Colombia’s ethnic diversity becomes main theme of Caribbean Festival in Cuba

The 45th Caribbean Festival, also known as the “Festival del Fuego” (“Festival of Fire”), was held in Santiago de Cuba from 3 to 9 July 2026. This year, the event was dedicated to the diversity of Colombia’s ethnic culture.

More than 70 international guests from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and other countries took part in the festival.

The festival programme included the international colloquium “The Caribbean that Unites Us”, workshops on theatre, religions, dance, visual arts and poetry, as well as, for the first time, events dedicated to culinary culture.

As part of the colloquium, Colombian writer and journalist Orlando Oliveros delivered an opening lecture on the life, work and legacy of Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

“I came to this country, which Gabriel Garcia Marquez visited on numerous occasions and with which he had a very close connection, to talk about his life, work and legacy. And, of course, to continue the dialogue with Cubans about the unique identity, creative power and strength of imagination that Gabriel Marquez inspires in us,” Oliveros said in a report by Canal Caribe, a TV BRICS partner.

During the festival, the 5th Caribbean Archaeological Seminar was held at the Universidad de Oriente. Participants included University Rector Diana Sedal Yanes, representatives of the Cuban Institute of Anthropology (ICAN), the Bani Indo-Cuban Museum and other specialised institutions.

The seminar participants presented a research paper on the heritage of the Universidad de Oriente, visited an exhibition of archaeological drawings and photographs, and took part in book presentations.