Havana, Cuba -Cuba´s First Vice-President Miguel Diaz-Canel attended the inauguration of the XXXVI International Festival of New Latin American Cinema, in the Karl Marx Theater in Havana.

The ceremony on Thursday night, which was also attended by personalities like Abel Prieto, Advisor to the President of the Councils of State and Ministers; Cuban Culture Minister Julian Gonzalez, and Franco-Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet, began with an emotional tribute to Gabriel García Márquez.

After hearing the words recorded by Gabo on his album Paul Querido, troubadour Pablo Milanes was commissioned to recall the Nobel Prize for Literature, a dear friend with whom he shared moments of music and film, as he confessed to a crowd that applauded his coming on the stage.

Glory to Gabo!, the singer said as a goodbye, after singing several of his songs like No ha sido fácil, Yolanda, El breve espacio en que no está, and Dulce recuerdo, included in his latest disc Renaissance; and Los días de Gloria, a favorite of the Colombian writer.

We are remembering García Márquez, protagonist and promoter of the Festival since its inception in 1979, said Ivan Giroud, director general of the event, at the official opening remarks.

He also recalled the work of the novelist leading the New Latin American Cinema Foundation and the creation of the School of Cinema and Television of San Antonio de los Baños, institutions that will join in the tribute to this great friend of Cuba.

Giroud also spoke of the exhibition of the Argentinean film  Relatos Salvajes, which followed his speech, as the first digital projection in the history of national cinematography, a step that brings us closer to crossing the line between the analog film, already increasingly obsolete, and current technology.

This has been made possible by the Cuban Ministry of Culture has financed the purchase of a digital projector with international standard, which will be located permanently in the hall of Charles Chaplin, he said.