Nisia Agüero Benítez

She is one of Cuba's most outstanding cultural promoters, having carried out intense professional work in several fields of the humanities and the arts. She received courses in piano, ballet, and acting at the former Teatro Universitario de la Habana, holds a degree in Diplomatic and Administrative Law; and has a Doctorate in Social Sciences.

Her vocation for this discipline made her a pioneer in attention to grassroots communities on the Island. She completed several postgraduate studies on social research, notably the one she pursued in Mexico under the title Community Development and sponsored by UNESCO through the CREFAL (Centro Regional de Educación Fundamental para América Latina).

She was a delegate of the Ministry of Social Welfare in the eastern provinces, subsequently appointed Head of the Department of Social Assistance of the Ministry of Public Health, and later Director of the National Group for Community Development. Subsequently she directed the Fund for Cultural Assets where she laid the foundations for Cuban avant-garde art as well as artistic craftsmanship. Since 1990 she directed the Teatros Mella and Nacional de Cuba, remaining as director of the latter since 1995.

Recently, she created the Cultural Center for the Development of Community Theater and Popular Art, called La Barraca in honor of Federico García Lorca in the year of his centenary (1998). She has taught workshops and provided services in countries across Europe, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the United States. She participated in the International Fair of Plastic Arts ARCO (Madrid, España); Day of Cuban Culture in Athens (Grecia); Meeting of the Latin American Economic System Culture and Globalization (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and participated in 1998 in the creation of the Fundación Alicia Alonso under the auspices of the Universidad Complutense and the Community of Madrid, España, visited six cities in the United States, invited by the Smithsonian Institute; participated in meetings, conferences, and theatrical activities in Los Angeles, California. She is a member of the Unión Nacional de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba.

She has been recognized with: the Medal of Literacy, Orden Juan Marinello, Orden Raúl Gómez García, Commemorative Medal of the 50th Anniversary of UNICEF, Medal 70 Years of the Padova Fair, Medal as Founder of Children's Circles; as well as the Replica of the Machete of Máximo Gómez, awarded by the Ministry of the Armed Forces. She was awarded the Distinction for National Culture in 1991, the National Prize for Community Culture in 1999, and the Nicolás Guillén Diploma in 2010, presented by UNEAC.

When one speaks of promoters of the arts and letters in Cuba, one thinks immediately of Nisia. With modesty, with patience, with refined sensibility, she has highlighted values of creation through her work at the head of several cultural institutions.

She has assumed her career as an opportunity for public service. And she has done so from her great culture, her closeness to important figures of Cuban culture, her conviction that the essences of spirituality are in the people.

Her cultural work in the communities has been recognized. She was, in many spheres, a pioneer.

That is her: a woman of loyalties. Nicolás Guillén defined her in a poem: Simply, Nisia/ Simply so/ Nisia of friends/ Nisia of truth/ Resistance made perfume/ Perfume of loyalty.