National Meeting on the Inventory of Afro-Cuban Intangible Cultural Heritage Held in Cuba

The National Council of Cultural Heritage is organizing the National Meeting on the Inventory of Afro-Cuban Intangible Cultural Heritage, which will take place from September 15 to 17.

This event will gather cultural bearers, managers, researchers, and experts in Intangible Cultural Heritage from ten provinces across Cuba, along with international specialists from Colombia and Peru, as reported by the National Council of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture.

Invited participants will include representatives from UNESCO’s Regional Office for Culture in Havana, the Cuban National Commission for UNESCO, and members of civil society organizations advocating for the cultural rights of Afro-descendants.

The program will include dialogue sessions aimed at exchanging experiences related to the identification, cataloging, and safeguarding of expressions of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Participants will visit significant cultural sites, including the National Museum of Music, the Yoruba Cultural Association of Cuba, the Museum of the Orishas, the San Severino Museum, the Route of Enslaved People, and the AfroAtenas Project in Matanzas. These venues will showcase cultural bearers of rumba, danzón, and son music, as well as oral storytellers and groups such as the Karabali School and the National Folkloric Choir of Cuba.

By hosting this first national meeting, the organizers aim to strengthen public policies that protect Intangible Cultural Heritage, promote community participation and engagement among Afro-descendant cultural bearers, and update heritage records and inventories.

Translated by Luis E. Amador Dominguez