Fiesta Cubana Festival aims to promote Cuban culture in Guyana

To celebrate and integrate Cuban culture in Guyana, the first-ever Cuban and Latin American cultural festival is slated to be hosted at the Promenade Gardens, Georgetown on May 4, 2024.
Dubbed Fiesta Cubana Festival, it is being hosted through the collaborative efforts of the Journey and Destination Management Company, Global Tours and Travel, and the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba in Guyana.
At a media launch on Friday, event organisers Alfredo Ballesteros and Waynewight Orderson were excited to reveal the concept behind the festival and more importantly, emphasised the cultural integration that came with it.
This event, they hope, will become part of Guyana’s calendar of events to boost tourism.

They also expressed that the local organising committee saw an opportunity to celebrate the rich tapestry of Latin American culture while fostering tourism and cultural exchange especially as Guyana transitions from a country of emigration to an immigrant destination with a significant number of Latinos living here.
The event, they added, will provide visitors with the Latino experience while promoting sustainable tourism development, cultivating global citizenship by fostering cross-cultural understanding and appreciation, and promoting Cuba and other Latin American destinations as exciting new business and leisure travel destinations for Guyanese travellers.
Another event organiser, Yaquelin Gonzalez Ricardo emphasised that the festival would showcase a wide array of mouthwatering Cuban-style dishes, highlighting that this culinary experience for Guyanese originated from Cubans living in Guyana, who were introduced to the diverse culinary traditions of the country.
In return, they also vowed to introduce Guyanese to their own culinary styles. “Just as Cubans residing in Guyana have embraced new dishes like eggballs and cook-up, we want to reciprocate by inviting Guyanese to explore our unique style of cooking.
Aside from the various foods, Gonzalez noted that Guyanese would also be treated to the sounds of Latino music, from pulsating Reggaeton to sultry Salsa and everything in between.
Meanwhile, Gonzalez further elaborated that the event would not only welcome Cubans but also the entire Latino community, including Venezuelans, Brazilians, and other Latin American expatriates residing and working in Guyana.
Guyana and Cuba established diplomatic relations on December 8, 1972.