The Asociación Hermanos Saíz-AHS (“Saíz Brothers Association”) was born on October 18, 1986 in the final session of the National Meeting of Young Writers, Artists and Technicians of Culture, which was held at the Havana Convention Center. It is the daughter of three important organizations during the first decades of the Cuban Revolution: the Raúl Gómez García Brigade, which brought together cultural instructors and technicians, with solid work in the community; the New Trova Movement, which brought together talented singer-songwriters from the country and which was influential in other parts of the continent; and the Hermanos Saíz Brigade, made up of writers and artists from various manifestations.
Precisely from the Brigade it inherited its name as an initial homage to Sergio and Luis Saíz Montes de Oca, the two young intellectuals murdered in August 1957 by the Batista dictatorship, in San Juan y Martínez, in the province of Pinar del Río. At the age of 17 and 18, Sergio and Luis left after death an incipient literary work, but of quality.
With these antecedents, the Hermanos Saíz Association was constituted by virtue of the right of association recognized in article 54 of the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, and in accordance with the Law 54, of December 27, 1985, containing the Law of Associations, approved by the Cuban Parliament.
The AHS brings together, on a voluntary and selective basis, new writers, artists and cultural promoters up to the age of 35, promotes the artistic and literary work of its members inside and outside Cuba, and stimulates creation that makes known the identity and ethical-cultural values of the Cuban nation. It also defends creative freedom and the work of its members.
Since its foundation, the AHS has been growing and demanding new spaces. Today it is present in all provinces of Cuba, through the Houses of the Young Creator, and it articulates a system of scholarships, prizes and events that enable young artists (whether members or not) to promote and position their work, often emerging and alternative. It also has five publishing houses: Sed de Belleza, from Villa Clara; La Luz, from Holguín; Aldabón, from Matanzas; Áncora, from Isla de la Juventud and Reina del Mar, from Cienfuegos. This system also contributes to defining hierarchies in the panorama of national culture.
To complement the work of the associates, events are organized all over the country, such as the Romerías de Mayo, true festival of young Cuban art, the Longina festival of troubadours, the audiovisual space Almacén de la Imagen, the meeting of poets and writers in the Floral Games, among many others. Since October 2018, after the 3rd Congress of the organization, it is presided over by the writer and playwright Rafael González Muñoz.