FIRST CAMAGUEY-HAITI CULTURAL ENCOUNTER UNDERWAY IN CUBA

Camaguey, April 10, 2000 (RHC)-- The first bilateral Camaguey-Haiti Cultural Encounter got underway over the weekend in eastern Camaguey province. In the Kamahaiti 2000 meeting, Haitians and Cubans are re-discovering their cultural roots. Many of the 40.000 inhabitants of this extensive territory are descendants of the Haitians that arrived at the beginning of the 20th century to work in the cane fields and settled here.

On Sunday, the Haitian delegation, made up of around 40 artists, intellectuals and specialists and headed by the Minister of Haitians Living Abroad, was given a warm welcome at the Ignacio Agramonte Airport.

Young ballet dancers between eight and ten years old from the Luis Casas Romero Art School welcomed the visitors, and a vocal group sang in both Spanish and Creole.

Conferences by Haitian and Cuban experts, exhibitions of Haitian paintings, as well as performances by Cuban and Haitian singers and musicians will be held through April 14th.