HAVANA, Cuba (CMC) — The town of Trinidad, located to the south-east of here has been declared a World Craft City after an extensive evaluation process by the World Crafts Council.

Roberto Ponce, director of the Cuban Fund for Cultural Property at Sancti Spíritus, confirmed the news to the press and said that in June the third village founded by the Spaniards on the island was visited by members of the World Council from 11 countries, including Chile, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico.

At that time they toured sites of high historical and socio-cultural value, such as the Manaca Iznaga farmhouse in the Valley of the Sugar Mills, where one of the region’s most famous sugar mills was located and where the 43.5-meter-high tower still stands tall, he recalled.

He said the Trinitarian creations have crossed the city’s borders and today projects such as the world-famous Santander family or the workshop of Yudit Vidal Faife, a creator who also promotes, among threads, wings and brushes, legitimise clay, painting and fabric.

Cristina González Bécquer, visual arts specialist from the Cuban Association of Artisans and Artists, who prepared the nomination file, commented that since 2015 the candidacy presented by the Cuban nation was approved.

Trinidad is a city that, from the very beginning, has known how to maintain these traditions over time, said González Bécquer, who added the permanence and enrichment of the work of the needle in the southern territory and the institutional efforts to promote its practice.

At the time, the Office of the Curator of the City of Trinidad and the Valley of the Sugar Mills itself stressed that the long history of this demonstration makes the unique town a reference at the country level and an example for many peoples of America.

During the World Crafts Council’s visit to the southern municipality of the city last month, Uruguayan Alberto de Betolaza, president of the organisation for Latin America, said that craftwork of the past is kept alive in the Caribbean Museum City.

These expressions of handicrafts are the livelihoods of several generations of Trinitarians, most of whom have drawn on the knowledge of collectives that have been trained to teach the traditions, he added.

Cities in China, India, Iran, Chile and Denmark also hold a similar status.