CubaPLUS Magazine

The Festival of Cubanía, celebration dedicated to the culture of the island, started Bayamo, to the east of the Island with the symbolic route of the guitar of Sindo Garay, one of the most remarkable troubadours of the Cuban music. The route, escorted by the mambisa cavalry (military forces Cubans who fought against Spain during the second half of the century), initiated an intense program of activities that includes theoretical events, fairs, music meetings and exhibitions, among others, until October 20. The event, already in its 23rd edition, had its first day focused on the exchange of knowledge from conferences If you do not know where you come from, you do not know where you're going, and José Antonio Saco: for one Cuban and non-Anglo-Saxon Cuba, both under the mantle of the theoretical event Crucible of Cuban Nationality. Cultural moments have music as the main protagonist thanks to a poster that announces the concerts of important groups such as La Original de Manzanillo, Cándido Fabré and his orchestra, and Septeto Santiaguero, winner of the Latin Grammy Award 2015. Also shared by the troubadours Martha Campos, Pepe Ordaz, Augustus Blanca, and the singer songwriters Raúl Paz, Lynn Milanés, and Leo Vera. More than thirty spaces of the city serve as stage for the event, among which are the House of Cuban Nationality, the Museum the Hotel Sierra Maestra, and the historic Squares of the Hymn and of the Homeland, among other venues. Bayamo, second villa founded on the island in the early 16th century, every year celebrates the unique celebration for being a famous place to the history of the country. In its center was sung for the first time the National Anthem of Cuba, and was the first city released from Spanish rule once started war of independence in 1868. (PL)