Casa de las Américas is an organization that was founded by the

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

n Government in April 1959, four months after the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in co ...

, for the purpose of developing and extending the socio-cultural relations with the countries of

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

, the Caribbean and the rest of the world. Originally a publishing house and information center, it has developed into the best-known and most prestigious cultural institution in Cuba.

History

The organization was founded by

Haydée Santamaría Haydée Santamaría Cuadrado (December 30, 1922 – July 28, 1980) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician, regarded as a heroine in post-revolutionary Cuba. She participated in the assault on Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba on July 26, 19 ...

, a member of the 26th of July Movement and one of the few women directly involved in the revolutionary brigades. Under her leadership, it became over the next two decades a physical and cultural refuge for artists and writers who had been persecuted in their homelands for their advocacy of social justice and opposition to military dictatorship. The organization awards the

Casa de las Américas Prize The Casa de las Américas Prize (''Premio Literario Casa de las Américas'') is a literary award given by the Cuban Casa de las Américas. Established in 1959, it is one of Latin America’s oldest and most prestigious literary prizes. The award ...

, one of the oldest and most prestigious prizes in Latin American literature. It also researches, supports, and publishes the work of writers, sculptors, musicians, and other artists and students of literature and the arts. Its official organ is the journal ''Casa de las Américas'', published since 1961. The journal began as a literary magazine but has since become a general intellectual review with an equal focus on history and international politics. It also publishes ''Boletín'', a journal specializing in Latin American music, ''Criterios'', devoted to theory and criticism, and ''Analaes de Caribe'', a scholarly journal for Caribbean specialists in all disciplines. Following Santamaría's death in 1980, Casa de las Américas was led by the painter Mariano Rodriguez (1912–1990). From 1986 until 2019, its President was poet and essayist

Roberto Fernández Retamar Roberto Fernández Retamar (9 June 1930 – 20 July 2019, Havana) was a Cuban poet, essayist, literary critic and President of the Casa de las Américas. In his role as President of the organization, Fernández also served on the Council of State o ...

(1930–2019). Abel Prieto Jiménez (b. 1950) assumed the presidency after Retamar's death.

Notes

References

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External links

Casa de las Américas official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Casa de las Americas Aftermath of the Cuban Revolution Latin American studies Foreign relations of Cuba Organizations established in 1959 Cultural organizations based in Cuba International Simón Bolívar Prize recipients