Liuba María Hevia receives the Hermanos Saíz Association's Maestro de Juventudes award in Havana

Foto: Wikimedia Commons / Oficina Liuba María Hevia (CC BY-SA 4.0). File photo, not from the ceremony

November 7, 2026

Singer-songwriter Liuba María Hevia was presented on Friday, November 6, with the Maestro de Juventudes (Mentor of Youth) award, the top honor of Cuba's Hermanos Saíz Association (AHS), at a gathering in Havana's Pabellón Cuba, the national headquarters of the young artists' group, Prensa Latina reported.

AHS president Yasel Toledo praised the ongoing artistic dialogue Hevia keeps with younger creators and her habit of bringing them into her own projects. The agency described a warm, celebratory atmosphere among those who attended.

The association named this year's honorees in early October as part of its 40th-anniversary events: 16 Cuban figures plus Brazilian theologian Frei Betto. According to Cubadebate, the award recognizes artists and intellectuals whose work and conduct serve as a guide for young creators. Other music honorees include María Elena Vinueza, Rodulfo Vaillant and Josué Oliva, alongside names such as actress Mirtha Ibarra, writers Marilyn Bobes and Jorge Fornet, and painter Moisés Finalé.

Part of the Nueva Trova movement since 1982, Hevia is one of Cuba's best-loved voices in children's music; her album "Travesía mágica" won the Cubadisco award for children's music. In October she toured Mexico with "Almas comunes," her 26th album.

Sources: Prensa Latina and Cubadebate.

Fuente: Prensa Latina, Cubadebate

Liuba María Hevia

Music, Performer, Guitarist, Female composer, Arts

===BODY=== Guitarist, composer, and performer. She maintains steady growth, stemming not only from her artistic talent but also from a deep-rooted sensitivity and high respect for her audiences. Her work, also for "adults," moves with equal success through troubadour song, guajira, habanera, tango, and Latin American folklore, as well as well-executed versions of great Latin American classics.