CUBA, February 8, 2007.- Cuba's 16th International Book Fair, one of the major cultural events on the island, was inaugurated on Tuesday at the Morro Cabana complex in Havana.

The fair will run until March 11 and will extend to 40 cities across the country. More than eight million books will be offered this year, including 1,000 new titles.

This year, the fair is dedicated to Cuban scholars Eduardo Lopez Cueva and Cesar Lopez. The guest country of honor is Argentina, a country that will be represented at the fair by a large delegation.

As is every year, one of the main attractions is the children's pavilion, with an extensive cultural program of arts, entertainment and literature.

David Vina, Noe Jitrik, Luisa Valenzuela, Graciela Duffau, Horacio Gonzalez, Lilia Ferreira, Víctor Ego Ducrot and Juan Carlos Baglietto are among the Argentinean scholars and artists who are eparticipating at the fair.

As a special gift, Argentina will distribute 250,000 copies of an anthology that includes renowned Argentine authors such as Julio Cortazar, Jorge Luis Borges, Abelardo Castillo, Carlos Gorostiza and María Elena Walsh.

This year the fair will also include a second-hand bookstore with more than 7,000 titles. (Cubaminrex-ACN)