The Cuban actress and oral storyteller Coralia Rodríguez will be honored with the "Values of Culture 2026" award in Albacete, Spain, as announced by the Cultural Association Friends of Cuba in that Castilian city.
The recognition will be awarded next Saturday, October 17, at 8:30 PM, in the Plaza of the Imaginalia Shopping Center in Albacete, during the central event of the XVIII Day for Cuban Culture, an event taking place from October 16 to 20, 2026, which this year is dedicated to the singer Pablo Milanés and the city of Baracoa.
The organizing entity described the award as a recognition that "highlights artistic careers committed to the dissemination, preservation, and enrichment of Cuban culture worldwide."
Born in Santiago de Cuba in 1959, Coralia Rodríguez Montoya is a Cuban actress and oral storyteller with over four decades of artistic experience. She trained as a theater instructor at the Félix Varela National School in Havana and studied oral narration at the workshops of the Great Theater of Havana, led by Francisco Garzón, a prominent figure in the development of oral storytelling in Cuba.
The artist developed an important part of her career in Geneva, Switzerland, where she was linked to the cultural association Les Tisseuses de Paroles ("The Weavers of Words"), of which she is listed as president in biographical sources. Her work, produced in Spanish and French, incorporates stories and songs from Afro-Cuban oral traditions, along with poetry and tales from various cultures. A recent artistic biography indicates her residence in Alicante, Spain, after having lived for 21 years in Switzerland.
The Cultural Association Friends of Cuba in Albacete highlighted that its work "is characterized by a deep connection with the traditions of Cuban oral culture, especially the Afro-Cuban roots, which have taken it to stages around the world." Throughout its career, it has performed in more than 20 countries across Europe, Africa, Latin America, and North America, with appearances on stages in Mexico, Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Luxembourg, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, and Tunisia, among others.
In addition to her stage work, Rodríguez is the founder of cultural initiatives related to oral storytelling in Cuba and has collaborated with prominent figures in Cuban ethnology, integrating cultural research and popular tradition in her work as an educator. Among her past accolades are the Juan Candela oral storytelling award, Cuentería, El Cuentero, and the Ibero-American Chamán award, as well as theatrical distinctions for her performances in the plays María Antonia by Eugenio Hernández and Santa Camila de La Habana Vieja by José Ramón Brene.
The Albacete association emphasized that the award recognizes "not only his outstanding artistic career but also his commitment to the international dissemination of Cuban culture, his educational work, and his ability to build bridges between cultures through art and word."
The award ceremony will feature performances by the company "Los Guaracheros," the musical group "Latin Sound" from Alicante, singer Raiza Valladares, and singer and presenter Héctor Navarrete. Admission will be free of charge.
The Day for Cuban Culture in Albacete, organized by the Cultural Association Friends of Cuba since 2008, is celebrated around October 20th, a date on which Cuba commemorates the Day of Cuban Culture, remembering the first performance of La Bayamesa (later the National Anthem) in Bayamo in 1868.
The XVIII edition also includes a photographic exhibition, dance workshops, a master dance class, the presentation of the Cuban novel No fue dios culpable, by Ricardo Salmerón, and the screening of the documentary Para vivir: el implacable tiempo de Pablo Milanés.
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