Cuba, “Festival of Fire” takes the streets in Santiago de Cuba

teleSUR English

*Inaugural gale took place at the Heredia theater *Brazilian state of Bahia is this editions guest of honor *Drums and joy replenish the Caribbean festival

Transcript

00:00The Caribbean Festival returns in 2024 to Santiago de Cuba.

00:04More than 300 foreigners from 16 countries are participating in this 43rd edition,

00:10inaugurated at the Heredia Theater with the presence of Beatriz Johnson,

00:14first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in that eastern province.

00:19Our correspondent Fabiola Lopez gives us more details.

00:22The festival of fire is back, the drum sound, the color sparks, the joy rises,

00:35and the rhythm bursts. Santiago de Cuba, the untamed city of this island,

00:40is consecrated as the most Caribbean of the Cuban cities.

00:46Cuba is going through one of the worst crises since the revolutionary triumph of 1959.

00:53As never before, material shortages of all kinds insist on daily life and ravage the

01:00achievements of the revolutionary process. This is not the only hardship that this

01:08festival of culture has had to coexist with. It is good that young people and those who

01:14visit for the first time know that the festival of the Caribbean has never been suspended,

01:19but that it has been strengthened by solidarity.

01:30It is the inaugural gala at the Heredia Theater, the most important of the city.

01:35The appointment of the ideas, the arts, and the folklore promises intense days.

01:42We will be here these days celebrating this cultural force that comes from Africa and

01:47that blends with America, the original peoples, and today they are an alternative for the global

01:52world.

01:56Colloquiums and workshops, Byzantine, Haitian, and Tejema festivities,

02:02homages to slave rebellion, plastic arts, theater, cinema, parades, and processions

02:08are just some of the activities on this 43rd edition, which has as a guest of honor the

02:14Brazilian state of Bahia, the scene of the most popular carnival in the South American giant.

02:20You have been over 40 times here to the Caribbean festival.

02:24Why? What has summoned you here?

02:29Let's go to the history. I have been an admirer of the Cuban people since I was a child,

02:34with a desire to touch the land of Fidel and Martí and to have the opportunity to visit a square so

02:40famous in the Dominican Republic as the Revolution Square.

02:47When I came here, I wanted to go crazy, and since 1998,

02:52I have been staying present at this festival.

03:00The undulating valley is coated by sea and mountains called Santiago de Cuba,

03:05will be filled these days with celebration, joy, colors, flavor, and Caribbean rhythm.

03:10Telesur, Santiago de Cuba.

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