Abel Prieto Appointed President of Casa de las Américas

December 10, 2019

Cuban intellectual Abel Prieto was appointed president of Casa de las Américas, highlighted today by the publication La Ventana.

Prieto, former Minister of Culture and who was currently serving as director of the Martiano Program Office and President of the José Martí Cultural Society, was presented for the position by the current head of the sector Alpidio Alonso.

The new president of Casa is a recognized essayist, critic and novelist who will continue the work carried out by poet Roberto Fernández Retamar, who held that position from 1986 until his death, last July 20.

According to the publication, Prieto, in dialogue with the institution's workers, acknowledged the immense work of Fernández Retamar at the helm of Casa, as well as the important legacy of Haydée Santamaría, founder and 'inventor' of Casa.



Marcia Leiseca, founder along with Haydée of Casa de las Américas and who has served for several decades as first vice president, was relieved of her responsibilities and will begin the transition process, which will be presided over by María Elena Salgado, first vice minister of culture.

Founded in 1959, Casa de las Américas is one of the most prestigious cultural centers in Latin America that promotes, investigates, sponsors, awards and publishes the work of writers, visual artists, musicians, theater professionals and scholars of literature, the arts and social sciences of the continent.

Conceived as a space for encounter and dialogue of different perspectives in a climate of innovative ideas, the institution fosters exchange with centers of equal purpose and people from around the world.

Casa de las Américas has set milestones in continental culture as a sponsor of renowned events such as the literary award and the musicology award that bear its name, the Protest Song award, and for being the cradle of the New Trova Movement.