Miguel Barnet Awarded National Prize for Cultural Heritage for Life's Work

January 10, 2024

For his work in favor of safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Nation, Cuban ethnologist and writer Miguel Barnet Lanza, honorary president of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, Uneac, received this Tuesday the National Prize for Cultural Heritage for Life's Work.

Recognizing his passion for Cuba since his youth, the main impulse for specializing in subjects that would bring him closer to our identity roots, the also prominent intellectual dedicated the award to Cuban thinkers who forged an idea to be a sovereign nation and fight against all forms of colonialism. "It was always about emancipating ourselves, because it is the vocation of our culture. Rescuing and reconstructing all the tradition of African origin that defines the Cubanness that Fernando Ortiz spoke of is fundamental, that is why the dedication to those keepers."

In announcing the news, Sonia Virgen Pérez Mojena, president of the National Council for Cultural Heritage, highlighted Barnet's legacy for preserving and enriching the historical memory of Cuban forebears, as well as what he continues to do for the safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Nation.

The National Prize for Cultural Heritage for Life's Work will be officially presented in the first days of 2024.