He takes a hat and guayabera and dresses slowly; he wants to enjoy the last minutes of this edition, while he bids farewell to the participants. Yes, gentlemen, I am referring to our Supreme Guateque, the one that arrives with the contagious winks of these days and the commitment to continue perfecting it, the best way to honor Juan Cristóbal Nápoles Fajardo (El Cucalambé).

Las Tunas, Cuba.- Several friends accompanied us on this occasion, regular visitors such as Emiliano Sardiñas, Luis Paz (Papillo), José Antonio Iznaga (El Jilguerito de Cienfuegos), María Victoria Rodríguez and Marisol Guillama, and others no less notorious such as members of the Club del Poste, the musicologist Sonia Margarita Pérez Cassola (Cubadisco 2024 Award for best music producer), winners of the Cucalambé Contest and even the Minister of Culture Alpidio Alonso.

"The Cucalambeana is the Cuban peasants' festival par excellence. Not even in my province do they have a party of this magnitude. Even with the problems we have in the country, it is still decent. Here they work with desire. There are rough edges as in any event, but - regardless of that - the result is very worthy," said poet and researcher Juan Carlos García Guridi, vice president of the Union of Writers and Artists (UNEAC) in Mayabeque.

Luis Paz, head of the Iberamerican Center of the Décima and Improvised Verse, said: "We must recognize the effort made by Las Tunas to maintain this event, amid complex circumstances. I think it's a good time to open up its diapason, to make it a truly national festival; but with a movement coming from the grassroots in the different provinces, to keep traditions alive in Cuba as a whole. And, of course, all the factors are linked, from Culture, the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP), and Education. We all have to defend the national identity.”

For his part, the poet and journalist Pedro Péglez, who chairs the national group Ala Décima and holds the Cucalambé Prize, commented: "In the literary life of the Cuban décima movement, the Cucalambeana Fiesta has an unquestionable value. It is the most agglutinating and nourishing event of its type in the Island. Moreover, the wealth of creators trained here is admirable. Women and young people have stood out in recent years, for example. That is commendable.

Thus, somewhat embarrassed to generate words like these, the Guateque bids farewell. He knows it isn't perfect and must settle some debts, but no one could deny the determination to defend Cuban idiosyncrasy with word and sword.