The “Carlos Escalona Labrada in Memoriam” is among the contests that have left traces within the Cucalambean Fiesta, which in this second edition had the participation of nine young women from different Cuban provinces.

The space El Bohío Campesino (Peasant Hut), in El Cornito, hosted the competition, whose laurels corresponded to María Karla Rodríguez Hidalgo, Yeili Saili Martínez Rodríguez and Rosailis Báez Silva; while Yennis Invernón Matos took a mention.

The jury, made up of Arletty Medina (tunes’ singer), Guillermo Castillo Vega (improviser), and Rolando Portillo Cedeño (musician), recognized the quality of the competing pieces and the variety of tunes defended by the contestants, despite their marked youth.

In dialogue with 26, Portillo expressed: "This contest has been a very wise idea on the part of the System of Culture Houses because the tune is, precisely, one of the forms of expression of country music and has its nuances even in each region of our country. There are, for example, the tunes from Matanzas, Sancti Spíritus, Pinar del Río, and the seguidilla, which is clearly from the eastern region. In addition, there are other expressions such as the Camagüey Punto. That is, each region is identified in that universe. Thus, it is very important to defend the genre.”

María Karla Rodríguez Hidalgo, one of the winners

"This time, all the participants had a good performance, although there are always technical details to be perfected in sections such as tuning, metrics, and intonation; but the important thing is that the genre was defended with dignity."

The master of the pentagram meant, as a singularity, that several of the competitors did not show all the brilliance that was expected in the interpretation of the tune that they had prepared; however, during the second day, they made an admirable defense of the assigned tune.”

María Malena Pérez Hernández, from Ciego de Ávila, was one of the participants and, although she did not get garlands, she feels that the greatest prizes were the knowledge acquired and the opportunity to share with colleagues. "I participate in the ‘Cucalambeana’ for the first time. I attended with a sample of the parranda from Sancti Spíritus. I have been in workshops that defend the genre for a year, which are a platform to grow."

Her compatriot María Karla Rodríguez Hidalgo, who was one of the laureates, stated: "I like being in Las Tunas. Some time ago I participated in an event convened here under the name Tengo en la casa mi casa, honoring Juan Cristóbal Nápoles Fajardo and, now, they happily invited me to join this event of traditions. I am very grateful.”

Armando López Rondón, director of the Raúl Rondón House of the Décima, from Ciego de Ávila, commented in summary to this media outlet: "I have been attending the Cucalambeana Fiesta for several editions, I am almost an adopted son of the Balcón de Oriente (Cuban Eastern Balcony). I really enjoy this Supreme Guatque of the Cuban Peasantry, which plays a fundamental role because it defends -from multiple expressions- the traditional culture; this goes beyond us because we are talking about something that is an Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Long live the cradle of El Cucalambé!”

"Besides, the feedback between your House of the Décima and ours is something very useful; we also draw on the experiences of the delegations from other countries that always accompany us. It is something very nice that we must defend because it is about our Cuban identity.”