CAMAGÜEY.— Despite the rain, the restaurant El Emperador, located near the Casino Campestre in the city of Camagüey, opened its doors on the morning of Saturday, October 25th, 2025, to host the Provincial Literary Workshops Event for Adults, organized by the Provincial Center for Houses of Culture (CPCC). The gathering brought together the winners of the municipal-level competitions.
The event was divided into four working commissions: poetry, narrative, décima (ten-line stanzas), and children’s literature — the latter including both poetry and prose written especially for young readers.
Juan Miguel Castillo Toledo and Odelaisis García Álvarez, CPCC literary specialists, welcomed the participants and reminded them that the greatest value of this event goes beyond the emergence of new writers. Its most important contribution to Cuban culture, they emphasized, lies in forming a readership trained in the appreciation of literature.
They explained that the grand prize winners in each category would represent Camagüey in the national event. This year’s edition was dedicated to the décima — Cuba’s national poetic form — and to the legacy of Jesús Orta Ruíz (El Indio Naborí). They also expressed gratitude to the prominent writers from the Ácana Publishing House catalog who served as jurors, wished success to the nearly ninety contestants, and acknowledged the commitment of the literary advisors who, despite daily challenges, tirelessly nurture their students’ creative aspirations.
After intense deliberations among the commissions and juries, the Camagüey delegation to the national literary workshop event was formed as follows: Lino Torres Gómez, Grand Prize in Poetry, Ana Mercedes Rojas, Grand Prize in Children’s Narrative, Raúl Hernández Driggs, Grand Prize in Décima, Lester Vargas Hernández, Grand Prize in Children’s Poetry, all from the Rubén Martínez Villena Literary Workshop, Ignacio Agramonte House of Culture, Camagüey municipality, Viankis Daniela Hernández, Grand Prize in Narrative, from the Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda Literary Workshop, Luis Casas Romero House of Culture, Florida municipality.
A special recognition was awarded to Evelin Queipo, named the event’s best literary advisor, as her students earned the majority of the prizes.
During the closing ceremony, Aidelis Martín Gutiérrez, director of the CPCC, congratulated the winners and encouraged them to make literature a source of light in their lives — so that Camagüey may continue to be known in the future for the brilliance of its letters.
Translated by Linet Acuña Quilez