Newspaper 26’s Matarile Cultural Supplement was presented in La Cabaña, in the space dedicated to serial publications, as part of the 32nd International Book Fair, in Havana; the first time this media outlet has launched a product of its own at that event.
Las Tunas, Cuba.- Journalist Maryla García Santos, editor of the 26 English edition, led the occasion and commented that the existence of the supplement is part of the interests of expanding our dialogues with the audience, a desire highlighted by the change in management model that makes us today a digital newspaper with a printed version.
She pointed out that the digital publication, born in 2021, constitutes an explicit tribute to the excellent narrator from Las Tunas Guillermo Vidal, hence in each installment there is a section on his work and his mark.
She made an outline of the five issues brought to light and stopped at the last one, which focused on the sugar heritage; “a clear example of other of the great objectives of this editorial proposal: preserving historical memory, assuming culture beyond the fine arts, problematize the cultural environment and transcend provincialism,” she argued.
The prominent writer Carlos Esquivel, Matarile's advisor, who attended the meeting, stressed the relevance of its emergence as a voice that privileges the entire cultural framework, in a province with few publications of this nature. At the same time, he recognized that each output entails a great effort for its editors because they must simultaneously fulfill the remaining routines of the medium. “And yet, they do it,” he praised.
Ana Luisa Cabrera, the director of the Registry for Periodical Publications, stressed that although the supplement does not yet have its formal registration, they wanted to give it the opportunity at the Fair because of how it faces cultural colonization and the potential it opens up for the young public, being conceived for the digital format.
Meanwhile, Violeta Rodríguez, a specialist at that entity, highlighted the defense of heritage values and how “the rich history of Las Tunas will always allow having topics to talk about.” From the public, words of praise for the design were told, which they described as functional and attractive.
García Santos explained that, when Matarile has its formal registration, it will integrate the marketing options that 26 promotes in the context of the Cuban press experiment, which involves editorial management, but also economic management. She concluded the conference as is customary in the supplement presentations: delivering the QR codes of its numbers, an obvious sign of the new times.
