HAVANA, Cuba.- Esteban Lazo, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party and Vice-president of the Council of State, presided over the inauguration of the 21st edition of Havana’s International Book Fair.

Also present were Culture Minister Abel Prieto and Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel, from Argentina.

During the inaugural ceremony, Zuleica Romay, president of the Cuban Book Institute, highlighted that this edition of the Fair is dedicated to celebrate the restart, forty years ago, of Caribbean unity.

She recalled that on that occasion a group of insular Caribbean nations reestablished their diplomatic relations with Cuba, which constituted a blow to the blockade imposed by the United States on the island.

Romay informed, among the novelties of this edition of the event, attended by 46 countries, that there will be reprints and catalogues of the publishing houses, and added that this time over 2,000 titles and six million copies will be offered.

Jamaican Culture and Youth Minister Lisa Hanna, on behalf of Caribbean cultures, guests of honor of this fiesta of books and literature, expressed her appreciation for this gesture, and added that a lot can be learned from Cuba.

She underlined the common characteristics of states in the Caribbean region and pointed out that both similarities and diversity are precisely what makes these countries be so culturally rich.

Zoila Lapique said she was moved for the tribute she’s receiving in this Fair along with Ambrosio Fornet, and added that she has devoted her life to investigate Cuban culture, particularly that of colonial times.

Fornet asserted that Cuba has experienced an unprecedented cultural expansion, since the literacy campaign and national printing, thanks to the unlimited support of the State.