Havana's International Book Fair (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: Feria Internacional del Libro de La Habana) is an annual public festival to promote Cuban government sanctioned books and writing that spans between February and March. The festival begins in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 million—and 12th among cities with the hig ...

, an 18th-century Spanish construction, and spreads east and west of the capital to all provinces and many municipalities. The book fair ends in the eastern city of

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

. The fair first took place in 1982, and occurred every two years until 2000 when it became an annual tradition. The festival consists of book vendors, poetry readings, children’s activities, art exhibitions, and concerts in the evenings. It is considered Cuba’s premier cultural event, as well as the event with the highest attendance in Havana. The 18th annual International Book Fair in 2009 had approximately 600,000 visitors. Literacy in Cuba is one of the greatest legacies of the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

of 1959. The law that established the National Press of Cuba was one of the first measures of the revolution. In 1961, Cuba launched a National Literacy Campaign and today, according to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, Cuba has the highest literacy rate in the world. Along with the public, the book fair is attended by Cuban and international authors, publishers, and political officials that are sanctioned by Cuba's communist government. Over 100 publishing houses present catalogues of books, including

Casa de las Américas Casa de las Américas is an organization that was founded by the Cuban Government in April 1959, four months after the Cuban Revolution, for the purpose of developing and extending the socio-cultural relations with the countries of Latin America, ...

. Each book fair is dedicated to a genre, issue, or author, and also a guest of honor. Since 2000, each book fair has been dedicated to Cuban authors and intellectuals that are sanctioned by Cuba's government. File:HavanaBookFairQueue.jpg, Larger queues that Cuban people have to do to enter to Book Fair. File:HavanaBookFairEntrance.JPG, Book Fair main entrance. File:HavanaBookFairInside.JPG, Queues inside for purchase books. File:HavanaBookFairMorro.JPG, Bridge pass between Morro and

La Cabaña ''Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña'' (Fort of Saint Charles), colloquially known as La Cabaña, is an 18th-century fortress complex, the third-largest in the Americas, located on the elevated eastern side of the harbor entrance in Havana, ...

. File:HavanaBookFairBooks.JPG, Most of books on sale in Cuban currency at the fair are about politics and ideology.

List of Havana International Book Fairs

*1982: First book fair. Held at the Fine Arts Palace (now the Museum of Fine Arts). Slogan "The Book: Bridge of friendship among the countries of the world." This slogan characterized the fair for some years. *2000: Ninth book fair. New site: San Carlos de La Cabaña. Slogan: To read is to grow. Dedicated to Cintio Vitier and to Italy. *2003: Twelfth book fair. Dedicated to Cuban writer Pablo Armando Fernández. *2017: Canada is guest of honor.

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*
Book Fair Enthralls Havana
''Havana Times'', Feb 14, 2009
Trotsky in Havana
by Dmitri Prieto, ''Havana Times'', March 26, 2009 {{Books Book fairs in Cuba Cuban literature

List of Havana International Book Fairs

See also

Notes

External links