Matanzas: From March 18 to 23, the Cuban province of Matanzas will host the 16th edition of the Matanzas International Puppet Festival (Festitim), one of the country's most important puppetry events. Dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the creation of the emblematic character Pelusiíln del Monte, Cuba's National Puppet, this year's festival, which began in 1994 thanks to the idea of ??National Theater Prize winner Rene Fernandez, will seek to bring together the most relevant figures in the world of puppetry.According to Lao News Agency, the official Festitim program highlights a range of cultural activities and will, exceptionally, award the Pelusin del Monte Prize to the best performance that promotes the native values of any nation or universal human and social values. The festival is focused on encouraging professional theater groups, both national and international, to present puppet theater productions for audiences of all ages, aiming to reach out to local communities.The program also specifies tha t the Hermanos Camejo and Pepe Carrill Awards will be presented to recognize the careers of national and international figures in the world of puppetry. Furthermore, the Playwriting Competition 'A Retablo for Traditional Heroes' will be announced, inviting authors to write texts not only about Pelusin del Monte, Cuba's National Puppet, but also about the most traditional puppets from other participating countries.