The singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez, the group Teatro Los Elementos and the project Orquesta de Guitarras Vocal Clave de Sol are the winners of the 2021 National Prize for Community Culture, announced the National Council of Casas de Cultura (CNCC), [the network for community culture centres across the island].
This award is made each year during the 10 days up to the Day for Cuban Culture (October 20), and the CNCC has highlighted 2021’s important recognition to have several objectives.
Among them, he highlighted that of stimulating and recognizing the contributions in community cultural development and the contribution of improving the quality of life of the population through cultural and social processes generated in, by and from the community.
After an official session of evaluation and analysis of the files of the nominees for the National Community Culture Award 2021, the jury decided to award it in the Personality category to singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez, in the Group/Institution category to Teatro Los Elementos, and in the project category, to the Orquesta de Guitarras Vocal Clave de Sol.
The jury was chaired by Omar Valiño, technical adviser to the CNCC, and consisted of Enrique Alemán, manager of the Quisicuaba Community Project and president of the CNCC Technical Advisory Council; Rogelio Rivero, director of the UNEAC Community Work Office; Lillitsy Hernández Oliva, art instructor professor and vice president of the National Council of Performing Arts; and Jesús Ismael Íínsula Peña, president of the UNEAC Community Cultural Work Commission.
Among the reasons to award Silvio Rodríguez, was that since the end of 2010 he has led a group of musicians, writers and artists who perform in the poorest neighbourhoods and in social institutions (schools, prisons, among others) in Havana and other provinces of the country.
He added that since this initiative was put into practice, it has allowed many hundreds of people enjoy a unique poetry and music experience, without needing to travel or pay, and that without a doubt, this has been a work of high social and cultural impact on a community scale.
Foto: Ismael Francisco/Cubadebate
Regarding Teatro Los Elementos, a group founded in 1990 by José Oriol González, he stressed that the company has become a stable artistic community, which addresses classical authors from the universal and Cuban repertoire while continuing to work with the memory of the Cuban countryside and the elements that enrich it.
He stressed that it is a benchmark for community work in the rural foothills and mountainous areas of the country, articulating artistic work and cultural promotion, with sustainable agriculture and the traditional ways of Cuban rural life.
Regarding the Clave de Sol Vocal Guitar Orchestra, founded in 2009, by two music teachers from La Lisa in Havana (Yamilé García Zurita and Nuria García Reyes), with children and adolescents from the community of San Agustín in Havana.
The project has meant a cultural revelation for San Agustín, with a scope that exceeds 250 members and therefore 250 families, with results recognized nationally and internationally.
Link to original report in Spanish by CubaDebate
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