and theatrical performances, said the ambassador of that country, Sir George Hollingbery, at the meeting.
The official opening of the event, although previous activities were developed, is reserved for Tuesday, from 16:00, local time, at the Castillo de la Real Fuerza in Havana’s Historic Center.
Among the attractions of the cultural week are live music, cosplay, raffles, the visual arts exhibition TocoGrifo, Tolkien and the imagined insularity -with large-format drawings by emerging artists between 12 and 21 years old- and the highly recommended musical show Tolkien in Havana, on the 7th at the Martí Theater.
Inspired by the work of Howard Shore, composer of the soundtrack of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, the concert will fuse native rhythms such as danzón, mambo and cha cha cha cha, in the interpretations of Cuban multi-instrumentalist Janio Abreu, joined by the Havana Chamber Orchestra and the National Lyric Theater Choir.
In addition to this presentation, the show Cinderella according to the Beatles, starring the Children’s Theater Company La Colmenita, and the reading and writing workshop on fantasy literature for children of the Akokán Project, among other activities, will also be presented.
The Cinemateca de Cuba joined this luxurious week with the screening of The Lord of the Rings in its extended version on the first three days of December at the 23 and 12 movie theaters.
To promote the attractive texts full of magic, creatures and important characters, the British Embassy acquired more than a hundred original books that will be awarded as prizes in various events and donated to local projects.
