India: Guest of Honor of Intl. Book Fair in 2015

Created on Saturday, 08 November 2014 13:35

HAVANA, Cuba, Nov 7 (acn) The 24th edition of Havana's International Book Fair will take place on February 12-22. It will run until April in the rest of the national territory, and the meeting's guest of honor will be the Republic of India.

Zuleica Romay, president of the Cuban Book Institute (ICL) and Eduardo Fernandez, director of the International Book Fair, among other officials, in addition to Chinthapally Rajasekhar, India's ambassador to Cuba, and Ravinder Narang, second head of the mission, in charge if the Fair, made the announcement of this meeting in a press conference held at the Jose Marti Cultural Society.

Rajasekhar considered the invitation made to his country as a great honor; highlighted the production in India of 1,000 films every year and also his country's literature, music, dance and craftsmanship; and explained that India is among the five countries publishing the largest amount of books in the world, with thousands of titles annually.

India Ready for 2015 Cuba Book Fair

Created on Friday, 23 January 2015 15:10

HAVANA, Cuba, Jan 23 (acn) India will be the host country in the coming 24 Cuba Book Fair which will be a unique opportunity for Cubans to peek into the rich and ancient Indian culture, C. Rajasekhar, ambassador of that nation to Cuba told ACN

We are very happy to have been able to organize a varied itinerary especially designed for the celebration, which we attended extremely honored to be the first Asian nation Guest of Honour in this great literary event, the diplomat said during an exclusive interview.

Rajasekhar, enthusiastic promoter of cultural exchanges, was one of the main responsible of enabling the dedication of this edition, for which they are still finalizing details of what will be an intense program that will include, in addition to literature, theater, dance, crafts, food, yoga and an expected bazaar.

Besides the titles that we sent to the Cuban Book Institute for translation into Spanish, a lot of books have already arrived that the Embassy has selected, will sell at an affordable price and we believe will be received with great interest, he said.

He announced that 16 of the most important Hindu publishers will be in Fortaleza San Carlos de La Cabaña, traditional venue, where they will take, in English, volumes on science, math, cooking, yoga and religion, among other subjects.

The India Pavilion will be the center of the literary program, everyday texts include presentations and panels, among which highlights the one on climate change with the presence of Rajendra K. Pachauri, head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Nobel Peace Prize.

We were very honored to receive news and excited, Rajasekharsaid, that New Delhi World Book Fair is on the same days have created some challenges, but India is great and of course Cuba is special.

The XXIV International Book Fair will be dedicated this time to the National Awards Leonardo Acosta, Literature, and Olga Portuondo, History, Social Sciences and Research, and when the international version ends in the capital, will spread across the country until next April.

India at Cuba Book Fair: More than Literature

Created on Wednesday, 04 February 2015 13:07

HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 4 (acn) More than literature awaits to those choosing to participate in the varied program the Organizing Committee of the Republic of India has prepared as Guest of Honor at the 24th International Book Fair, to be held from February 12 to 22 in this city.

Music, dance, food, yoga, theater and crafts are among the proposals that Asian nation will bring to Havana; first continent to receive a dedication in the largest cultural event in Cuba.

C. Rajasekhar, head of the Indian diplomatic mission in Cuba, told ACN that eight dancers of folk dances from the region of Rajestán, who will act for the Cuban public since before the official opening will soon be in the Antillean territory.

These artists will join their Cuban brothers on stage during the opening ceremony on Thursday 12 at San Carlos de La Cabaña Fortress, where we also open our Pavilion, he said.

The activities scheduled by this nation, where a thousand films are produced per year- also include the screening on TV, the Cuba Pavilion and 23 and 12 movie-theater a cycle of Indian films, including the multi-awards winner Three Idiots.

Of course we could not fail to include a sample of our film work and we expect a very popular movie star in India to be with us, the ambassador announced.

Another special moment of the itinerary will be the live demonstration that will make Hindu craftsmen, considered national treasures, who will share with attendees to the Fair traditions passed from generation to generation.

Rajasekhar also explained that a festival of yoga, with experienced yogis who will join Cubans to practice this mental and physical discipline will be held, in addition to the exhibition of Indian typical food, which shall also be seen in cities like Cienfuegos and Trinidad.

We will also have a bazaar, the first of its kind to be held in Havana, and where people can see and buy costume jewelry, manufactures and textiles made in India, he noted.

India is not just around the corner, hence the importance of this event to let us know and achieve a real connection between our peoples, said the diplomat, promoter of several initiatives in this regard, including the completion in 2014 of the first Festival of Indian Culture in Cuba.

Havana Enjoys Rajasthan Performance

Havana, Feb 11 (Prensa Latina) The colors, rhythm and cadence of Hindu dance characterized the presentation of the group Rajasthan, performing for the Cuba public who awaits upcoming presentations.

The Raquel Revuelta Theater in Havana opened its doors to those who have learned to love the twists and paraphernalia that accompany India’s most traditional dances.

The presentation last night was a preview of the upcoming Rajasthan performances in Cuba, where India is the country guest of honor to Havana’s International Book Fair.

Ravinder Narang, second secretary of the Cuban Embassy in Cuba, had told Prensa Latina this would be a memorable show for the Cuban audience which confirmed it last night with an ovation.

International Book Fair 2015 Opens in Cuba

Havana, Feb 12 (Prensa Latina) The most important literary event in Cuba, the International Book Fair, opens today in this capital with 199 exhibitors from 31 countries, until February 22.

The event’s vice president, Edel Morales, confirmed the launch of books from publishing houses of Argentina, Colombia, the United States, Mexico, Venezuela, Chile, and India, among other countries, and the assistance of many authors from each of the participant nations is expected.

The Cuban publishing houses will put on sale more than 2,000 titles, for total estimated in two million copies, of them, 3,027,400 belong to 854 new books, Morales said.

India, as guest of honor of this 24th edition, will provide the largest number of publishing houses: 16, while the Cuban Book Institute will offer 27 titles from that Asian country with 100,000 copies.

The second mission chief of India’s embassy in Cuba, Ravinder Narang, said that a very complete bazar from the country, and demonstrations and yoga classes could be appreciated at the Morro- Cabaña complex during the fair.

A culinary festival will take place those days with typical Indian meals and a marathon of films from that country will be screened at Havana’s Riviera theatre. This Asian country has one of the largest film industries of the planet.

India is also third in the global production of books, followed by the United States and Great Britain, with the publication of 90,000 new titles each year, 40 percent of them are printed in English language, the official pointed out.

On the occasion of the International Book Fair, an Indian dance group traveled to Cuba to perform in the opening ceremony today, and later in stages of the Cuban provinces of Pinar del Rio and Havana.

This year’s literary event will be dedicated to Cuban writers Olga Portuondo and Leonardo Acosta, the latter winner of the 2014 National Music Prize.

According to the organizing committee, the event will later travel to the country’s provinces with its many offers for readers.

24th Intl. Book Fair Opens its Doors in Havana

Created on Thursday, 12 February 2015 13:24 

HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 12 (acn) The 24th edition of Havana's International Book Fair, Cuba 2015, was officially inaugurated today in this capital, and will run until February 22 at its main venue of the San Carlos de La Cabaña Fortress and in other areas of the city.

On this occasion, the Fair is devoted to India, the first Asian nation to be the Guest of Honor of this annual cultural meeting, the inaugural ceremony of which has been scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

A large delegation from India is taking part in this book fiesta and its program, which will include dances, theater performances, culinary festivals and yoga presentations, along with a bazaar that will make it possible to know more about that country's culture and purchase imitation jewelry and textiles produced in the faraway nation.

Dedicated to Olga Portuondo, winner of the National Social, Sciences Research and History Prize and to Leonardo Acosta, winner of the National Literature and Music Prize, the meeting will also mark anniversaries like the 400th of the publication of the second volume of Don Quixote and the centennial of the birth of poet and pedagogue Rael Ferrer.

Over 2,000 titles –among them 850 novelties- will be on the shelves of this Fair, for a total of a little over five million copies.

Over Five Million Books at Cuba International Fair       

Havana, Feb 13 (Prensa Latina) The 24th International Book Fair of Cuba opens doors today for readers in this capital with an offer exceeding five million printed copies.

According to the president of the fairâ�Ös organizing committee, Zuleica Romay, the Cuban publishing houses will offer nearly 200 titles for children and youth and more than 800,000 units of maps, books-toys, and educational pastimes.

The University of Havana will host today a panel about the death of Ernesto Che Guevara, with Michael Ratner and Michael Smith, two U.S. researchers who will analyze the issue as of some declassified documents by the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA.

After the debate, Ratner and Smith will launch the book entitled "¿Quién mató al Che?" (Who Killed Che?), a work that compiles the results of their researches.

Meanwhile, cultural authorities from India, Guest of Honor of this 24th edition, will open a bazar with typical handicrafts, artificial jewelry and gift items, at the Morro-Cabaña complex, the largest literary site.

The Secretary of State for Culture of India, Ravindra Singh, said yesterday that about 13 publishing houses attended the largest literary event in Cuba, with books about the most diverse issues, included architecture, science, poetry, yoga, health, and child sphere.

The Fair will close doors in Havana on February 22 to start touring the country.

Date: February 16, 2015