Book on María de los Ángeles Santana to be Presented

September 15, 2022

The book Adventures with Aunt Santana, by Enrique Pérez Díaz, published by Ediciones En Vivo, will be presented on Wednesday, September 14th, at three in the afternoon, at the Fayad Jamís Bookstore, in Havana's Historic Center.

At this event, narrator, journalist and researcher Enrique Pérez Díaz and Norma Gálvez, director of Ediciones En Vivo, will discuss the book with journalist and critic Fernando Rodríguez Sosa, in which the author recalls anecdotes, memories, and recollections of his family relationship with the well-known actress and singer María de los Ángeles Santana.

Structured in 33 chapters and narrated in the first person, this book—in the opinion of its publishers—presents "a peculiar testimony, that of a child with an exceptional aunt who, through her originality, left an indelible mark on many moments of his childhood."

Born in Havana in 1958, Enrique Pérez Díaz is one of the most relevant Cuban writers for children and young adult readers, author of an extensive body of work that includes, among other titles, Do Fairies Retire?, Monstrosity, Inventing a Friend, Land of Unicorns, Little School of Horrors, and The Sea Has No Color.

Among other recognitions, Pérez Díaz—who directs the Cuban Observatory of the Book and Reading, of the Cuban Institute of the Book—has received the Pinos Nuevos, La Edad de Oro, and La Rosa Blanca awards and was a finalist for the Literary Criticism Award.

María de los Ángeles Santana Soravilla, an actress, singer and Cuban vedette with an extensive and recognized artistic career, was a representative figure in theater, cinema, radio and television.

Her leading role as Amparo in A Colonial House, by Nicolás Dorr, gave her broad contact with the young public. She was one of the most beloved actresses in Cuba. She left her mark on theater stages in plays such as A Sip of Honey, Something Unsaid, The Verbena of the Palm Tree, Aunt Meim, and A Colonial House.

Her character Remigia, from the program San Nicolás del Peladero, was widely celebrated for the humor that characterized it and which she performed for 24 consecutive years.