The 44th Edition of the Caribbean Festival, popularly known as the Fiesta del Fuego (Festival of Fire), begins today in Santiago de Cuba. From July 3rd to 9th, 2025, the emblematic city in eastern Cuba will once again become the cultural capital of the Caribbean. This edition pays tribute to Curaçao and Colombia, featuring a delegation of 140 artists and creators. As every year, the Fiesta del Fuego will be a blend of talent in visual arts, gastronomy, music, dance, film, and academic exchange.
Born in 1981 as a beacon of cultural resistance and regional unity, the festival was founded by Santiago de Cuba's Casa del Caribe (House of the Caribbean). Its mission was—and remains—to preserve and celebrate the Afro-Caribbean roots that weave together the shared identity of the Caribbean basin.
The celebration provides a space to honor the deities of the Yoruba pantheon, symbolized in the "Fire Ritual," where evils are burned away and hopes are renewed. What began as a local gathering has transformed into one of the largest cultural events in the Caribbean, bringing together nations like Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. Each edition crowns a guest country, highlighting its heritage through music, dance, cuisine, and ancestral rituals. It is a collective embrace where the Caribbean remembers who it is: diverse, rebellious, and vibrant.