“YOKE AND STAR” Essay Prize

The Republican Party of Cuba, committed to building a prosperous and republican future for Cuba, invites all young Cubans up to 35 years of age, whether residing on the Island or not, to participate in the first edition of the “Yoke and Star” Essay Prize.

The essays, which will develop the theme "A prosperous and republican future for Cuba", will have a maximum length of 20 letter-size pages, written in Arial 12 font, double-spaced and with symmetrical margins of 2.5 cm.

These works will be signed with a pseudonym and will be sent in PDF format to the email yugoyestrella@prcuba.com (email subject: “I Yugo y Estrella Essay Prize”) before May 10, 2026, along with a sealed envelope specifying: title of the essay, pseudonym, name and surnames of the author, photocopy of official identification that proves Cuban citizenship, contact telephone number, email address, address and a brief bio-bibliographical review.

Each author may only submit one entry. Any questions regarding this or any other rule can be directed to yugoyestrella@prcuba.com .

The file containing the work should be named with the first two words of the essay title plus the pseudonym; and the cover letter, with those same two words followed by the word “cover letter”. For example, if the essay is titled “Political Dialogues” and the chosen pseudonym is Seneca, the file containing the work will be named PoliticalDialoguesSeneca.pdf, while the cover letter file will be PoliticalDialoguescoverletter.pdf.

The presence of data that reveals the author's identity will result in immediate disqualification. It is also recommended that metadata be removed from submitted documents. The Prize's organizing committee will confirm receipt of the files and verify that they comply with the stipulated rules.

After the submission period closes, the organizing committee will announce the Prize jury, which will consist of three prestigious intellectuals, whether residing in Cuba or not. The jury's decision will be final.

In this edition, three prizes will be awarded:

• First place: 500 USD plus written certificate.

• Second place: $350 USD plus written certificate.

• Third place: 150 USD plus written certificate.

  
  

The jury may award as many mentions as it deems appropriate.

The winning entries will be announced publicly on May 20, 2026. If the winning authors are unable to attend the ceremony, they may delegate their representation to another person.

The winning works will be published on the website of the Republican Party of Cuba and, by accepting the Prize, the winning authors agree to participate in the actions undertaken for the dissemination of the contest.

In the event of any legal dispute in this regard, the parties will submit to the content of this call, published on the website of the Republican Party of Cuba on December 18, 2025.