The 2026 Book Fair will also be dedicated to two renowned literary figures: Writer Marilyn Bobes and Jose Bell Lara.

Bobes is two-time winner of Casa de las Americas Prize, and Bell Lara is a PhD in Philosophical Sciences and Master in Caribbean Social Development, and professor emeritus at the University of Havana.

In a press conference, the president of the Cuban Book Institute (ICL), Juan Rodriguez, highlighted the significance of dedicating the major 2026 event to Russia, a friendly and brotherly country from a political and cultural standpoint, and to the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, in the year of his centennial.

The largest literary festival in Cuba will celebrate his example, his memory, and his legacy, which also includes this fair and all that he did for Cuban books and writers, added the head of the ICL.

Talking to the press, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Cuba, Viktor Koronelli, emphasized the honor it represents for his country to participate “in this prestigious fair, one of the most important cultural events in all of Latin America.”

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