Cuba: Literature, Sports and Music on Book Night

Cuba: Literature, Sports and Music on Book Night Havana, Jul 2. -Cubans will enjoy the arrival of summer with the traditional Night of the Books, which brings together writers, artists, athletes and people of all ages every July. For the fourth consecutive year, public squares and parks throughout the country will become festive, with literary gatherings, poetry readings, children's shows, film screenings, troubadours, and outdoor concerts.

Beginning shortly after noon, and lasting until the early hours of the morning, Havanaâ�Ös 23rd Avenue — from its intersection with 14th Street to the Havana seafront — will be the venue for 40 kiosks and stands where people can select titles from all genres.

The organizers chose 12 of the most popular books in Cuba's recent International Book Fair, including "The Shining Quetzal and Other Stories", by Canadian Margaret Atwood, "Tell Me How a Tree Is", by Spanish Marco Ana, and poetry by Cuban Roberto Fernandez Retamar.

The list includes two books by the late Portuguese writer Jose Saramago, winner of the 1998 Nobel Literature Prize.

Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the first mass circulation on the island of "Don Quijote", a new edition of the book will be presented in the park named after Cervantes's antihero.

Summer will bring another exclusive: the live projection at the Yara cinema of the FIFA World Cup quarterfinals in South Africa.

Children, the most privileged, will enjoy performances of the La Colmenita children's theater company, shows in public squares, parades and costume parties.

The event is sponsored by the Cuban Book Institute and the Union of Young Communists. (Prensa Latina)