The biggest international event of graphic humor that takes place in Cuba, has as its headquarters the city of San Antonio de los Baños, known as the Villa del Humor. Endorsed by years of spontaneous humorous popular tradition and caricature, the city hosts every two years the greatest competition of general and political humor, personal caricature, comics and photography.
René de la Nuez participated in a meeting held by the History Commission of San Antonio de los Baños, proposing to hold a Humor Biennial in Cuba, similar to the one he had witnessed in Bulgaria. Initially, that idea was not paid much attention. In 1978, on the occasion of the First National Forum of Humor held in Havana, the commission invited Ernesto Vera, former president of the Union of Journalists of Cuba, to hold a session of the event at the Villa. At the Círculo de Artesanos, Miguel Ángel Miqueli explained the condition of the city as a pioneer of humor and why the Revolución y Cultura magazine had called it San Antonio del Humor. The assistants also witnessed a play written by Miqueli, in which the history of the town was told through the puppets of the Municipal Guiñol.
Everyone was impressed. After the lecture was read and approved, the writer Enrique Núñez Rodríguez proposed to celebrate the Biennial permanently in San Antonio. The suggestion was accepted and subsequently approved by the Ministry of Culture. Thus, the International Biennial of Humor arose.
According to studies carried out by the International Museum of Humor, more than 100 countries, 3,000 artists and 6,000 works of different humor genres have participated in the Graphic Humorous Biennials. Of more than 400 awards and mentions, 200 correspond to Cuba and more than 20 belong to Villa del Ariguanabo. Enough reasons to continue calling our city San Antonio del Humor.
