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• 11 / 29 / 2009

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The orchid which is the queen of flowers willb the focus in the event.

Cuban orchids and paintings inspired in the queen of the vegetable kingdom will stand out in the first festival dedicated to the flower, to be held in Old Havana, from December 9 through 13.

The festival will show about 25 thousand species of orchids in the planet, surrounded by exhibitions of live and painted specimens of the aristocratic flower.

The Soroa Orchid Garden, the largest in its kind in the nation, will compete with a group of ornamental varieties, including specimens from the Reserve of the biosphere in the Rosario Mountain Range (where it is located) and other sites, confirmed its director, Luis Enrique Villalon.

Created in 1943, he added, the garden will also show a selection of drawings and water color paintings made by Jose Lazaro Bocourt, naturalist and illustrator, dedicated for more than two decades to capture with an artistic and scientific vision the universe of this extensive flower family.

During the festivity which will include a photo contest, the painter of Cuban flowers, Jorge Duporte, will exhibit some of his most well-known pieces.

His creations decorate the icon museum of the Royal Botanical Garden Juan Carlos I, in Alcala de Henares and other prestigious collections.

Workshops about orchid cultivation at home, cultural labors and its use in flower arrangements complement the Fest.

The program will open with a master lecture on Cuban orchids attended by growers and collectionists throughout the country.

In the archipelago live over 300 species of the curious flower, distinguished among many for its modified petal. More than 100 grow in this western province.

Soroa treasures 472 national and exotic varieties, which open their petals outdoors or in pavilions covered by fine covers to protect them from the sun rays.

Source: Prensa Latina