Cuban writers Senel Paz and Leonardo Padura, together with Cuban tenor and Director of the Cuban National Opera Adolfo Casas, received the Order of the Italian Star of Solidarity bestowed by President Giorgio Napolitano. The three became Knights of the Order at a ceremony conducted by Domenico Vecchioni, Italian Ambassador to Cuba. It is one of the highest honors in Italy and it is conferred on Italians or foreigners who have distinguished themselves in the arts or through intellectual work. In the ceremony of investiture, Vecchioni cited Casas’ career as a tenor, calling his voice “one of the most beautiful in Cuba” and pointing to his work promoting Italian opera on the island. Senel Paz, vicepresident of Cuba’s Union of Artists and Writers, was praised for his career in literature and film, which has made him one of the most widely known Cuban writers in the world. Padura was praised for his versatility as a writer, and for the clarity and seductiveness of his work.

Image: Senel Paz from http://orlandoluispardolazo.blogspot.com/2009/01/donde-dije-diego-digo-david.html