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The publishing house Café con Mate, based in Montevideo, Uruguay, has just released the book «Dúo Caricare: The Hammer and the Point of Cuban Humor», a work by the Cuban poet, storyteller, and researcher Ronel González Sánchez that pays tribute to three decades of the most awarded humor duo from Holguín, Cuba.
The volume, consisting of 150 pages, is now available on Amazon in paperback format and in Spanish edition, which broadens its reach to readers in the Cuban diaspora and the Spanish-speaking audience in general.
González Sánchez himself announced the news on his Facebook profile with evident enthusiasm: "Now it's really getting good, Amazon. Thanks to José Luis Laguarda and José Heredia, from Café con Mate, a publishing house in Montevideo, this gem has just been released: Dúo Caricare: the hammer and the finishing touch of Cuban humor. Great news for the iconic duo, for the writer of this post, and for the memory of humor in Cuba. Very grateful."
The Dúo Caricare is composed of Mireya Abreu Pérez and Onelio Escalona Vargas, and was founded on November 25, 1995 in Holguín under the original name "Matagusano." Over three decades, the group has developed a unique style based on intelligent social satire, monologues, sketches, and humorous songs with live music, becoming a benchmark for the genre on the island.
The book description on Amazon defines them as "one of the most important groups in the history of Cuban humor, recognized for their talent, originality, and ability to connect with the audience through intelligence and satire," and emphasizes that their work "has left a deep mark on national culture, becoming an essential reference in the genre."
The duo holds the record for the most awards in the history of the National Humor Festival Aquelarre, the most important humor event in Cuba, organized by the Humor Promotion Center and the National Council of Performing Arts. In 2023, they received the Aquelarre award in the category of Best Script for stage production, and in 2025, the Humor Promotion Center recognized them for their 30 years of artistic career. The duo has also represented Cuba in Mexico and Venezuela, and was honored by the Cuban-Mexican Cooperation Institute of the State of Quintana Roo.
The author of the work, Ronel González Sánchez, was born in Cacocum, Holguín, in 1971, and has published over 50 books of poetry, essays, narrative, and children's literature. In 2025, he received the Nicolás Guillén Poetry Award for the collection "Central Patria," which lends academic and literary weight to this new title dedicated to Cuban humor.
The publication comes at a particularly significant moment. Amid the structural crisis that daily deteriorates the country, Cuban humor is undergoing a phase of increasing institutional pressure: the popular television series "Vivir del Cuento" was canceled in 2025 without an official explanation, and figures like Ulises Toirac and Osvaldo Doimeadiós have reported marginalization and censorship by the Ministry of Culture. Many comedians have emigrated or moved to digital platforms due to the closure of spaces in state television.
In this context, the fact that a Uruguayan publishing house —described as a "meeting place for Cuban writers in the Oriental Republic of Uruguay"— takes on the task of documenting and preserving the memory of Cuban humor acquires a symbolic value that goes beyond the literary.
The Dúo Caricare has maintained its monthly gathering at the UNEAC headquarters in Holguín, and they are members of the Humor Promotion Center, UNEAC, and the José Martí Cultural Society in the city. The book's description concludes that González Sánchez "honors that exceptional journey and the historical significance of a duo that has elevated Cuban humor to a higher level."
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