The book "Arabs in Cuba" by researcher Rigoberto Menendez provides a new reason for Latin Americans in Egypt to defend their common identity, based on the influence of immigrants from the Middle East.
 
A perennial curiosity for looking into the roots of their national identity, culture, and history brought together the audience at the Cervantes Institute in Cairo for the launching of Menendez' book, which many praised as a masterly.
 
Addressing diplomats, intellectuals, and students, Menendez, who is also director of the Casa de los Arabes in Havana, talked about his book, backed by over 20 years of researching parish church registries and 34 interviews of Arabs and their decedents.
 
The book, recently translated into Arabic, was launched for Cuban Cultural Week in Egypt, an event also attended by well-known painter Arturo Montoto, pianist Alejandro Falcon, other Cuban musicians and television directors.
 
Cuban Ambassador Otto Vaillant said Menendez's book was the most complete so far in Cuba about the integration process of Arabs in that Caribbean country, and proposed to promote book festivals and collective launching of Latin American writers in Egypt.