Addressing diplomats, intellectuals, and students, Menendez, who is also director of the Casa de los Arabes in Havana, talked about his book, backed by over 20 years of researching parish church registries and 34 interviews of Arabs and their decedents.
The book, recently translated into Arabic, was launched for Cuban Cultural Week in Egypt, an event also attended by well-known painter Arturo Montoto, pianist Alejandro Falcon, other Cuban musicians and television directors.
Cuban Ambassador Otto Vaillant said Menendez's book was the most complete so far in Cuba about the integration process of Arabs in that Caribbean country, and proposed to promote book festivals and collective launching of Latin American writers in Egypt.
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