Along with O’Farrill Pacheco, Luz Maria Collazo Reyes, Bertha Armiñan Linares, Viengsay Valdes Herrera, Lilliam Padron Chavez, Regina M. Balaguer Sanchez, Maricel Godoy and Andres Gutierrez had been nominated for the award.

According to the tribunal’s minutes, the exemplary trajectory of the nominated creators was recognized, as they are artists with an imprint on National Culture.

O’Farrill Pacheco came to dance after participating in the Literacy Campaign, and belonged to the amateur The New Theater of Dancing group sponsored by the “Conjunto Folklorico Nacional” – National Folkloric Group, according to the document.

The awarded reached the category of first dancer in that company, in which he remained for 30 years and shared the stage with Johannes Garcia, Santiago Alfonso and other beloved personalities of folkloric dance.

He is also a member of the Board of Advisors of the President of the National Council of the Performing Arts, the International Dance Council and the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba.

For his outstanding work, O’Farrill Pacheco has received several awards and recognitions in Cuba and other countries around the world, among them, the Medal for Literacy (1981) and the Distinction of Solidarity with the people of Ghana (1982).

Italy’s recognition as Ambassador of Cuban Culture (1989), the Raul Gomez Garcia Medal (1989), the Distinction for National Culture (1989), the Order for National Culture of Zaire (1989) and the Diploma for Pedagogical Merit (2014) complement his catalog of awards.

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