CubaPLUS Magazine

Casa de las Américas: rector of Cuban, Latin American and Caribbean art

By: Rose Ross
Jul 04, 2020
Casa de las Américas: rector of Cuban, Latin American and Caribbean art

Forerunner of the Ministry of Culture of Cuba, Casa de las Américas seeks constant attention of Cuban, Latin American and Caribbean art, from whose beginnings its objective has been to promote and encourage the artistic development of the region's creators in the field of music, visual arts, scenic and literary through international festivals.

Founded in 1959, just a few months after the triumph of the Revolution, on July 4 it celebrates 61 years since it was inaugurated by Haydée Santamaría, its head until 1980. Later it was directed by Cuban artist Mariano Rodríguez (1980-1986) and later by poet and essayist Roberto Fernández Retamar (1986-2019). It is currently chaired by writer Abel Prieto.

Thanks to its integrating vision, hundreds of cultural exchanges and alliances between artists from the continent are due. Among the events it organizes are May Theater and Music at Home, workshops such as Casa Tomada, among others. On the other hand, the House gathers in the Our America Art Collection Haydee Santamaría a thesaurus consisting of over 10,000 works of the visual arts.

Among the usual publications of its editorial, the digital magazine Arteamérica and printed Casa de las Américas stand out. The latter is one of the periodicals of its kind that has achieved the longest life in the continent. Such is its magnitude and impact that it has itself been the subject of not a few research works and studies.

During its six-decades long work was recognized, on January 24, 2018, by the UNESCO-UNAM Jaime Torres Bodet Prize, awarded by representatives of the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) and from the Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), deserved the award for this bulwark of Cuban culture and art.

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