Cuban actor Fernando Hechavarría Gibert has been awarded the 2026 National Theater Award, as announced on Monday afternoon. The jury selected him unanimously for his 50 years of artistic career and 22 years of theater teaching. Other notable artists were nominated for their contributions to national culture.
Fernando Hechavarría Gibert, one of Cuba's most popular actors on stage, screen, and television, has been awarded the 2026 National Theater Award. The jury, chaired by Verónica Lynn, a 2003 winner, and including Carlos Díaz Alfonso (2015), Aramís Delgado (2023), Juan Piñera (2025 Artistic Education Award), and Omar Valiño, a professor and critic, made the unanimous decision.
Born in 1955 in Holguín province, Hechavarría studied plastic arts there and graduated in 1976 from Havana's National School of Performing Arts. He was a member of the Teatro Escambray group in Villa Clara until 1995, and since then has been part of the Teatro El Público company. He has taken part in international co-productions and over 27 national and international festivals, appearing in 36 plays, 31 films, and 44 television programs, including soap operas and series.
Standout roles include Nacho Capitán in the soap opera Tierra Brava and recently El Gallo de Cumanayagua in the series LCB: La otra guerra. He teaches acting at the University of the Arts and the Corina Mestre National Theater School. Among his honors are the Máximo Gómez Machete, the National Culture Distinction, and the Maestro de Juventudes Award from the Hermanos Saíz Association.
His acting accolades include the Florencio Escudero and Omar Valdés awards from UNEAC, the Caricato for Las amargas lágrimas de Petra von Kant, and Best Performance at the National Television Festival. Notable films in his filmography include Plácido, Pon tu pensamiento en mí, Amor vertical, La noche de los inocentes, El viajero inmóvil, Ciudad en rojo, and Inocencia.
"I like to choose intense, complex characters that are different from each other, no matter how small or large they may be," the actor confessed. He added: "What kills me is theater. It's the matrix, there's nothing like it... It gives you direct contact with the audience."
The National Council for the Performing Arts also nominated Maribel López, Graciela González, Juan González Fiffe, and Osvaldo Doimeadiós for their exemplary careers. For this award, 39 institutions nominated 18 artists.
