The safeguarding and promotion of cultural legacy as an expression of identity and development of any tourist offer that involves and praises diversity of allures in the country –especially when it’s in the best interest of its heritage, historic, folkloric and musical and dancing values– is of paramount importance in Cuba and an unbreakable part of its projection as an international travel destination in the face of sustainable and responsible tourism.

The Slave Route –a UNESCO project passed in 1993 with a view to break the silence over a phenomenon widely considered as one of the saddest tragedies mankind has ever endured– lays bare objectively the consequences of this ill-fated trade and seeks to implement a culture of tolerance and peaceful coexistence among peoples in a bid to preserve the traditions and legacy inherited by the large masses of African slaves brought to the Caribbean to work in sugarcane plantations. This is by and large one of the finest examples of Cuba’s efforts in conserving its own identity. For four centuries, the slave trade provided the Caribbean region and a majority of Latin American countries with artistic and spiritual expressions that can now be found in dancing, music and folklore as a form of cultural behavior threatened by a number of perils the Slave Route is rallying against in a multinational effort to safeguard that wonderful heritage. And all this much is being carried out on the basis of a UNESCO-sponsored plan that seeks to consider culture, together with the many expressions that specific groups and communities inherited from their ancestors and that are being passed on to the new generations –many of them in oral form– on the list of heritage. For four centuries, the slave trade provided the Caribbean region with artistic and spiritual expressions that can now be found in dancing, music and folklore as a form of cultural behavior threatened by a number of perils the Slave Route is rallying against in a multinational effort to safeguard that wonderful heritage. And all this much is being carried out on the basis of a UNESCO-sponsored plan that seeks to consider culture, together with the many expressions that specific groups and communities inherited from their ancestors and that are being passed on to the new generations –many of them in oral form– like the case of the Tumba Francesa (French Cotillion) in Cuba.

Folklore as a Cultural Expression What’s the International Council of Folkloric Festival Organizers (CIOFF)? This institution was founded in Aug. 1970 within the framework of the 15th Folkloric Festival held in France. Though it has no professional character, it does join the Experts Committee as a UNESCO consultant. As we all know, the ever-growing interest in folklore, the people’s arts and traditions from different regions are up and running thanks to artistic groups that cultivate these genuine expressions that are passed on through the years from generation to generation. The beauty of these expressions and the need to protect them is the reason behind CIOFF and its 93-country membership, including Cuba since 1987. Through CIOFF, for instance, more than 300 festivals and countless art and traditional art exhibitions are planned, as well as dance, music and singing workshops, theoretical events, seminars and lectures, and even a congress that comes around every four years. How is Cuba involved in the works of this far-reaching international cultural council? Since 1973, Cuba has attended all international festivals, and the island nation was accepted as a full-time member in 1987. I believe to a great extent the quality and wealth our artists perform and express Cuban folklore made room for us in the council and brought a lot of respect when Havana was chosen to host the 39th Congress and General Assembly. Currently Cuba is part of the CIOFF working group in the Latin American sector and of the organization’s Young Sector because a majority of dancers and performers in amateur folkloric groups is made up of youngsters and college students. So, it’s in the CIOFF Cuban Committee’s best interest to trace its course of action with all those who have the responsibility of preserving this rich heritage. What expectations are the 39th Congress in Havana, its topics of discussion and other details generating right now? There’ll be some 300 delegates from 45 nations, including experts, artists, scholars, observers and even tourist interested in Cuban folklore. The event will take place from the 8th to the 15th at the Havana International Conference Center and there’ll be lots of other interesting things going on, like a long list of master lectures by boldface names such as Dr. Miguel Barnet, President of Cuba’s National League of Writers and Artists, that will be dealing with Cultural Diversity and the Slave Route, a UNESCO-sponsored project presided over, in Cuba, by this outstanding author and anthropologist. To a large extent, the event has helped us to delve deeper into the promotion and rescue of all those values that single us out as a country and that will be duly addressed in the pre-congress and post-congress programming.