Celebrate 85th anniversary of the birth of ethnologist Natalia Bolívar Aróstegui

September 16, 2019

On the 85th anniversary of the birth of ethnologist Natalia Bolívar Aróstegui, the space "El elogio oportuno" will be dedicated, which, hosted by journalist and critic Fernando Rodríguez Sosa, will take place on Thursday, September 19th, at four o'clock in the afternoon, at the Librería Fayad Jamís, at Obispo 261 between Cuba and Aguiar, in the Historic Center of Havana.

At this meeting, in which the vocal group Daysi Brau and Owa-Areanle will perform, attendees will be able to acquire the most recent book by the renowned researcher, titled "La sabiduría de los oráculos. Ifá, los caracoles y el coco", published by Editorial José Martí.

A disciple of Lydia Cabrera, born in the Cuban capital in 1934, Natalia Bolívar Aróstegui has dedicated decades to the study of anthropology, a subject that has allowed her to publish numerous articles and essays, as well as give lectures in various countries around the world.

In her extensive bibliography appear titles such as "Los orishas en Cuba", "Ta Makuende Yaya y las Reglas de Palo Monte", "La muerte es principio no fin", "Mitos y leyendas de la comida afrocubana", "Quintín Banderas", "Lydia Cabrera en su laguna sagrada" and "Nkorí. Vocablos africanos en la música cubana", the latter co-authored with Zoila Lapique Becali.

"El elogio oportuno" —which aims to pay homage to writers, books, historical events and institutions that reach a closed anniversary— takes its name from the Martian aphorism «el elogio oportuno fomenta el mérito; y la falta del elogio oportuno lo desanima», which appears in the pages of the newspaper Patria, in April of 1892.