Latino Art Beat, now in its 20th anniversary year, has concluded it is very first ever art competition with the youth of the Republic of Cuba and also that of its client base here in the U.S. The competition themed “Friendship between the Youth of the USA and Cuba,” was introduced in 2016 to high school age student artists in both countries. Awards ceremonies for the USA student winners were held during 2016 Hispanic Heritage Month in public ceremonies hosted by both the Miami Mayors Office in Miami, Florida and also by the Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs (OLA) in Washington, D.C. Two 1st place winners were selected, Gabriela Zegarra (Miami) and Hector Castillo (District of Columbia) who were both awarded scholarships. In Cuba, competition winners were selected and honored recently at the headquarter offices of the Consejo Nacional de Casas de Cultura (CNCC) in the old town section of the City of Havana in the presence of Cuban government officials from the Ministry of Culture, Casas de Cultura, participating school representatives, student arts participants, student winners, members of the Latino Art Beat advisory board, Cuban coordinators and Don Rossi Nuccio, president of Latino Art Beat along with honored guests. An art gallery display of the Cuban student’s competition submissions along with the winning pieces was the background for the presentation and recognition of the 1st place award to Luis Paez Betancourt and a matching award given to Favio Felipe Gonzalez. If you would like to learn more about Latino Art Beat, email latinoartbeat@hotmail.com.