CubaPLUS Magazine

Since 1988, at the initiative of the International Union of Publishers, and under the auspices of UNESCO, every April 23 the world celebrates International Book Day.

It is a date on which the deaths of three great figures of world literature supposedly coincide: the Spanish Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra, the immortal author of Don Quijote de la Mancha, Englishman William Shakespeare (Hamlet, Romeo, and Juliet ) and Garcilaso de la Vega or the Inca Garcilaso, exalted author of the Spanish Golden Age, of indigenous origin on his mother's side. According to accurate data, only Garcilaso's actual death has been proven on that date, but the tradition in these cases is very strong in the case of the other two great creators.

The world celebrates not only the book itself and its incredible power but also the aforementioned authors. It also celebrates literary creation everywhere and the inalienable protection of copyright and the publishing industry. Precisely, the famous publishing industry has been questioned so many times in recent years, due to the advances in production in digital format and the supposed, unverified reduction in the habit of reading, so necessary to develop thought and intellect and complete an Integral education. The criteria that people are reading less is advancing, but new state-of-the-art supports are being used to access literary, educational, and scientific-technical information is in books.

Cuba celebrates International Book Day with the conviction that reading is growing and culture is decisive to guarantee such an important good for human beings, such as freedom. That is why campaigns for reading are promoted from primary education and throughout the lives of adolescents and young people.

This island, although small, has produced important writers, famous all over the world. The first, without a doubt, was José Martí, the National Hero of Cuba, whose works have transcended from generation to generation, including La Edad de Oro, Ismaelillo, Los Zapaticos de Rosa, to name a few. Among other prominent writers are José María Heredia, the singer of Niagara; Cirilo Villaverde with his great Cecilia Valdés and Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda.

 As for contemporaries, mention has to be made of Dulce María Loynaz, Nicolás Guillén, the National Poet, Alejo Carpentier, José Lezama Lima, and among the most recent, Leonardo Padura, Daína Chaviano, Fina García Marruz, Senel Paz and Miguel Barnet. Here it is thought that reading is not only essential for learning but also for training. Every year a cultural festival of unsuspected dimensions takes place between the months of February and March: The International Book Fair, which begins in Havana and ends in all the provinces of the country. A very laudable effort by the Cuban publishing industry, in very difficult times, puts beautiful, massive celebration to fill hearts with joy while nourishing intellects.