havana! - Cuba Travel Services

Transcription

what’s on
havana
mar
!
2014
Fábrica del Arte
Cubano
X Alfonso
Havana’s Food Revolution
Guide to the Best places to eat, drink, dance and stay in Havana
You’ve
Waited Long Enough….
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videos, opinionated reviews, insightful articles and inside tips.
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March 2014
A look back… a look forward
Now is a great time to reflect about our year’s accomplishments and challenges – to learn from
them and to continue our efforts. This is why Cuba Travel Services wants to start the New
Year right with the introduction of this newsletter; which will provide you with more up to
date and in-depth knowledge with a contemporary and very real twist.
Looking back, this past year was filled with many endeavors and some challenges. In 2013 we
started four new routes. The first one in March from Miami to the province of Camaguey,
the second, third and fourth in the month of December from Miami to Santiago de Cuba and
from Tampa to Santa Clara and Havana. We are proud to offer more flights than any of our
competitors and to do so with the newest generation of 737-800 aircraft.
Another great win was the new partnership with Sun Country Airlines which started in July.
Thanks to their professionalism and efforts we have been able to continue offering some of the
most flexible and on-time schedules and their aircraft provide our passengers with the highest
level of comfort and security. Another partner, American Airlines, has also contributed to our
great success by offering exceptional customer service, experience and security.
In 2014 we aspire to be in the travelers’ minds as their first choice when visiting Cuba. This
entails the addition of new US routes, new partnerships and most importantly building
awareness.
Cuba, from an American’s point of view, is still a mystery which needs to be discovered.
Our efforts this year will include increasing awareness and educating the public as much as
possible about what Cuba has to offer. We will emphasize people-to people programs and
provide insight related to OFAC guidelines and see to the eastern part of the island for new
educational activities and interactions. We also want to provide information about Cuba via our
new in-flight magazine “Oye Cuba” (“Hey Cuba”). This publication will feature topics of cultural
interest, illustrated stories, restaurant suggestions, hotels a la carte, destinations, lifestyles,
trends, art and events. It will be on board at least 18 of our regularly scheduled weekly flights
and will be in both English and Spanish.
We are eager to take on these new undertakings and we hope that our travelers can witness
our transformation via our services and efforts. If you didn’t visit Cuba last year, perhaps you
can in 2014 because “haven’t you waited long enough”?
-Emily Sanchez, Marketing Director
Cuba Travel Services
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Dancers from Danza Contemporánea de Cuba
perform Demo-n/Crazy at the Teatro Mella,
February 2014. Photo by Alex Mene
editorial
Cover photo by Alex Mene showing X
Alfonso performing at the Havana World
Music Festival, February 8, 2014.
This issue has put front and center the Fábrica de Arte Cubano (F.A.C.) and the Alfonso family, which has been
instrumental in realizing this remarkable project. Opened in February 2014, this is a meeting-place where the
best of the island’s avant-garde arts can be enjoyed under the same roof. Go see for yourself —it is open Thursday
through Sunday from 8pm to 4am.
We have included a profile of Wendy Guerra, one of Cuba’s very best literary talents as well as a review of
Conducta: Ernesto Daranas’ brilliant new movie.If you haven’t seen it yet try and see it in a Cuban movie theatre—
it is playing all across town to rapt audiences.
Thanks to María del Pilar Rubí for sharing her work titled ‘I Invite You to My House’ which is a visually compelling
body of work documenting the daily lives of several ordinary families living in a large building along the Malecón.
From last month we have featured Auntie Flo & Zim Fox who performed as part of the inaugural Havana World
Music Festival as well as Danza Contemporanea’s Demo-n/Crazy.
Lydia Bell takes us inside Havana’s burgeoning Food Revolution from the inside out. From where to eat to how
the new restaurant entrepreneurs source the food, this may just be the definitive food guide to Cuba’s buzzing
capital city.
There are plenty of events to keep you busy this month from the ongoing Festival de Música Antigua Esteban
Salas to the Love & Peace Festival and the Fiesta del Tambor Guillermo Barreto. Don’t miss Art Attack —Stainless
vs. The Merger at Galería Galiano and Just after Cuba at Fototeca de Cuba. And whatever you do, don’t forget to
buy flowers on International Women’s Day (March 8).
March 2014 Highlights
•
Festival de Música Antigua Esteban Salas: March 1-22
•
Love & Peace Havana Festival: March 5-8
•
Buena Fe: March 7-8
•
Premiere of Celeste by the Ballet Nacional de Cuba: March 7-8
•
International Women’s Day: March 8
•
Fiesta del Tambor Guillermo Barreto: March 11-16
•
Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope: March 15
Thanks to all of our contributors, sponsors, partners and readers. Do please keep providing us with your feedback,
comments and suggestions. All enquiries should be directed to Sophia Beckman at [email protected].
All the best. Viva Cuba!
march 2014
FEATURES
Photo by María del Pilar Rubí of girls enrolled in a
Flamenco school in Old Havana
Fábrica de Arte Cubano (F.A.C.) p6
X Alfonso: bass player, singer, producer, doer p9
By Margaret Atkins
Carlos, Ele & the kids - The Alfonso family p10
By Margaret Atkins
Conducta: Ernesto Daranas’ brilliant new movie p12
By Victoria Alcalá
Demo-n/Crazy with Danza Contemporanea de Cuba
p14. BySophia Beckman
Wendy Guerra, the novel p16
By Margaret Atkins
Auntie Flo & Zim Fox in the Havana House p18
By Sophia Beckman
havana culture
Guide
CUBAN CUSTOMS
Travel
Havana Guide
Visual arts p20 - Photography p23 - Dance p25 - Music
p28 - Theatre p39 - For Kids p41
International Women’s Day: March 8 p44
I Invite You to My House p45
By María del Pilar Rubí
Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope: March 15 p47
Festival Internacional de la Trova Pepe Sánchez p48
Havana’s Food Revolution p49
By Lydia Bell
Music – Dining – Dancing – Drinking p55
Not to miss during March 2014
Tue
Wed
3
10
17
24
31
Festival de Música
Antigua Esteban Salas:
March 1-22
Time for a round of golf
@ Diplo Club. Plenty of
rum & cigars of the 19th
hole.
Premio y Coloquio
Internacional de
Musicología March
17-21
Encuentro
Internacional de
Academias de Ballet
March 24 April 7, 2014
A day of rest and
relaxation – smoke a
Big Fat One and take
the day off.
4
11
18
25
1
Art Attack. Stainless vs. Fiesta del Tambor
The Merger @ Galería
Guillermo Barreto:
Galiano, through March March 11-16
15
Take the stress out of
your day with lunch at
Atelier – an ocean of
calm with great food.
XI Festival de Música
de Cámara March
25-29
Madonna performing
with Bill Clinton in
Plaza de la Catedral
@ 6pm
5
12
19
26
Love & Peace Havana
Festival: March 5-8
Gerardo Alfonso @ El
Diablo Tun Tun, 5pm
Dinner at El Litoral, one
of Havana’s best new
restaurants – watch life
pass by on Malecón.
Lunch at Iván Chef
Justo, Havana’s most
imaginative food. Qva
Libre @ Café Cantante
Mi Habana, 5pm
Geo-Gráfica @ Galería
L, through March 28
Thu
Fri
13
20
27
Festival de música de
concierto A Tempo con
Caturla, Santa Clara,
March 6-9
Just after Cuba @
Fototeca de Cuba,
through March 14
V Taller Danza
en Construcción,
March 20 to 31, 2014,
Manzanillo
Dinner & drinks at El
Cocinero, Havana’s
best industrial chic
alfresco rooftop
7
14
21
28
Buena Fe @ the Karl
Marx: March 7-8
Las lágrimas no hacen
ruido al caer featuring
Monse Duany @
Bertolt Brecht, 8.30pm
(Fri-Sun): March 7-23
Antigonón, un
contingente épico
@ Teatro Trianón,
8.30pm (Fri, Sat & Sun)
Dinner at Santy,
Jaimanitas’s off the
beaten track world class
sushi restaurant.
8
15
22
29
International Women’s
Day – Buy flowers!
Terry Fox’s Marathon
of Hope @ Outside
Capitolio in Havana
Sombrisas by Danza
Contemporánea de
Cuba @ Teatro Mella,
March 22-24
Concert as part of the
National Chamber
Music Festival @
Basílica Menor de San
Francisco de Asís, 6pm
Premiere of Celeste by
the Ballet Nacional de
Cuba: March 7-8
Possible Impossible by
Retazos: March 7-8
Sat
Love & Peace Havana
Festival @ Parque
Metropolitano: 6pm2am
Sun
Frank Delgado @
Teatro Mella, 8.30pm
6
Fragmentos de infinito
by David Beltrán @
Fototeca de Cuba,
through March 14
Manolito Simonet y su
Trabuco @ Casa de la
Música de la Habana
Cuerda Viva Festival
@ Teatro Karl Marx,
March 22-23
9
16
23
30
En Buena Compañía
@ Carpa Trompoloco,
4pm & 7pm
Máquina de la
Melancolía @ El
Sauce, 5pm onwards
Tarde en la siesta by
Ballet Nacional de
Cuba, March 22-23
Jazz at Privé Lounge,
10.30pm
Jazz at Privé Lounge,
10.30pm
En Buena Compañía
@ Carpa Trompoloco,
4pm & 7pm
Sueño de una noche
de verano by Grupo
de teatro El Arca @
Sala El Arca, 3pm
You’ve
!
Mon
Tue
Wed
With a Passion for Cuba
Mon
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Fri
Sat
Sun
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Fábrica de Arte Cubano (F.A.C.)
Calle 11 #61, esq. a 26. Vedado (next to the Puente de Hierro)
Open 8pm to 4am Thurs to Sun
Concerts planned
March 5: Honningbarna
March 6: Luna Green (Sweden) & Razika (Norway)
March 7: INVSN
New Cultural Center
‘…Attempts to give Cubans a meeting-place where the best of the island’s avant-garde arts can be
enjoyed, with all the artistic manifestations under the same roof and with prices making it accessible
to the majority of Cubans…[Fabrica del Arte] is a place where everyone is an artist. A musician is just
as valuable as a person making a living fixing coffee makers… We Cubans carry art around inside of us.’
X Alfonso
In 2008, X Alfonso made Sin título, an Italianproduced documentary which was debuted at
the Mella Theater in Havana with musicians,
theater people, dancers and visual artists brought
together by X to interact amongst each other and
with the audience. The theme of the documentary
was to show artists as human beings, beyond their
public images. This vision of working on the same
event and with the same purpose with artists from
different media was the spark that saw the birth
of Fábrica de Arte Cubano (Cuban Art Factory), a
project that was headquartered in the PABEXPO
Exhibition Center from mid-2010 and carried on
its activities there for almost two years.
For the past two years they have been involved
in finding a new physical location for FAC, some
place that would truly belong to it and that did not
have to depend on others to schedule its artistic
calendar. Finally they found the perfect spot in the
former El Cocinero, originally the headquarters
for Havana’s electricity company, then converted
to an olive oil factory on the corner of 11th and
You’ve
26th streets in Vedado, near the Puente de Hierro
(iron bridge).
Doors opened to the public on February 13, 2014
with a big bang. Its first exhibition included works
of 33 Cuban artists, such as Nelson Domínguez,
Zaida del Río, Ernesto Rancaño, Eduardo Roca
(Choco), Esterio Segura and Ernesto Rancaño
just to name a few. The inaugural concert by X
Alfonso was followed the next day, February 14, by
a concert with Silvio Rodriguez. On the 15th, Aldo
López-Gavilán, Harold López-Nussa, X Alfonso,
Rochy Ameneiro, Polito Ibáñez, Raúl Torres, Frank
Delgado, Gerardo Alfonso, Tesis de Menta and
Vicente Feliú paid a moving tribute to trovador
Santiago Feliú, who had been scheduled to give a
concert that day, if his heart hadn’t failed just four
days before the opening.
Entrance is CUC 2 or 50 Cuban Pesos. Note that
when you enter you are given a card on which
your food and drinks are marked on—you pay on
the way out. Don’t lose the card, it will cost you
CUC 30!
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About F.A.C.
by Reinaldo Ortega, producer and creator of F.A.C.’s
visual arts section.
The project is designed for people to show up and
consume art. We are not working for the usual
gallery-hopping crowd that goes to shows with
their hands in their pockets, looking for something
new. We need to find the way to reach people
who have never gone to a gallery or a theater and
who suddenly are being faced with this trap, like
a spectacle, something unusual but attractive.
Those are the people we are working for.
streets and also at the universities. Our space
connects persons who share common concerns.
We normally use music as a hook, then at some
point in the evening there will be a performance
or a dance number followed by DJs, disco or
background music, all “decorated” with visual art
work.
Members of the audiences can even get closer to
each other. We especially have to keep in mind
that Cuban audiences possess a lot of information
and sometimes don’t have places where they can
hang out, places that first and foremost are related
to cultural events.
Setting it up this way means that not only do people
have a good time but we have the Factory fulfilling
an educational function, in some way exerting an
influence on them because of what they are seeing
and hearing, what surrounds them, something
they cannot escape. Everything functions with
lights, space, texture, muted colors, everything
done tastefully.
Those going to the Factory have access to musicians,
painters and dancers... this is living culture being
produced right there and then. However the most
important thing is that we have managed to get
artists from different manifestations to get closer
to each other and to their audiences and for
audiences to get closer to the art work.
Often young people have to pay a lot to find places
where they can be entertained and at the end of
the day, these places might not even be what they
really like. The Factory is being promoted on the
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‘Artists who exhibit work should
demonstrate ongoing creativity and a
commitment for social transformation.’
X Alfonso
As visual artists we have always wanted to
understand contemporary Cuban thinking—what
trends does it espouse, what motivates us, what
are the younger generations thinking? These sorts
of dialogues are usually not being heard. In our day
and age, generally speaking, lives are being lived
with indifference. We feel that such alienation
cannot be ignored.
Our crucial criterion in selecting creators is that
they are dealing with socially-oriented topics. We
are not interested in visual artists who need an
excuse to exhibit their work. Abstraction has no
validity for us; we want to see what you are saying
about the moment in which you are alive; that as
an artist you are not indifferent to the times you
are living in and that you want to do your bit.
Fábrica de Arte is a completely independent
project and therefore needs to be self-sufficient.
We are looking for hard-working motivated people
who share our vision. We don’t care if an artist
has a degree of not. My experience tells me about
what they are capable of. We don’t care what
province they come from, we recruit participants
nationwide and even include foreign artists.
What we care about is their work and their
attitudes, that’s what we assess in an interview. We
hold open recruitments not just for photography
but for sculpture and installations as well. We want
to see innovative proposals and then we try to find
concrete and practical solutions for mounting the
work.
“Remedios para el Insomnio”
by Idania del Río, Exhibiting until March 9
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Photo by Alex Mene
X Alfonso: bass player,
singer, producer, doer
by Margaret Atkins
For X Alfonso, art is as natural as life itself. He was,
after all, born into the family of Carlos Alfonso and
Ele Valdes who created the legendary band Síntesis.
X Alfonso’s own creative talent began at the Manuel
Samuell Conservatory before he studied at the
ENA, the national arts school, where he trained as
a classical pianist. Right from his student days, he
was composing music for exhibitions, graduation
ceremonies and plays.
Graduating from ENA in 1990, his first professional
job was with his parents’ band. He also joined
the extremely popular rock band Havana before
working with his father to compose the score for
the Sergio Giral film Maria Antonia, which won the
Coral Award for the Best Soundtrack at the New
Latin American Film Festival in 2000. His success as
composer for film scores continued in 2001 when
along with Esteban Puebla and his father Carlos,
he composed the soundtrack for Humberto Solas’
Miel para Ochún. He also received the Goya Award
in 2005 for Best Original Music for the Havana
Blues soundtrack.
X is a bass player, arranger, singer and musical
producer. In November of 1999, he recorded
his first solo album entitled Mundo Real with
Brazilian Velas Records, writing and arranging all
the numbers. “I record whatever comes out of
me. Sometimes it is symphonic, other times it is
more fusion; there is rock‘n’roll and sometimes it
is more techno,” he tells us. “One day, in Spain, a
recording of Beny Moré’s greatest hits came with
the newspaper. I started to listen and I learned all
the numbers and then I started “crazying them
You’ve
up.” What happened was what happened. But you
can’t imagine everything that went on before that,”
he tells us as he talks about X Moré, his tribute
album for the singer Beny Moré.* When we asked
him about his formula for success, X answers that,
in his opinion, it is the subject matter of his music
that really attracts people. “Whatever I do has to
excite me, so that it can turn on people”.
In 2011, under the FAC label, X released the
album Reverse, which was offered free of charge
to anyone with a flash memory. From that same
year, X has been involved in finding a new physical
location for FAC, and they found the perfect spot
in the former El Cocinero cooking oil factory on
the corner of 11th and 26th streets in Vedado.
It is there that we find X kindly waiting for us for
this interview, amid cement, sand and paint and
accompanied by a soundtrack of falling metal and
hammers. He doesn’t speak much. I’m surprised to
find him rather shy. He talks passionately about
FAC and how they want to turn it into a project that
involves the entire community, bringing together
not only professional artists but those who have
to become artists every day in order to earn their
living, the self-employed, children and the elderly.
Just as we are finishing, he gets a phone call. He
has to leave early to pick up one of his daughters. X
is also the proud father of two girls, one eight and
the other fourteen.
So our last glimpse of the singer is of a man
running out the door while turning to answer our
last question: How do you manage to do so many
things all at the same time? “By doing it,” he says.
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Photo by Yadira Montero
Carlos, Ele & the kids - The
Alfonso family
by Margaret Atkins
There is a unique charm to the Alfonso household.
Maybe it’s the carefully decorated rooms
showcasing the many arts and crafts objects Eme
Valdés has collected all over the world on her
travels or crafted with her talent. Or maybe it has
something to do with the spirit of this family of
artists where some discussion about the arts is
always going on. Life itself revolves around art in
this household. The young people who used to hang
out here later, have become an entire generation
of brilliant musicians, painters and dancers.
Carlos meets me at the front door and chats as
if we were old friends. Ele (L) arrives and asks
what’s going on. She is casually dressed but when
she finds out that the interview will also be about
her, she immediately leaves to get dressed up.
She brings over one of Carlos’ favorite T-shirts
and dries his forehead with a napkin so that the
camera won’t pick up on the sweat. He lets her fuss
over him with all the naturalness of someone who
is part of a well-practiced ritual. It’s that kind of
marriage dynamic which over the course of many
years has granted each partner their specific role
and function. And it looks like they love it. They
have been together for over forty years. They
have founded one of the most highly respected
groups on this island of musicians. Together they
have created a family with children named after
the alphabet just like their mother—Eme (M),
You’ve
their daughter, and Equis (X), their son—who have
turned out to be artists in their own right.
The kids, as they still call them, have by now left
the family nest and started their own lives and
careers but they still have projects in common. “I
like to think that Eme is still a part of Síntesis even
though she isn’t always playing with us,” confesses
Carlos. Right away he starts to talk about the
recently inaugurated (February 13, 2014) Fábrica
de Arte Cubano, the multicultural brainchild of X,
set up to mingle all the art forms. “In a way, they
are part of all our projects and we are also a part
of theirs. So we are a very united family even if
we don’t all live under the same roof.” He speaks
frankly, with Ele pitching in with a reminder or a
date. She is the one who brings us some of their
personal file material to illustrate the interview.
“She’s been keeping it all organized,” Carlos says
with admiration.
In 1974, Carlos Alfonso founded the Tema IV
Quartet which had Carlos as its band leader and
guitarist along with Ele Valdés and some other
musicians. Two years later in 1976, wanting to
expand their sound, Carlos got together with Mike
Porcel to start up Síntesis, a vocal-instrumental
group based on keyboard, guitar bass guitar and
Cuban percussion. In its long trajectory, the group
has undergone many changes determined by the
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entry of different musicians such as Lucía Huergo,
José María Vitier, Amaury Pérez and Ernán LópezNussa, just to name a few. The changes were also
inspired by Carlos’ experimentation. He has been
the undisputed musical leader whose esthetic
concerns have been one of the basic cornerstones
of Síntesis.
Carlos firmly believes that there is an extremely
close relationship between African music,
Rock and Jazz. That is the fountainhead of the
fascinating rhythmical mixtures of African origin
that per se were also a cultural amalgam of
different ethnic groups and their cultures, with the
more contemporary electronic sounds of Rhythm
‘n Blues, Jazz, Rock, Rap and Techno. When the
music world hadn’t even thought of the word
“fusion,” there it was in the heart of Síntesis. “It’s
work that can’t be done without any planning. It
takes lots of research and study,” Ele says and she
goes on to tell us how when they were attempting
to record their first album on Afro-Cuban chants,
they encountered countless difficulties. One day
they showed it to a practitioner of Regla de Ocha,
the most important and well-known religion of
African origin in Cuba, also known as Santeria. His
reaction was: “You’re crazy!” He suggested they
change the order of the numbers on the album
to more closely follow the ritualistic liturgies
“because some Orishas can’t be together,” And Ele,
who is not a follower of the religion, concluded
with a smile: “Naturally we followed his advice and
as of that moment everything started going great,
just as if the gods were really on our side,”
Besides their numerous recordings, during its
long lifetime, Síntesis has participated in the most
important Jazz and Rock festivals around the
world. They have shared the stage with soloists and
groups such as Iron Maiden, Swing, Oasis, Guns
and Roses, Milton Nascimento, Britney Spears,
Fito Páez, Juan Carlos Baglietto and many more.
Their music has been used in documentary and
feature films and in 1990, they received the Coral
Award for the Best Soundtrack at the New Latin
American Film Festival for the Humberto Solás
film Miel Para Ochún. In 2002, Carlos Alfonso was
nominated for a Latin Grammy in the category of
Best Contemporary Tropical Album for Habana a
flor de piel.
At one point, Silvio Rodríguez who is the most
prolific and well-known proponent of the New
Cuban Trova said about them: “They are consistent
with their work and have enough talent to make
real, in terms of sound, everything they have set out
to do as philosophy and line of thinking: a cultural
synthesis. That’s something very few people can
achieve.” And after these words by Silvio, there is
not much else to add. Except perhaps to emphasize
what a great time I had in the company of this
couple who, besides their incredible professional
success, seem to have found what we are all
looking for: Happiness.
Photo by Alex Mene
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Conducta: Ernesto Daranas’
brilliant new movie
by Victoria Alcalá
It’s been a long time since a Cuban film grabbed
the imagination of movie-going public in Havana
the way that Conducta has over the past month.
Not only do the long lines outside the main movie
theatres attest to the interest generated but it
has also spurred discussion and debate around
the educational system in general. Brilliant
performances and beautiful camera work combine
to make this unembellished look into contemporary
Cuba the most notable film since Fernando Perez’s
Suite Habana in 2003.
The film’s synopsis could make you think that
this is one of many Cuban stories, novels, plays
that examine contemporary issues. But from the
first minutes of the film, it is clear that Conducta
is something different. It is an incisive, sensitive,
deeply humane artistic look into the harsh and
difficult life of individuals who are povertystricken and marginalized in Cuba.
an inexperienced young teacher, transcends the
anecdotal account to give the viewers truths that
some people prefer not to see: the intolerance
and unconditional adherence to formalities and
bureaucratic rule; the futility of educating within
a bell jar and the crime of refusing to alleviate
wrongdoings on the pretext that it is not possible
to eradicate them entirely.
Conducta manages to deliver without lapsing
into sentimentality or didacticisms. The script,
also by Daranas, is coherent; the dialogues are
accurate and consistent, devoid of the verbalism
The story of Chala, the kid who supports his
alcoholic and drug addict mother by breeding
pigeons and training fighting dogs; who is loved
and understood by his old teacher but is sent to a
school for children with behavioral problems when
the teacher falls ill and is temporarily replaced by
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that has hindered other films of this nature. The
characters are solid and compelling, drawn with
precision and without Manichaeism. Alejandro
Pérez’s photography manages to convey warmth
and poetry to a particularly damaged and
impoverished area of the city. And above all, the
wonderful performances—precise, perfect.
Alina Rodríguez embodies a firm yet sensitive
teacher who has been hit hard by the emigration
of her daughter and grandson, by her illness
and by the lack of understanding of others. Yet,
she refuses to give up and leave to their fate the
students who find in her sympathy and refuge.
Moderation and structure tinge the character
who is revealed by the look in her eyes, the tone
of voice, the gestures, the silences, her gait.
The young actress Miriel Cejas as the substitute
teacher who becomes increasingly committed to
her students manages to transmit the changes in
her character with expressive sobriety. Silvia Águila
is convincing in her role as a social worker, who
strictly carries out regulations and ordinances but
who has doubts that make her more human. Yuliet
Cruz confirms that she is every inch an actor in
her role as Chala’s violent, chaotic, drug-addict
mother, who, nevertheless, always shows some
trace of love for her son. Armando Miguel Gómez
takes on the role of the man who Chala may turn
out to be in the future: a hard, sometimes cruel
and violent man, in whom, occasionally, there is a
flash of goodness. Hector Noas magnifies his brief
role as an immigrant from the eastern provinces in
search of a chance of survival, which could make
for the subject of another film.
However, despite the excellent performances of
these experienced actors from film, television
and theater, the children are the ones who steal
the show. They “live” their roles with astonishing
naturalness, especially Armando Valdés, who
failed his first casting and was chosen at the last
minute, and who gave his unforgettable Chala the
harshness and the tenderness, the early maturity
and the boyishness required by his character.
The deft direction of experienced actors and
of children with no previous acting experience
confirm Ernesto Daranas as one of the great
filmmakers of Cuban cinema today.
Ernesto Daranas, is one of Cuba’s best known
film directors, whose film The Broken Gods,
2009 (Los dioses rotos) won widespread critical
acclaim and several awards. Other moves he
has directed include ¿La vida en rosa? (2004),
Los últimos gaiteros de La Habana (2004)
and most recently Conduct (2014). He is an
important Cuban television and radio critic.
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Photos by Ana Lorena
Demo-n/Crazy with Danza
Contemporánea de Cuba
by Sophia Beckman
Demo-n/Crazy was one of four pieces performed
for the 55th Anniversary of Danza Contemporánea
de Cuba at the Teatro Mella during mid February
2014. The other pieces were C.C. Canillitas, La
ecuación and Mambo 321.
While all four pieces were performed with their
customary style it was the first, Demo-n/Crazy,
which took the breath away. In his choreography,
Rafael Bonachela conjures up demons of eroticism
and sexuality with his brilliant duo arrangements—
men and women inventing ways of accommodating
each other, using every part of their bodies for
seduction and display, from wide swaggering
jumps to the thoughtful nuzzling of a foot. Rafael
glories in the burnish of the company’s physicality.
His choreography operates through an implacable
physical logic leaving the audience to wonder as
the dancers push themselves through the work’s
linear thrusts, flaring stretches and wrestling
partnerwork.
Rafael Bonachela
Bonachela has been the artistic director at the
Sydney Dance Company in Australia since 2009 and
is a guest choreographer at Danza Contemporánea
de Cuba.
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Demo-n/Crazy
Choreography: Rafael Bonachela
Choreography Assistant: Margarita Vilela
Music: Razones/Bebe: Four Marys/Julia Wolfe: Ne Me Quitte Pas (version by Nina Simona)/Estrella
Morente: Early That Summer/Julia Wolfe.
Wardrobe design: Carlos Díaz / Rafael Bonachela
Lighting design: Manolo Garriga.
Dancers: Alberto González / Ana Beatriz / Carlos Blanco / Gabriela Burdsall / Javier Aguilera / Julio J.
león / Jennifer Tejeda / Jenny Nocedo / Laura Ríos / Lisbeth Saad / Lisvet Barcia / Luís E. Carricaburu
/ Mario S. Elías / Marta Ortega / Norge Cedeño / Raúl Reinoso / Thais Suárez / Yaday Ponce / Yasser
Domínguez / Yanelis Godoy / Yosmell Calderón.
This piece was commissioned by DanceEast.
Danza Contemporánea de Cuba
Founded in 1959, Cuba’s leading contemporary dance company has had a profound influence on Cuban
dance and dancers. Over the past 53 years Danza Contemporánea de Cuba has evolved into an ‘an
exotic hybrid of contemporary, classical and Caribbean styles...an exquisite physical instrument…They
move with an old-fashioned juiciness, reminiscent of the Martha Graham Company, burning up the
choreography’. Judith Mackrell, the Guardian
www.dccuba.com
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Photo by Yadira Montero
Wendy Guerra, the novel
by Margaret Atkins
We meet Wendy at Le Chansonnier in Vedado, a
favorite haunt of Havana artists. She is wearing a
simple, impeccably white blouse. Her straight dark
hair with youthful bangs go well with her overall
appearance. She is petite, thin. Her smile is joyful
but her eyes are sad. She talks fluidly and naturally,
her words springing forth easily and precisely.
Her books have not been published in Cuba for
several years now. For many, as for myself (I confess
my shameful ignorance), Wendy was no more than
a memory of a child who narrated children’s stories
on TV’s Revista de la Mañana, the first morning
news program on Cuban television. There were
some rumors that she had been successful as
a writer and, for those of us living on the island,
we are fortunate that in 2013 the Letras Cubanas
Press has published Posar desnuda en La Habana,
a novel that reconstructs the Cuban sojourn of the
French-born writer Anaïs Nin, taking the format
of an apocryphal diary. The book is going to be
presented at the 2014 Havana Book Fair. Wendy
gives us a copy, and I devour it on the way home.
I read as I walk, I read on the bus, I read it in the
kitchen and, when I have finished, I want more.
At home we have a copy of her first volume of
poetry, Platea a oscuras, published in 1987 when
she was just 16 years old, at a time when she already
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writing. After the gregarious lifestyle of many of
us Cubans (rural schools, production jobs, school
residences that have great numbers of students
living together), Wendy believes that a little peace
and quiet is needed, some individuality if you will.
revealed precocious nostalgia in her style. Once
again, the sad eyes. She has written about death,
incest, sex, love, poverty, opulence, orphans,
despair, art, racism, feminism and femininity.
Wendy admits that she is a darling of the market.
Her books have been translated into thirteen
languages and they are always sold out. She is
deeply in love with poetry and she tells us that
whenever someone calls themselves a good poet,
as she does, almost always they are good people.
But above anything else, she confesses that
she loves being with herself. Reading, thinking,
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It was Gabriel García Márquez who gave Wendy’s
literary career its first boost: “He told me to forget
about the movies and write pure, hard literature,”
she tells us. Time would prove the Nobel laureate
right. In 2006 her first novel Todos se van was
published and received the Bruguera Press Award
for that year. Translated into French, Italian,
German, Bulgarian, Swedish and English and
printed in the US, it was chosen by Latino Author
Review of the United States as one of the nine best
books of the year. In 2008 she published Nunca fui
Primera Dama (Bruguera Press, Barcelona) and in
2011, Posar desnuda en La Habana. Diario apócrifo
de Anaïs Nin (Alfaguara Press, Mexico). She tells us
she is now working on Negra, a new novel dealing
with racism, something that has never been totally
eradicated from Cuban society, which still carries
baggage from the scourge of slavery in the sugar
cane plantations.
I’m anxious to get a copy of this new book and, as
we say good-bye, I have the urge to wonder one
more time what secrets lie behind that somewhat
childlike appearance. Perhaps her new novel will
reveal the mystery.
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Havana World Music Festival, Feb 2014
Photo by Alex Mene
Auntie Flo & Zim Fox in the
Havana House
by Sophia Beckman
Taking musicians to Cuba might seem like
something of a thankless task, perhaps akin to
the Cubans sending cricket coaches to Middlesex
or recipes on real brown ale to North Yorkshire.
As Toby Brocklehurst puts it: ‘there are 165,000
registered musicians in Cuba and everyone else
plays the guitar!’
Objectively speaking they rocked the party both
on the Friday night at the Havana World Music
Festival (which was, unbelievably, the first time
they had performed together) and the next night
at a separate concert alongside Cuban DJ Ivan
Lejardi at Villalón Park, followed up by spinning
tunes at several after parties across the city.
In fact, though, the Cuban music scene (both the
musicians and the listening public) craves the
exposure, interaction and vibrancy of musicians
from outside the island. Over the last few years,
a plethora of musicians have played at various
events, from one-off concerts including Juanes,
Fito Páez and Zucchero as well as established
annual festivals from rock to jazz, classical music
to Spanish and everything in-between.
An outdoor rave party with 4,000 young people
dancing to pounding electronic music is not the
typical venue you might expect to run into the
British Ambassador but, hey, this is Cuba. Maybe
he was simply handing out invites to a cocktail
party at the British Residence, for a few days later
I ran into Shingai at a reception there. She is as
charming in person as she is charismatic on stage.
February 7-8, 2014 saw the Havana World Music
Festival bring a new dimension to the scene with
a massive outdoor concert alongside the Malecon
at the Círculo Social José Antonio Echeverría,
featuring a Who’s Who of Cuba’s best musical
talent along with some great international artists.
Waving the British flag were DJs Brian d’Souza aka
Auntie Flo (no relation to your other Aunt Mavis)
and Esa Williams, performing with Shingai Shoniwa
(aka Zim Fox). For those in the know, Brian & Esa
have established themselves as some of the most
innovative British DJs of recent years while Shingai
(lead singer with the Noisettes) has a great stage
presence and beautiful voice.
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The trio spent the week working with Cuban
musicians in various workshops and studio sessions
looking to find that synergy of Cuban talent with
British nous for electronic music. We look forward
to hearing the results in new collaborations. Either
way, the Brits have definitely still got talent. And
as for Cuba, Shingai put it best in a South London
accent, ‘Absolutely Luv it’.
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Shingai Shoniwa at Villalón
Park, Feb 2014
Photo by Alex Mene
The British Council
By Julian Baker (British Council Director Cuba and the Caribbean)
Auntie Flo and Shingai were brought out to Cuba through the British
Council and British Embassy in Havana. Already active in film and
performing arts through partnerships with the Havana International
Film festival and Danza Contemporanea, respectively, music is seen as
another area to a connection between the young creative talent in the
United Kingdom and the young creative talent in Cuba. See http://
www.britishcouncil.org/ for more information.
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Visual Arts
Intaglios by Mario Sánchez
Edificio de Arte Cubano. Museo Nacional de
Bellas Artes, Through March 23, 2014
For the first time in Cuba, 30 intaglios (cut, carved
and painted wood) by painter Mario Sánchez will
be exhibited here. Mario Sánchez was lapelled by
Folk Art Magazine the most important folk artist
in the US during the 29th century. Born in Key
West in 1908, of a Cuban father, Sánchez reflected
in his scenes the everyday life and the human
and spiritual diversity of that city, as well as and
a profound humanistic view. Composed by pieces
from private collections and from the Old Island
Restoration Foundation, this exhibition is the first
exchange between Cuban and American museums
in over 50 years.
Veinte años: luces y sombras
Centro Hispano-Americano de Cultura,
Through March 11
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the
Conjunto de Música Antigua Ars Longa (Ars Longa
Early Music Ensemble), 20 renowned cuban
artists have gotten together to pay tribute to
these musicians through their art: Diana Balboa,
Orlando Barroso, Amelia Carballo, Roberto Chile,
Nelson Domínguez, Roberto Fabelo, Flora Fong,
Isavel Gimeno, Sandor González, Carlos Guzmán,
Alicia Leal, Manuel López Oliva, Juan Moreira,
Ileana Mulet, Pedro Pablo Oliva, Cosme Proenza,
Zaida del Río, Ernesto Rancaño, Ángel Ramírez,
José Rodríguez Fuster, Eduardo Roca (Choco),
Raúl Santos Serpa, José Omar Torres, Julia Valdés,
Lesbia Vent Dumois and José Villa Soberón.
Dios los cría
Factoría Habana Throughout February
Curated by Cuban artist René Peña and by Concha
Fontenla, the exhibition includes visual, artistic,
social and documentary materials spanning from
the 1950s to the 1970s, as well as a selection of
works by contemporary artists. The exhibition
aims to question the view of curators as the
being that has to make critical judgments and
differentiate what is good and bad. The artists
of this group show are Adrián Fernández, Aimée
García, Alfredo Ramos, Amilkar Feria, Arién Chang
Castan, Cirenaica Moreira, Duniesky Martín,
Eduardo Hernández, Eduardo Muñoz, Glenda
León, Jenny Brito, José Ángel Toirac, Marta María
Pérez Bravo, Pepe Menéndez, Raúl Cañibano,
Reinier Nande, Reynier Leyva Novo and Rodney
Batista. Artists René Peña, Elisabetta Alé and Hilda
María Rodríguez will lecture on the topic “Before
and after. Autobiographical
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Visual Arts
Art Attack. Stainless vs the
Merger
Galería Galiano, Through March 15
Art Attack. Stainless vs the Merger exhibits the
most recent production of the groups Stainless
(Alejandro Piñeiro Bello, José G. Capaz Suárez
and Roberto Fabelo Hung) and The Merger (Mario
Miguel González, Niels Moleiro Luis and Alain Pino)
with very diverse sculptures and installations.
Posada, perfil de una época
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes
Throughout March
An exhibition in tribute to José Luis Posada (19292002), contains 70 pieces in various techniques by
this excellent Spanish draftsman and caricaturist
who carried out prolific work, especially for the
press in Cuba.
El alma desnuda
Biblioteca Pública Rubén Martínez Villena,
Through March 23
The drawings and paintings exhibited in El alma
desnuda by Ernesto García Peña, confirm the
artist’s mastery of brushstrokes, the use of light
and transparency in a delicate and suggestive
eroticism.
Geo-Gráfica
Galeria L of the Faculty of Economy of the
University of Havana, at Calle L, entre 21 y
23, El Vedado.Through March 28
Geo-Gráfica, diseñadores cubanos del mundo is an
unprecedented initiative of young Cuban designers
who live outside Cuba. The exhibition shows the
work carried out by them along with works for the
international market made by designers living in
Cuba. The show includes editorial design, logos,
advertisements, videos, interior design, illustration
and packaging.
For more information see https://www.facebook.
com/events/1434404043447251/
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Visual Arts
Casa Oswaldo Guayasamín
March 21-28
Galería Espacio Abierto
Exhibition by artists from the city
of Riobamba in Ecuador, with
paintings on canvas, paper and
bamboo. The artists will lecture on
the techniques and material they
use for their works, as well as on
symbolic characters of the region.
In Tres partes para un diálogo,
young artists Aluan Argüelles,
Hander Lara, Ernesto Domecq,
Manuel Hernández Cardona and
Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara use
paintings, drawings, photography,
video art, graffiti and installations
to explore the relation between
their roles as artists, the context
and the viewers.
Through
March 28
Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales
Through
March 7
Through
March 7
Through
March 7
Cómo es lo que es… combines the
work and perspectives of artists
Osvaldo González Aguiar and
Francisco Alejandro Vives (Jim),
and establishes differentiated
approaches to the pictorial
processes.
Como te cuento mi cuento II,
exhibition by Guillermo Rodríguez
Malberti, who says he is “obsessed
by the historical theme, or, rather,
the ways in which history finds
sensorial archetypes that manage
to condense the meaning of
significant historical events from
which personal experiences are
organized.”
In Sala discontinua, artists Celia
& Yunior and Ricardo Miguel
Hernández invite viewers to
understand the present through
past events by way of documents
from the late 19th and early 20th
centurites, such as dedicated
postcards, passports, seals,
property deeds and letters of
transferal of slaves.
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Galería Villa Manuela
Throughout No perder la tabla by the painter
March
Gilberto Frómeta is an exhibition
of abstract art with incursions into
matter painting.
Palacio de Lombillo
Opening of Diálogo, an exhibition
bu the artist José Ángel Báez, who
carries out a “conversation” with
one of the greats: Petrus Paulus
Rubens.
Opens
March 7
Salón Del Monte. Hotel Ambos Mundos
March-April
El Viejo y el mar, group show
in which 13 artists, mostly
illustrators, pay tribute to
Ernest Hemingway on the 89th
anniversary of the opening of the
Ambos Mundos Hotel where the
writer lived for some time.
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photography
Fragmentos de infinito
Fototeca de Cuba
Through March 14
In the words of artist Glenda León, “David Beltrán’s
new photographs…are fragments of reality, which
he—changing the scale, the angle or the direction—
has emptied of content, of history…Therefore,
these images have lost all connection with their
original realities remaining only the essential
part that always has an invisible element which is
beyond these fragments: it lies within each viewer’s
capability to expand something.”
Just after Cuba
Fototeca de Cuba, Through
Bradley Narduzzi Rex and Adrian Mealand Workman
visited Cuba in 2010 to lay the groundwork for
an unusual conceptual creation. This is the Cuba
where history is overruled by contradiction, where
mythology warns of unnoticed invasion, where
life succumbs to encryption and where the future
lays hidden in the shadows of the past.
Each of the 30 works provides the viewer with
an altered perspective on contemporary life
in Cuba. A fusion of external concepts with
traditional scenarios, forces a welcome escape
from persistent stereotypes, generating an
updated vocabulary, one that facilitates fresh
interpretation of the Cuban experience.
La luz en 2 miradas
Quinta de los Molinos
Photographs by Laura M. Bártulos Broche and José
A. Rey Rodríguez.
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Photo by Alex Mene
March 20-30, 2014
Universidad de las Artes (ISA), La Habana
www.isa.cult.cu
V Festival de las Artes
by Victoria Alcalá
Organized by Cuba’s University of the Arts (ISA),
this art festival includes theater, exhibition,
audiovisual screenings, competitions, lectures,
master classes, demonstrations and workshops
aimed at promoting the work of young artists;
creating opportunities for a dialogue between
writers and artists of different manifestations,
training and origins; and showing the teaching
process of students and graduates from the
University of the Arts, conservatories and
academies of the artistic educational system both
in Cuba and in universities and art schools abroad.
Participants include Cuban and international
artists under 35 years of age with individual or
group projects which have been accepted by the
Organizing Committee.
The Festival is divided into two main events:
Musicalia (music in any format or genre and
interdisciplinary
projects),
Elsinor
(stage
production, dramatized readings, performances,
public interventions and video-installations),
Marcapasos (contemporary dance, ballet, folklore
and interdisciplinary projects), Imago (fiction
films, documentaries, animated films, music
videos, spots/trailers, one-minute shorts, radio
shows, scripts), Expo-ISA (visual art projects of
all kinds of expressive means and techniques and
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interdisciplinary projects) and Jornada del Joven
Restaurador (papers or posters on conservationrestoration of tangible cultural heritage,
challenges faced by museology, Cuban intangible
heritage and Cuban cultural heritage management;
also a painting competition and a photography
competition on Cuban national heritage).
The Elsinore Theatre Festival has been held in
Cuba every year for over 30 years. The staging
of plays in theaters and open spaces, set design,
dramatic texts, criticism and research related to
the world of theater are part of the activities that
take place during the festival. This is a showcase
for young Cuban playwrights (there is an age limit
of 35), and an opportunity for them to reach a
wider public, to experiment with new works and
to collaborate with old alumni from the University
of the Arts (ISA).
Venue: Universidad de Las Artes
(ISA), Calle 120 No. 1110, entre 9
y 13, Cubanacán, La Habana
Phone: +53 7 219771
For more information:
[email protected]
www.isa.cult.cu
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ballet
Annabelle López Ochoa,
choreographer of Celeste
Celeste & Triad – World
Premiers
Sala Avellaneda. Teatro Nacional
March 7-8, 8 pm; March 9, 5 pm
The premiere of Celeste, choreographed by
Belgian-Colombian Annabelle López Ochoa with
music by Chaikovski, by the Ballet Nacional de
Cuba, will bring to the stage one of the greats of
the company and world ballet: Viengsay Valdés,
who will be accompanied by Yanela Piñera, Grettel
Morejón, Jessie Domínguez, Mónica Gómez,
Alfredo Ibáñez, Víctor Estévez, Arián Molina, Miguel
Anaya, Gian Carlos Pérez and Lyvan Verdecia.
Meanwhile, the other premiere, Triade, by Cuban
choreographer Eduardo Blanco with music
by Rossini, will have Chanell Cabrera, Cynthia
González and Gabriela Mesa in the main roles. The
programa also includes Prólogo para una tragedia
based on Shakespeare’s Othello, choreographed by
Brian McDonald with music by Bach, with Amaya
Rodríguez, Anette Delgado, Yanela Piñera, José
Losada, Camilo Ramos, Víctor Estévez and Arián
Molina in the principal roles; and Suite generis,
choreographed by Alberto Méndez with music
by Händel and Haydn) with Anette Delgado, Dani
Hernández, Alfredo Ibáñez and Grettel Morejón,
Camilo Ramos, Miguel Anaya alternating in the
main roles.
Tarde en la siesta
Sala Avellaneda. Teatro Nacional
The Ballet Nacional de Cuba announces a concert
program made up by ballets with music by Cuban
composers: Tarde en la siesta (choreographed by
Alberto Méndez, music by Ernesto Lecuona), A
la luz de tus canciones (choreographed by Alicia
Alonso, music by Ernesto Lecuona, Orlando de la
Rosa and Adolfo Guzmán), Flora (choreographed
by Gustavo Herrera, music by Sergio Vitier) and
Impromptu Lecuona (choreographed by Alicia
Alonso, music by Ernesto Lecuona
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modern dance
Sombrisas
Danza Contemporánea de Cuba
Teatro Mella, March 22-23, 8:30pm;
March 24, 5pm
Danza Contemporánea de Cuba presents
Sombrisas by choreographer Itzik Galili, and
Identidad a la (-1) by George Céspedes.
‘Another slice of artily lit square-bashing from Itzik
Galili. The ensemble is dressed with exemplary
Cuban thrift in black shorts, dress shirts, bow ties
and black leather boxing-gloves, which made it
all very suggestive of a staff punch-up after an
unusually fraught municipal banquet.’
Extract from a review of Sombrisas, June 2012
Posible imposible
Danza Teatro Retazos
Sala Teatro Las Carolinas
March 7 & 8, 7pm
Possible Impossible takes off from a landscape
where the known laws of time, space and power
have ceased to be valid. Imagine an associative
world of magic, dreams and absurd impressions,
where one dream relieves the next, and you fall,
fly and balance between reality and fantasy. In
this surprising world of dreams the door opens to
other universes, where the mind is free and the
impossible becomes possible.
Concert Program
Centro Prodanza
Teatro Miramar
March 7 & 8, 8:30pm; March 9, 5pm
Tiempo a destiempo (choreographed by the
Spanish Víctor Rodrigo); Mambo, Juntos, Dos, BB
and A Retazos (by the company’s choreographer
and maître Héctor Figueredo Abrantes); Sensemayá
y Bandoneón (choreographed by Iván M. Alonso);
and Majísimo (choreographed by Jorge García and
music by Jules Massenet).
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Dance Workshops
V Taller Danza en
Construcción
Centro de Promoción de las Artes
Escénicas, Manzanillo
Under the theme of “Dance: breaking old borders”,
this event has been created as an analytical
workshop on the bases of cross-disciplinary
approaches that are exploring and emancipating
current dance trends. All artists and art students
(dancers, choreographers, performers, video
artists, observers, managers…) having an interest
in research and choreographic annotation are
welcome to participate in the aim of updating the
role of theory in the practice of dance.
Encuentro Internacional
de Academias de Ballet
Gran Teatro de La Habana y Escuela
Nacional de Ballet (La Habana)
Organized for the first time in 1993, this
International Meeting of Ballet Academies has
made it possible for dancers, teachers and
students to become familiar with the technical and
stylistic peculiarities of the Cuban School of Ballet
through workshops, courses, and methodological
and master lessons. Similarly, dancers and
pedagogues from other countries have conveyed
their experiences in a fruitful exchange with their
Cuban colleagues.
Workshop “Como tres en
un zapato”
Matanzas, 3-10
As an experience prior to the National Choreography
and Interpretation Competition DANZANDOS, to
be held in October 2014, the Danza Espiral Company
has organized this workshop as an opportunity for
exchanging experiences aimed at researching on
choreography and offering young choreographers
tools for making intelligent and revolutionary
works. The workshop will be conducted by the
young dancers and choreographers Sandra Ramy
and Lubien Mederos, and will also include lectures
by experts on the subject.
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jazz
Calle 88A No. 306 e/ 3ra y 3ra
A, Miramar. +53 (07) 209-2719
Privé Lounge
Sundays from 10:30pm
Privé Lounge combines comfort, quality music, and a chill atmosphere brilliantly. It’s snug – the stage
accommodates a trio comfortably, a quartet if the musicians squeeze in a lo cubano – but design elements
like drop down noise- and echo-dampening panels mean it has terrific audio, plus the musicians who
play here (Harold López-Nussa; Oliver Valdés; Aldo López-Gavilán) are among the country’s best.
Café Jazz Miramar (Cine Miramar)
Calle 5ta esquina a 94, Mirama,r Playa.
Opens 2pm - Shows: 10:30pm - 2am - Cover: 50.00 MN or CUC 2.00
This new jazz club has quickly established itself as one of the very best places to hear some of Cuba’s
best musicians jamming. Forget about smoke filled lounges, this is clean, bright – take the fags outside.
While it is difficult to get the exact schedule and in any case expect a high level of improvisation when
it is good it is very good. A full house is something of a mixed house since on occasion you will feel like
holding up your own silence please sign! Nonetheless it gets the thumbs up from us.
Asociación Cubana de Derechos de Autor Musical
mar 20
6 pm
mar 1
Proyecto de Jazz Cubano with Alexis
Bosch (piano).
10 pm
UNEAC
mar 13
2 pm
Jazz Café
César López (sax player and
composer) and Habana Ensemble
Somavilla (15 y H, El Vedado)
Peña La Esquina del Jazz hosted by
showman Bobby Carcassés.
You’ve
mar 13
2 pm
Zule Guerra (sinfer and composer)
and Blues d’Havana. (admission
free)
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bolero & son
Asociación Cubana de Derechos de Autor Musical
Get-together with trovador
Manuel Argudín, who sings both
traditional songs to the most
recent trova.
mar 29
6 pm
Get-together with trovador Ireno
García.
mar 30
5 pm
Casa de la Cultura de Plaza
Asociación Yoruba de Cuba
Peña with Marta Campos,
renowned singer of contemporary
songs with a trova feel to them.
mar 8
7 pm
Folkloric group Obiní Batá.
Fridays
Casa de la Cultura Comunitaria Mirta Aguirre
8 pm
Casa Memorial Salvador Allende
Saturdays
Folkloric group Los Ibellis.
Peña La Juntamenta, with
trovadors Ángel Quintero, Benito
de la Fuente and Tato Ayress
mar 28
4 pm
5 pm
Centro Cultural Fresa y Chocolate
Cabaret Las Vegas
Saturdays
4 pm
Performance by the folkloric group
Yoruba Andabo.
Café Cantante, Teatro Nacional
Thursdays
Elaín Morales.
5 pm
Saturdays
9 pm
Centro Iberoamericano de la Décima
Performance by the duet Ad
Libitum.
mar 1
3 pm
Saturdays
6 pm
Waldo Mendoza, one of Cuba’s
most popular singers today.
Café Concert El Sauce
Performances by the popular
singer-songwriter Frank Delgado
with his ironic view of society.
Fridays
10 pm
mar 30
El Jardín de la Gorda with the
performances of trovadores from
every generation.
5 pm
Hotel Telégrafo
Fridays
9:30 pm
Café Teatro Bertolt Brecht
A bolero puro, show with the
performances of singer Rafael
Espín and guests
mar 29
5 pm
Mundito González is one of the
most popular Cuban bolero singers.
10 pm
Rock/folkloric band Síntesis
mar 1
3 pm
Pabellón Cuba
Folkloric group Obiní Batá
5 pm
3 pm
Fridays
Casa del Alba
5 pm
mar 7
7 pm
mar 27
6 pm
Peña Tres Tazas with trovador
Silvio Alejandro
Fridays
mar 8,
An informal meeting with the
versatile contralto Ivette Cepeda,
who has been much celebrated
thanks to the subtleties she brings
to her voice and her wide repertory
of Cuban and international music.
Hurón Azul, UNEAC
mar 8
Casa de África
Performance by Yeni Sotolongo,
a young singer who boasts an
exceptional voice and varied
repertoire.
Peña Tres Tazas with trovador
Silvio Alejandro
With his beautiful and powerful
voice, Eduardo Sosa and guests
perform highlights of the best
Cuban trova of all time.
Piano bar Tun Tun
Peña El Canto de Todos, with
singer-songwriter Vicente Feliú,
one of the founding members of
Cuban Nueva Trova.
Sala Avenida
You’ve
Thursdays
Peña with trovador Ray Fernández.
5 pm
mar 16
3 pm
The musical project Radio
Enciclopedia and its Musicians
will present the clarinetist, sax
player and composer Javier Zalba.
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modern fusion
Buena Fé
Teatro Karl Marx
March 7-9, 8:30pm
In their performances, this popular duo combines
the lyricism of Cuban trova with the explosive and
communicative force of rock-pop.
The trova influences are present in all their lyrics,
which contain thoughts about the contemporary
life, with contemporary sonority, allowing
arrangements that makes each song fit in many
Cuban genres, with influences from pop and rock.
They make fusion music based in the trova style;
and, while having pop tendencies, they use other
styles and influences as well, which allows them to
present more elaborate ideas.
Gerardo Alfonso
El Diablo Tun Tun
March 5, 12, 19, 26, 5pm
Singer-songwriter Gerardo Alfonso, whose songs
range from social comment to ballads and songs
in praise of national heroes, combines traditional
Cuban genres such as trova and son with rock
and rap. Undoubtedly, one of the most interesting
Cuban composers today.
Cuerda Viva Festival
Teatro Karl Marx
March 22-23, 9pm
The best of young Cuban rock, rap and jazz soloists
and bands in the annual Cuerda Viva Festival.
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modern fusion
The contemporary fusion and electronic music scene has expanded recently as new bars and clubs have
opened party promoters have organized events in parks and public spaces. For more information about
the best bars and clubs see our Havana Guide section.
Wednesday nights has recently seen Interactivo playing at Bertolt Brecht – brilliant group and great
venue (starts late!). The Sunday afternoon Máquina de la Melancolía - Frank Delgado and Luis Alberto
García (5-9pm) at El Sauce has a large following. Look out this month for Habana Abierta performing in
various locales. Don’t miss them!
In Havana’s burgeoning entertainment district along First Avenue from the Karl Marx theatre to the
aquarium you are spoilt for choice with the always popular Don Cangreco featuring good live music
(Kelvis Ochoas and David Torrens alternate Fridays), Las Piedras (insanely busy from 3am) and El Palio
and Melem bar – both featuring different singers and acts in smaller more intimate venues.
Casa de la Música de Miramar
Café Cantante Mi Habana. Teatro Nacional
Wednesdays Performances by Qva Libre
Sundays
5 pm
11 pm
Tuesdays
Performances by Kelvis Ochoa
Centro Cultural Fresa y Chocolate
5 pm
Mondays
Café Concert El Sauce
Sundays
5 pm
10: 30pm
Trovador Frank Delgado and the
well-known actor Luis Alberto
García, who on this occasion is a
DJ, offer a selection of pop, rock,
Cuban alternative music, singersongwriters and audiovisuals.
Wichy D´Vedado, one of the most
famous DJs in Havana, who plays
the best of world music.
Performance by Polaroid
mar 2
6 pm
Interactivo and Habana Abierta
mar 1
Performances by Giraldo Piloto
and his band Klimax
9 pm
Jardines del 1830
Presentation of a new album by
Kelvis Ochoa
mar 8
9 pm
mar 22
Performances by one of the most
popular bands in Cuba, playing an
extensive repertoire of Cuban and
Latin American music.
Sundays
David Blanco
10 pm
Presentation of a new album by
Vanito Caballero
mar 8
9 pm
mar 29
9 pm
10 pm
Teatro Lázaro Peña
mar 15
8:30 pm
Performance by Alexander Abreu y
Havana d’ Primera
Teatro Karl Marx
Performance by Mezcla and guests
Yoruba Andabo, Raíces Profundas,
Obsesión, among others. This very
successful band, led by the USborn guitarist and composer Pablo
Menéndez has combined Cuban
musical genres and added sounds
from the Caribbean with genuine
jazz, rock, blues and folk music.
Concert by Waldo Mendoza, one of
Cuba’s most popular singers today.
mar 29
9 pm
La Gruta
Thursdays
Kola Loka
10 pm
Tercera y 8
Teatro Mella
mar 21
9 pm
Mondays
Concert with Karamba, one of the
most popular bands today
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Performances by Baby Lores.
11 pm
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salsa / timba
Alexander Abreu at
Casa de la Música de Galiano.
Photo by Alexander Mene
Casa de la Música Habana
Casa de la Música de Miramar
Wednesdays
11 pm
José Luis Cortés y NG La
Banda
March 3, 17,
24, 31
11 pm
Sur Caribe
Thursday
5 pm
Pupy y los que Son Son
Mar 10
Isaac Delgado
11 pm
Charanga Latina.
Tuesdays
11 pm
11 pm
Fridays
5 pm
Azúcar Negra
Wednesdays
5 pm
Juan Guillermo
Lázaro Valdés y Bamboleo
11 pm
Adalberto Álvarez y su Son
Saturdays
11 pm
11 pm
Thursdays
5 pm
Trabuco
Fridays
5 pm
El Niño y La Verdad
11 pm
Banda
5 pm
Tumbao Habana
11 pm
11 pm
Trabuco
Diablo Tun Tun
Mondays
Wednesdays
Thursdays
Saturdays
11 pm
11 pm
11 pm
5 pm
11 pm
El Noro y Primera Clase
To Mezclao
Banda
Manana Club
Tania Pantoja
11 pm
Thursdays
Sundays
Café Cantante Mi Habana
El Jelengue de Areíto
Tuesdays
Fridays
Septeto Habanero (traditional
music)
Monday
11 pm
Manana Club
Friday
5 pm
11 pm
La Señorita Gladys
Guaracheros (traditional music)
11 pm
Rumberos de Cuba (rumba)
Fridays
5 pm
11 pm
You’ve
Timbalaye (rumba)
Caribe Girls
Piano Bar Delirio Habanero
Saturdays
11 pm
Sundays
Pedrito Calvo y La Justicia
10 pm
Septeto Nacional Ignacio Piñeiro
Discotemba La Década
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XIII Festival Internacional Fiesta
del Tambor Guillermo Barreto
in memoriam
March 11-16, 2014, Havana
Mella & Karl Marx theaters, Salón Rosado de la
Tropical, Palacio de la Rumba and Habana Libre
Hotel
This festivity of percussion pays tribute to one of the cult figures
of Cuban percussion: Guillermo Barreto, star of the Tropicana
orchestra in the 1950s and founding member of the Orquesta
Cubana de Música Moderna. While young talents measure their
skills during the competition, experts disclose the secrets of
the complex Cuban percussion at theoretical meetings, lectures
and master classes, and the evenings are set aside for the
performances of popular national and international bands and
soloists.
Percussionists from Cuba, Mexico, Australia, Argentina and the United States will be participating
alongside guest Jojo Mayer, highly acclaimed Swiss drummer who now lives in New York City.
The percussion competition will be open to musicians of all ages and nationalities in five different
modalities and instruments: drums, paila, congas, bongos and batá. Each musician may compete in two
different instruments. Another competition that will be held for the first time in this event will be casino
style salsa dancing for couple, both Cuban and from other countries.
Over 1,000 Cuban musicians will be playing during the Festival’s concerts, including Van Van, Manolito
Simonet y su Trabuco, Buena Vista Social Club, Adalberto Álvarez y su Son, Alexander Abreu y Habana
D’Primera, Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor, Yoruba Andabo, Klimax, Anacaona, the Lizt Alfonso, Habana
Compás Dance and Havana Queens dance companies, just to name a few.
The festival will pay special tributes to the greatest Cuban composer of all time, Leo Brouwer, on his
75th birthday; to Juan Formell, leader of the Van Van; and to the outstanding Cuban percussionist José
Luis “Changuito” Quintana.
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Festival de Música Antigua
Esteban Salas
Through March 22, 2014
Organized by the Historian’s Office of Havana
and the Ars Longa early Music Ensemble, the 10th
edition of this festival of early music continues
throughout the month. Throughout the years, the
festival has been the ideal vehicle to disseminate the
rich Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque musical
heritage, performed by Cuban and international
musicians. This year, the festival will travel to the
each of the first seven towns established in Cuba.
Program March 2014
Basílica Menor de San Francisco de Asís
Compositions for viola by Mozart,
performed by viola player Anolan
González and guests.
march 1
6 pm
march 15
6 pm
Two Exponents from the German
Baroque, performance by the
Solistas de La Habana orchestra
conducted by María Elena
Mendiola.
march 16
7 pm
march 21
6 pm
Gulumbá Gulumbé: The sounds of
Africa in the new World. Ars Longa
Early Music Ensemble conducted
by Teresa Paz and Aland López
Un fandango barroco: Tembembe
Ensamble Continuo from México,
conducted by Eloy Cruz.
Iglesia de Paula
mach 2
7 pm
mach 4
7 pm
mach 8
7 pm
17th- and 18th-Century European
Courts by harpsichord player
Kathleen McIntosh from the US
and the Orquesta Barroca of
Cuba’s National School of Music.
march 8
Galicia and its song, concert by
the choir of the Ilustre Colegio de
Abogados de Vigo (Soain) and the
Ars Longa Early Music Ensemble
conducted by Nanette Sánchez.
march 9
Stylistic Musical Panorama
of Early 18th-Century Europe:
France, Italy and Germany by
the Italian baroque oboist Alfredo
Bernardini and Ars Longa.
7 pm
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7 pm
7 pm
march 12
Lumiere Baroque-Musique sacrée
à la cour du Roi Soleil by Ensemble
Vocal Claire Garrone (France) and
Ars Longa conducted by Claire
Garrone.
Polychoral Art in Colonial
America by Ensemble Vocal Claire
Garrone and Ars Longa conducted
by Teresa Paz.
Historical and musical tour of
Spain and its viceroyalties with
the Exsulten Early Music Ensemble
(Bayamo, Cuba) conducted by
Yunexy Arjona.
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Iglesia de Paula
mach 13
7 pm
mach 14
7 pm
mach 17
Two Masters from the 19th
Century, two Different Views
for Compositions for the Same
Cathedral with the Ars Nova Early
Music Ensemble (Santa Clara,
Cuba) conducted by Angélica
María Solernou.
march 18
16th Century, splendor of
Renaissance Polyphony by the
chamber choir Exaudi (Cuba)
conducted by María Felicia Pérez.
7 pm
Versatility and Virtuosity in
the Classic Formats for Wind
Instruments by Ventus Habana
(Cuba) conducted by Alina Blanco.
7 pm
Baroque in Romantics-Musical
Influence of Baroque Rhetoric in
German Romantic Esthetics by
the Ensemble Vocal Luna Ensemble
and organist Moisés Santiesteban
conducted by Wilmia Verrier.
7 pm
march 19
The Charming Recorder in
Baroque Music with François
Dolmetsch (UK) and David Gómez
García (Colombia), and recorder
players and soloists from the Ars
Longa Early Music Ensemble.
march 20
7 pm
Colorful Latin America from the
16th to the 21st Centuries with
organist Cristina García Banegas
(Uruguay).
Aula Magna del Colegio Universitario San Gerónimo
The Night Is Inviting: Concert with Ars Longa, Ars Nova, Exsulten, Ensemble Vocal Luna,
Orquesta Barroca of the national School of Music, the children’s choir Cantus Firmus,
Tembembe Continuo, Cristina García Banegas and Omar Morales Abril (Guatemala)
conducted by Teresa Paz and Aland López
mach 13
7 pm
Lectures and Workshops
Edificio Santo Domingo
mach 3-9
9 am
mach 14
Colegio Universitario San Gerónimo
Master classes by Bernardin (Italy)
for students of baroque oboe.
march 22
9 am
Symposium Early and Traditional
Music: convergence.
Masks, workshop on making mask
with reused materials, conducted
by Maray Pereda Peña, professor of
the Design Institute.
7 pm
Polyphony Choral Singing of the
16th century: style and Context.
Workshop conducted by the
musicologist and director Omar
Morales Abril, for members of early
music ensembles.
mach 17
Ornaments in 16th-century Attire,
lecture by the art historian MSc.
Silvia Llanes.
7 pm
Outside Havana
Casa de Cultura Juan Marinello, Santa Clara
mach 11
8:30 pm
Museo Municipal de Historia, Trinidad
by Teresa Paz.
You’ve
march 12
8:30 pm
by Teresa Paz.
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classical music
Photo by Alex Mene of Raul Paz performing in Basílica Menor de San Francisco de Asís, February 2014
Basílica Menor de San Francisco de Asís
mach 7
6 pm
mach 13
6 pm
The Orquesta de Cámara de La
Habana will pay tribute to Johann
Sebastian Bach.
march 8
Concert by the Camerata Romeu
conducted by Zenaida Romeu.
The chorus Yale Glee Club from
Yale University, conducted by
Jeffrey Douma, and Entrevoces,
conducted by Digna Guerra, will
play works by Brahms, Tomás Luis
de Victoria, Rachmaninoff, Conrad
Winslow and Theodore Morrison,
among other composers.
march 25
6 pm
6 pm
march 29
6 pm
Concert, National Chamber Music
Festival
Festival
Biblioteca Nacional José Martí
Saturdays
Performances by soloists and chamber ensembles.
5 pm
Casa del ALBA Cultural
march 2
5 pm
march 9
3 pm
En Confluencia, conducted by
guitarists Eduardo and Galy
Martín.
Tarde de Concierto, conducted by
the soprano Lucy Provedo.
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De Nuestra América, conducted by
pianist Alicia Perea.
march 16
5 pm
march 23
Concert by guitarist Rosa Matos.
5 pm
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classical music
Centro Hispano Americano de Cultura
Concert by the Solistas de La
Habana chamber orchestra
conducted by María Elena
Mendiola.
mach 8
6 pm
mach 29
6 pm
march 22
6 pm
Concert by the Habana Martin
chamber orchestra and guests
conducted by the pianist Alina
Martin.
Concert by the Coro Polifónico de
La Habana and the Chorus of the
University of Ontario.
Oratorio San Felipe Neri
march 14
7 pm
march 26
7 pm
Concert by the University of the
Arts Symphony Orchestra as the
closing activity of the workshop
conducted by Argentinian Jorge
Rotter.
march 20
National Chamber Music Festival:
Concert by the trio Móviles and the
Esteban Salas Chamber Orchestra:
7 pm
7 pm
Sala Covarrubias, Teatro Nacional
sundays
5 pm
march 27
Performance by the duo Deux à
Grande Vitesse, made up by Frank
Alejandro Suárez (bassoon) and
Ariel Jorge Pérez (trombone)
National Chamber Music Festival:
Recital by pianists Mayté Aboy and
Paula Suárez
Sala Gonzalo Roig. Palacio del Teatro Lírico Nacional
Concerts by the National
Symphony Orchestra.
march 30
5 pm
Cuerda Dominical with guitarist
Luis Manuel Molina.
Sala Ignacio Cervantes
march 7
6 pm
march 23
6 pm
Cuban Classics, concert with
soprano Bárbara Llanes and
pianist Rolando Luna who will
interpret works by Ernesto
Lecuona, Oscar Hernández, Sindo
Garay, Gonzalo Roig, Ignacio
Cervantes, Eduardo Sánchez de
Fuentes, Guillermo Tomás, Emilio
and Eliseo Grenet
march 28
6 pm
march 30
6 pm
Concert by Dunia Anderus
(clarinet), Alberto Rosas ( flute) and
Félix Manuel Terrón (bassoon),
prizewinners of the UNEAC
Woodwind 2013 Competition.
Festival
The Amadeo Roldán string
quartet will play works by Cuban
composers Guido López-Gavilán
and Jorge López Marín, as well as
works by violinists William Roblejo
and Leonardo Pérez, members of
this quartet.
Sala Jean Lebrat, Casa Víctor Hugo
march 8
5 pm
Concert by the wind quartet Nueva
Camerata conducted by Haskell
Armenteros.
march 22
5 pm
Recital by guitarist Rosa Matos and
soprano Ivett Betancourt.
Sala Avenida
march
3 pm
The musical project Radio Enciclopedia and its Musicans will present the clarinetist, sax
player and composer Javier Zalba
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XI Festival de Música de
Cámara
March 25-29, Havana
Presided by pianist Frank Fernández, the festival
aims to advance the interpretation, development
and performance of this form of classical music
in Cuba, emphasizing on small format ensembles,
as well as the interpretation of Cuban and
Latin American music. Tributes will be paid to
outstanding exponents of chamber music: Carlos
Fariñas on his 80th birthday; Amadeo Roldán on
the 75th anniversary of his death; Frank Fernández
on his 70th birthday and 55 years of artistic career;
Guido López-Gavilán on his 70th birthday and
45 years of his artistic career; Juan Piñera and
Alfredo Muñoz on their 65th birthdays; and Czech
composer Antonin Dvorák on the 110th anniversary
of his death and the German composer Christoph
Willibad Gluck on the 300th anniversary of his
birth. Concerts and master classes will be given at
art schools by members of the musical ensembles
which have been invited to the event.
Premio y Coloquio
Internacional
de Musicología
March 17-21
The Musicology Prize was created to encourage
scientific research and to spread knowledge and
appreciation of Latin American musical culture;
the competition covers unpublished papers on
musical historiography, interpretation and critical
explanations about musical creation, traditional and folklore music, theory and practice in the
teaching of music, overall theoretical musicological framework papers and any other topics concerning musical esthetics, sociology and anthropology. During the event, the 8th International
Musicology Colloquium and the 1st conference
of the Regional Association of the International Musicology Association for Latin America and
the Caribbean will also be in session. The organizers have announced several concerts, including
Madre Tierra, all-star young jazz musicians by sax
player and composer Michel Herrera, launchings
of books and specialized journals.
For more information, a press conference will be
held March 7, 10am at the Manuel Galich Hall, Casa
de las Américas.
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Theatre
Antigonón,
un contingente épico
Performed by Teatro El Publico
Fri & Sat, 8:30pm; Sun, 5pmTeatro TriCarlos
anón Diaz and his troupe, Teatro el Publico’s
most recent performance involved a trip back
to the classics, guided and partnered by Rogelio
Orizondo who wrote Antigonón, un contingente
épico especially for them. Carlos is the most wellknown and brilliant Cuban theatre director with
a reputation for directing plays with abundant
nudity, transvestites and subtle winks at the Cuban
national reality. Antigóne does not dissapoint – go
see it for youself!
Giordano Bruno
Performed by Teatro de la Luna
Sala Osvaldo Dragún, teatro
Written by Tomás González, the play approaches the life story of the famous Italian philosopher
Giordano Bruno, who was burned at the stake
in 1600, and deals with topic such as the search
for truth, superstition, religion and the liberty of
thought from present-day perspective.
Festival de teatro
francófono
March 16-23, Havana
Directed by Serge Sándor, the French Theater Festival will present plays by contemporary authors
from France, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada.
The organizers have announced the productions
Por ahora dudo and La prueba de lo contrario by
Swiss playwrights Marie Fourquet and Olivier Chiacchiari, respectively; Juan y Beatriz by Canadian playwright Carole Fléchette; El testamento de
Vanda by French playwright Jean-Pierre Simeón;
and La pandilla by Belgian playwright Xavier Carrar.
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Theatre
Las lágrimas no hacen
ruido al caer
Centro Cultural Bertolt Brecht.
Café teatro
March 7-23, Fri & Sat, 8:30pm; Sun,
Monse Duany is the legendary Cuban singer
Guadalupe Yolí—La Lupe—n the monologue
Las lágrimas no hacen ruido al caer by the
late playwright Alberto Pedro. Monse Duany is
versatility itself: She creates situations of humor
and anguish, joy and sadness, understanding and
impotence. She sings, dances, recites, dreams,
shouts, cries, falls in love, suffers… She is the kind
of actress that exudes energy and passion.
Romance en Charco Seco
Sala Adolfo Llauradó, Fri & Sat,
8:30pm; Sun, 5:30pm
Teatro La Proa opens Romance en Charco Seco,
a version by Erduyn Maza based on Amor de don
Perlimplín con Belisa en su jardín, written by Federico García Lorca, set on this occasion in the
present-day Cuban countryside. Fifty-four puppets in a show not suitable under 14s.
The Mandrake
Centro Cultural Bertolt Brecht.
Sala Tito Junco, Fri & Sat, 8:30pm;
Sun, 5:30pm
Teatro
del Círculo reruns Miguel Montesco’s version of The Mandrake by Niccoló Machiavelli, a
classic satire on corruption, manipulation, deceit
in 16th-century Florence.
La farándula pasa
Sala Hubert de Blank
Fri & Sat, 8:30pm; Sun, 5:00pm
Rerun of La farándula pasa by the Hubert de
Blanck theater company.
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For kids
Sueño de una noche de
verano
Grupo de teatro El Arca, Fri, Sat and
Sun, 3pm, Teatro de Títeres El Arca
The El Arca Puppet Theater presents Sueño de una
noche de verano based on William Shakespeare’s
immortal A Midsummer Night’s Dream with music
by Mendelssohn.
En Buena Compañía
Carpa Trompoloco
Sat & Sun, 4pm & 7pm
The magical and adventurous world of the circus
continues. Cuba’s prime circus venue, Carpa
Trompoloco, presents “En Buena Compañía” (In
Good Company), the new show featuring, among
other acts, tightrope walkers, acrobats, clowns,
gymnasts, trained animals, and the fascinating
flying trapeze, which was awarded the Grand Prix
during the past CIRCUBA 2013 Festival.
Playas del Este
Take the little monsters to the beach. March is
a gorgeous month for all lovers of sun, sea and
sand castles. Watch out for the occasional jellyfish
(medusas) but in general relax and enjoy the uncrowded beaches 20 minutes to the East of Old
Havana.
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Love & Peace Havana
Festival Concerts
www.lovepeacehavana.com
The festival was founded in 2011 as a collaboration between Skivbolaget National,
the Swedish Peace & Love Festival and Fábrica de Arte Cubano, which is curated
by Cuban megastar X Alfonso. When the Peace & Love Festival was forced to leave
the organization due to financial difficulties in 2013, they were replaced by the
Norwegian Embassy as new main partner. At this stage, the festival changed its
name to ‘Love & Peace Havana’ as a way of putting focus on its love for fantastic
Cuba and its world-class cultural life.
PARTNERS:
Skivbolaget National
Fábrica de Arte Cubano
Norska Ambassaden in Havana
CONTACT
Festival General:
Eggis Johansson, [email protected]
Press Inquiries: Petter Seander,
[email protected], 0046739434920
Parque Metropolitano March 8-6 PM -2
AM
X Alfonso (Cu)
Atomic Swing (Swe)
Honningbarna (No)
10pm: Concerts
INVSN (Swe)
March 5: Honningbarna (Norway)
March 6: Luna Green (Sweden) & Razika David Blanco (Cu), Razika (No)
(Norway)
Obsesison with friends (Cu)
March 7: INVSN (SE)
Luna Green (Swe)
Fábrica de Arte Cubano March 5, 6, 7
8pm: DJ’s, Art exhibition (March 5-7)
9pm: Short Movies (March 5)
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ATOMIC SWING (Se)
One of the most successful Swedish rock bands of all time, Atomic
Swing, is back! After breaking big with their debut album in 1992,
the band has continued to tour worldwide, leaving unforgettable
hits as “Stone Me into the Groove,” “Dream On” and “Smile” as
their legacy.
DAVID BLANCO (Cu)
Widely popular in Cuba with his mixture of Cuban influences and
classic rock, blues and soul. Tours regularly all over Cuba and has
a large following.
INVSN (Se)
INVSN (pronounced “invasion”) is imbued with the passionate
spirit of hardcore-punk and emboldened by the rich history of
rock‘n’roll. The Swedish band has developed a sound that delivers
subversively deliberate pop through a post-punk lens.
HONNINGBARNA (No)
One of Norway’s most interesting new bands. With an explosive
live show and fantastic recordings somewhere in between punk
and rock—also adding political lyrics—the band has slowly built an
audience for itself throughout Europe.
LUNA GREEN (Se)
Swedish debut artist Luna Green has received rave reviews during
the past year and is hailed as one possible contender for “newcomer
of the year” by Swedish music biz magazine Musikindustrin.se.
RAZIKA (No)
Razika, based in Bergen, Norway, has had great success since
the debut album in 2011. The band’s dynamic ska-pop-punk has
thrilled listeners all over the world, including music critics at
NME and The Guardian in the UK. One of Norway’s great hopes
for the future!
X ALFONSO (Cu)
One of the most popular artists in Cuba, selling out mega shows
and known by all. X has played every Love & Peace Havana and is
also the Cuban counterpart arranging the festival through Fábrica
de Arte Cubano.
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International Women’s Day
If you are in Cuba for International Women’s
Day then think flowers, program reminders,
make arrangements and then deliver. For your
colleagues, friends, family and loved ones. This
day, celebrated on March 8 each year around the
world, is taken seriously in Cuba where the day is
treated as an occasion to show one’s appreciation
of the fairer sex. Don’t forget!
March 8, 2014
Women have undoubtedly benefited fromr the
Cuban Revolution with strong participation rates in
the workforce, recognized sexual and reproductive
right, universal and free health care and education
systems, programs to promote their quality of life
including for maternity and child protection.
International Women’s Day (IWD), originally called
International Working Women’s Day, is marked on
March 8 every year. In different regions the focus
of the celebrations ranges from general celebration
of respect, appreciation and love towards women
to a celebration for women’s economic, political
and social achievements.
Started as a Socialist political event, the holiday
blended in the culture of many countries, primarily
Eastern Europe, Russia and the former Soviet bloc.
In some regions, the day lost its political flavor and
became simply an occasion for men to express
their love for women in a way somewhat similar
to a mixture of Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day.
In other regions, however, the original political
and human rights theme designated by the United
Nations runs strong, and political and social
awareness of the struggles of women worldwide
are brought out and examined in a hopeful manner.
Photos by Alex Mene
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I Invite You to My House
by María del Pilar Rubí
I Invite You to My House is a photographic project
that aims to learn more about the daily lives of
ordinary families who live in a building alongside
one of the most beautiful parts of Havana along
the Malecón where it meets up with Prado Avenue.
This area is much frequented by tourists who
delight in taking pictures of once-beautiful
mansions, which have been eaten away by time,
and the incessant battering of the sea and salty air.
In so far as the inhabitants feature, they have bit
parts which seem solely to confirm the apparent
poverty of their surroundings.
This exhibition includes both black and white
photographs and videos in which the subjects talk
about their current lives, expectations and dreams.
It seems to document the life of a community, their
relationships, interdependence, strength, dignity
and dreams even when the material circumstances
are severely constrained.
I Invite You to My House seeks to look further
inside this superficial image through getting to
know the families living there. With time they
cease to be atmospheric props and become like
any other group or family with their own activities
and markers from the day-to-day routine of
preparing lunch, doing homework and helping
their neighbors to birthday celebrations and the
birth of a new baby.
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María del Pilar Rubí is a freelance photographer (www.pilarrubi.com) who works
mainly in projects in which she lives with the subjects of her pictures thus creating
an atmosphere of trust which is her primary element at the time of taking a picture.
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March 15, 2014
Terry Fox’s
Marathon of Hope
The Terry Fox Marathon of Hope takes place in
Havana and all across the country, starting at 9am.
This has the greatest participation of any country
in the world with up to 2.3 million people running,
walking, rolling and pushing in an inspirational
testament to the ideals and stamina of Terry Fox
(1958-1981), who was a young Canadian athlete
who’s right leg was amputated due to cancer but
who heroically crossed his country (143 days and
5,373 kilometers (3,339 miles), running to raise
awareness and funding to fight cancer. If you are
in Cuba during this time this is a great event to
participate in the 4km circuit whatever your level
of fitness, no pre-registration required.
Details about Terry Fox Run
The Terry Fox Run is an annual non-competitive
charity event held in numerous regions around
the world in commemoration of Canadian cancer
activist Terry Fox and his Marathon of Hope, and
to raise money for cancer research.
The event was founded in 1981 by Isadore Sharp,
who contacted Terry in hospital by telegram and
expressed his wishes to hold an annual run in
Terry’s name to raise funds for cancer research.
Sharp himself had lost a son to cancer in 1979. In
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Canada, the event is held every year on the second
Sunday following Labour Day. Since its inception,
it has raised via the ‘Terry Fox Foundation’ close
to $500 million dollars (CAD). The run itself is
informal, which means that the distance often
varies, usually between 5 and 15 kilometres;
participation is considered to be more important
than completing the set distance. There are also
runs set up by schools of every level, often with
shorter distances than the “official” ones.
Unlike other major fund raising events, the Terry
Fox Run has no corporate sponsorship. This is in
accordance with Terry Fox’s original wishes of
not seeking fame or fortune from his endeavor.
During his cross-Canada run, he turned down
every endorsement he was offered (including from
major multinationals such as McDonald’s), as he
felt that it would detract from his goal of creating
public awareness. The Terry Fox Runs have no
advertisements on any race related materials (such
as t-shirts, banners, etc.).
For more information about Terry Fox see:
http://www.terryfox.org
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Festival Internacional de la Trova Pepe Sánchez
The International Pepe Sánchez Trova Festival
began in 1962 in homage to local Santiago de
Cuba composer José (Pepe) Sánchez (1856-1918),
considered the father of Cuban trova (the troubador
genre of voice, song and poetry that is usually
accompanied by a guitar). Several generations of
musicians from different musical trends within
trova participate in this event, including exponents
of more traditional trova, of filin (an evolution of
bolero and trova), and of nueva trova (the very
Cuban genre of personal commentary influenced
by British, US and Brazilian popular music).
Santiago de Cuba—the cradle of trova—hosts this
festival which takes the city’s streets and parks by
storm in a celebration where musicians and singers
from abroad join their Cuban counterparts. La
apertura of the festival on Troubador Day, March
19th, commemorates the anniversary of the birth
of Pepe Sanchez.
March 18-23, 2014
Santiago de Cuba
The festivals have been held since 1962, congregating
musicians who belong to different generations
and tendencies within the genre of Trova covering
everything from its most traditional interpreters
to the various artists espousing what has come
to be known as “new Trova”. Santiago de Cuba is
touted as being the “cradle of Cuban music” and
this event spills over from the established theatres
into the streets and parks, providing possibilities
for Cuban and foreign musicians in similar genres.
March 19th has been designated as Troubadour
Day in Cuba, commemorating Sanchez’ birth and
the entire city vibrates with serenades to the
rhythm of the son.
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View from the terrace of
Ivan Chef Justo
Photo by Ana Lorena
A week immersed in
Havana’s Food Revolution
by Lydia Bell
After getting on for six decades of socialism, it is
clear that artistic virtuosity is flourishing in Cuba,
whether in dance, song or on canvas. Cuba’s exotic
food heritage, on the other hand, a fusion of Spanish,
African, Amerindian and Chinese elements, is only
just being rediscovered. Over the past six decades,
it has been trampled on by the strictures of the
US embargo and a domestic economic crisis—a
paucity of ingredients devastating a once-rich
cuisine.
When private restaurants (paladares) were
introduced from the 1990s onwards, a clutch of
competent cooks began to flourish—notably at
La Guarida, the beautiful film set for Cuban cult
film Fresa y Chocolate, and La Esperanza, decked
out like a colonially beautiful stage and ever
popular despite the famously bitchy service. They
flourished, though, because there was nowhere
else to go. For the most part, prohibitive taxes and
regulations, ignorance about entrepreneurialism
and a dearth of produce meant the majority of
restaurants remained uninspired front-room
affairs, rotating a distinctly uncreative set of
Cuban staples serving stodgy comida criolla: roast
chicken, pork or fish served with rice, beans, and
salad. Street food was pizza with the consistency
of cardboard, the famous Cuban sandwich
descended to reconstituted ham and cheese with
the texture and taste of foot mould, and chicken
fried in cheap oil reused for the hundredth time.
The only place you could be sure to eat well would
be at someone’s house.
But the winds of change have been blowing, and
what started as a gentle gust a few years ago is
picking up speed. Since the state sanctioned the
establishment of small private firms there has been
an explosion of paladares. Chefs are returning
from overseas with capital to fund homegrown
projects, and there is increasing competition at
multiple levels for clients, staff and produce.
The results have been exciting, transforming
the dining experience in Havana from one of
minimizing pain and playing it safe into a myriad
of gourmet possibilities. You can now eat well at
somewhere different for lunch and dinner daily
for a fortnight and still have paladares to spare.
We have picked eight places for you, the very best
over a course of a week.
Lunch at El Chunchullero
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Ivan prepares dinner at
Ivan Chef Justo
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Monday
El Litoral
El Litoral opened its doors after extensive
renovations in January 2014 in a renovated mansion
almost next door to the US interest section.
The ceilings are high but this is a modern finish
with tasteful and elegant furniture. The menu is
extensive with a range of tapas—try the foccacia de
papa, pulpo y ajo tostado (Focaccia with octopus
and garlic), mejillones rellenos ‘Tigres’ (stuffed tiger
Mussels) and Cazuela de chorizo al vino, pimienta
y pan (Spanish sausage with wine and pepper) or
just order a plate for the best-stocked cold cuts
and salad bar in Havana.
Tuesday
Santy
In Jaimanitas, a down-at-heel fishing village within
Havana’s westerly city limits, this is a sushi joint
far from the sanitised sections of Old Havana.
This renovated fisherman’s shack perches on the
water’s edge where ramshackle boats collect. At
this spit-and-sawdust paladar they turn the catch
of the day into sashimi, nigiri and California rolls.
Octopus and fresh fish are on the menu, which
isn’t written down. It’s zingy, delectable and fresh.
Wednesday
La Casa
La Casa is more than just a restaurant; it is the
crucible of the Robaina family, from the 91-yearold great grandmother to the latest great
grandson and everyone in between. Located on
the ground floor of a 1950s modernist house with
a well-ventilated outdoor terrace and enclosed
air-conditioned room, its menu is dedicated to
international fusion. Look for spinach crepe stuffed
with chicken jardinière, Galician style octopus and
Marinated clams. Thursday night is sushi night
and a wonderful Japanese chef presides.
Thursday
Casa Miglis
Michel Miglis’ Casa Miglis is the first restaurant
to open serving Scandinavian cuisine (yes, really)
since the revolution. The menu features such rare
ingredients as “lingonberries from deep in the
Swedish forests.” The light and airy interiors are
designed by Swede Andreas Hegert. Staples such
as Skagen toast and meatballs join spicy couscous.
Aside from the corny 1980s ballads soundtrack, you
could be in Madrid or Lisbon. Anywhere in Europe,
Miglis’ restaurant would be par for the course. In
the decrepit streets of Central Havana, it feels like
a little miracle.
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Friday
El Cocinero
Accessed via the imposing brick chimney of an
old peanut oil factory, up three flights of circular
stairs, this alfresco rooftop, which is as industrial
and chic as any urban bar in London’s Shoreditch
or on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The service
is fast and purposeful under the watchful eye of
the dynamic Rafael. This is clearly the place to
be for a mixed crowd of affluent young Cubans,
expatriates and travelers in the know. The wellexecuted fish and meat dishes are best enjoyed
in the new restaurant on the first level, before
drifting upstairs for more excellent cocktails.
Saturday
La Guarida
The film set for Fresa y Chocolate, La Guarida’s
ambiance is set by the incredible approach up a
sweeping staircase. It’s the Cuban version of The
Ivy, so Hollywood actors dine here when they’re
in town—as do rafts of Cuban musicians. Bookings
are essential and you are greeted warmly by
Enrique Núñez, who despite being Cuba’s most
famous restaurateur, still hustles to make sure
that everything is just right. Top picks include
the eggplant caviar, gazpacho, caimanero (fresh
grouper) and watermelon with grilled shrimps.
Sunday (Lunch)
Iván Chef Justo
Opposite the Museum of the Revolution, upstairs
eatery Iván Chef Justo is cosy, airy, unpretentious,
filled with memorabilia and often kissed by a
Mediterranean-esque breeze, especially on the
miniature upstairs terrace. The chef-owner,
Iván himself, is mostly in situ, locked in intense
concentration in the small kitchen. An eclectic,
indulgent menu includes baby lamb ribs, shiitake
mushroom stir-fry and freshly grilled fish.
Sunday (Dinner)
Atelier
Atelier is the baby of Nuris Higuera. Her interiors
are bohemian pretty: each table topped with
colored glass pieces, vintage colonial crockery
and crocheted tablecloths for a knowing dash
of delicate Cubanía. Contemporary Cuban art is
rotated regularly, creating a constantly changing
living art gallery. The service is attentive but not
overbearing. It’s like being at a pleasingly secret
bolthole in the fashionable villages of northern
Ibiza.
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Photos by Ana Lorena
Cuban invention, organic
roots & ‘slow food cooking’
by Lydia Bell
What most tourists may not be aware of is just how
much it takes to create a sophisticated restaurant
offering in contemporary Cuba. To produce a decent
menu, you have to overcome massive problems of
supply so it’s no coincidence that many paladares
adopt a ‘fusion’ menu that uses a strictly local and
organic stream of produce. Each paladar relies on
a full-time comprador (buyer) visiting markets and
main suppliers on a daily basis. Chefs then have
to be creative with what their compradors come
back with. Other paladares are taking the savvy
step of setting up their own private plots of land
in the Havana campo to ensure a steady stream of
tailored supply for their kitchen.
She builds in visits to organopónicos—Havana’s
urban vegetable gardens carved out of vacant state
land from the 1990s onwards to solve problems
of food supply and distribution. These days,
permaculture devotees travel from all over the
world to check out these high-yield projects, part
of Cuba’s urban wallpaper. At Tulipán market there
are basketball-size papayas, vast yucca, oranges,
tomatoes, green peppers, every kind of dried bean,
garlic, green beans, lettuces and horseradish. At
19 y B market, the ‘El Mercado de los Millonarios’
frequented by expats and owners of bed and
breakfasts and paladares, you can find exotic
Tanja Buwalda, a warm Irish Cubaphile and selfconfessed food nerd who works with Esencia
Experiences, offers crash courses in Havana’s
complicated food story including a day trip into the
countryside on a Harley to a small farm, including
lunch with the farmer, and an exploration of
Havana through its street food. From the barrio to
the embassy district, she knows the best churros—
deep-fried doughnuts; the best Cuban biscuits; and
the best pan con lechón—slow-cooked shredded
pork in aromatic vinaigrette on a soft white bun.
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fare for Cuba: green chillies, ginger, ready-made
salads, quail eggs, cauliflower and broccoli (little
encountered, unbelievably), beetroot and fresh
herbs; even olive-infused goat’s cheese. There is,
however, no guarantee the same products will be
available tomorrow—and seasonality rules.
“No fruit or vegetables are imported here,” says
Tanya, “so when you take a tomato home and bite
into it, you are tasting Cuba—heat; red, rich copper
soil; hand-grown food with little machinery—all of
that is captured. I’ve tasted eight types of mango
here.”
Buwalda has learnt a lot about cooking in a Cuban
way—slowly. “I have learnt to use a pressure cooker,
to soak beans a day before, then, the day after, to
use those same beans to make a soup or a casserole.
I have learnt to sit my meat in marinade for a long
time, and to wait patiently for my fruit to ripen. I
never throw anything out. I go to the market daily
and buy for that day, or recycle leftovers. Cooking
here is a metaphor for life. My life, like my cooking,
has slowed right down.”
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Glossary
Arroz con leche
Batido
Cafecito
Milkshake made with ice cream
or, more commonly, milk and
crushed ice, and tropical fruits
like mango, pineapple, papaya
or guava.
Cuban espresso: punchy,
strong and served in a tiny cup.
Chicharrones
Comida Criolla
Fried pork skins, often sold in a
twist of old Granma newspaper
sheets.
Cuisine created in Caribbean/
Latin countries during the
Spanish colonial period—a
fusion of Amerindian, Spanish
and African.
Croquetas
Cuba Libre
A sweet, creamy rice pudding
infused with cinnamon.
Ground ham, pork, chicken or
even tuna fried in a light batter.
A highball cocktail of cola, lime
juice and white rum.
Daiquirí
Flan
Frijoles negros
White rum, lime juice and
sugar served with crushed ice.
A rich custard pudding poured
into a pan and topped with
caramelised sugar then baked.
Black beans cooked into thick
gravy with garlic and spices
and served over rice.
Frituras de malanga
Mariquitas
Mojito
Grated malanga (a root
vegetable) rolled with egg,
garlic and lime and then fried.
Plantains sliced extremely thin,
then deep fried like potato
crisps.
A highball cocktail of white
rum, sugar (or sugar cane
juice), sparkling water and
yerba buena (Cuban mint).
Mojo Criollo
Moros y Cristianos (also
known as congri).
Bistec de Palomilla
A commonly used marinade
of sour orange (naranja agria),
garlic, onions and spice
(oregano, cumin, bay leaf).
Black bean and white rice
cooked together with a sofrito
(see below).
A thinly sliced or pounded
steak cooked in lime juice,
garlic and onions.
Ropa vieja
Sofrito
Tamales
Literally ‘old clothes’. The dish
consists of beef shredded and
stewed with tomatoes, onions,
garlic, green pepper and spices.
Sauce of onions, garlic, green
peppers, cumin, bay leaf and
oregano, sometimes with pork
belly.
Corn huskes stuffed with
ground corn dough mixed with
spiced pork.
Tostones
Yucca
Thick slices of green plantain,
fried, flattened, refried, and
served hot and salted.
A Cuban root vegetable usually
boiled and served as a side dish
in a lemon and garlic marinade.
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El Litoral
Malecon No. 161 E/ K y L,
Vedado
(+53) 7-830-2201
The best places to eat in Havana
Asturiano
CA
4+
El Atelier
CA
5
Fabulous leg of lamb
Experimental
contemporary fusion
Paseo del Prado #309 esq a
Virtudes, Habana Vieja.
Calle 5 e/ Paseo y 2, Vedado.
Braisserie
Café Laurent
5
Carboncita
CA
5
CA
4+
Charming, quality food.
Calle 35 #1361, e/ La Torre y
24, Nuevo Vedado.
Calle 19, #1010, e/ a 12,
Vedado.
(+53) 7-883 1216
(+53) 7-831-8847
5
Bollywood
Indian
Authentic Spanish food
(+53) 7-836-2025
CA
CA
Spanish
Elegant and charming
(+53) 7-862 3626
Bikos
La Casa
CA
5
Casa Miglis
CA
5
Spanish/Mediterranean
Italian
Contemporary fusion
Swedish-Cuban fusion
Beautiful penthouse with
Walter’s place - Great pizza
Great service
Oasis in Centro Habana
Calle M #257, e/ 19 y 21,
Vedado.
Ave. 3ra #3804 e/ 38 y 40,
Miramar.
Calle 30 #865 e/ 26 y 41,
Nuevo Vedado.
Lealtad #120 e/ Ánimas y
Lagunas, Centro Habana.
(+53) 7-881-7000
(+53) 7-864-1486
(+53) 7-831-2090
(+53) 7-203 0261
Chanchullero CA
5+
Chansonnier CA
4+
Cocina Lilliam CA
4+
El Cocinero
CA
5+
Contemporary fusion
International
Hole in the wall tapas
The IT place
Set in a beautiful garden
Great ambience & service
Calle J #257 e/ Línea y 15,
Vedado.
Calle 48 #1311, e/ 13 y 15,
Miramar.
Calle 26, e/ 11 y 13, Vedado.
Teniente Rey #457a bajos,
Plaza del Cristo, Habana Vieja.
(+53) 7-872-8227
Corte Príncipe CA
5+
Il Divino
(+53) 7-832-2355
(+53) 7-209-6514
(+53) 7-832-1576
CA
5+
Esperanza
International
CA 4+
D. Eutimia
CA
Italian
International
Cuban fusion
Cuban/Creole
Spectacular pasta
A great day out
9na esq. 74, Miramar.
Intimate, idiosyncratic &
charming
Absolutely charming
Calle Raquel, #50 e/
Esperanza y Lindero, Mantilla,
Arroyo Naranjo.
(+53) 5-255-9091
(+53) 7-643-7734
La Fontana
CA
5+
La Guarida
CA
5+
Callejón del Chorro #60C,
Plaza de la Catedral,
Habana Vieja.
Calle 16 #105 e/ 1ra y 3ra,
Miramar.
(+53) 7-202-4361
Iván Chef
CA
(+53) 7-861-1332
5+
El Litoral
CA
International
Contemporary fusion
Spanish (Tapas)
International
Consistently good
Justifiably famous
Brilliantly creative food
Sea view, great food.
Calle 46 #305 esq a 3ra,
Miramar.
Concordia #418 e/ Gervasio y
Escobar, Centro Habana.
Aguacate #9, esq.a Chacón,
Habana Vieja.
Malecón #161 E/ K y L,
Vedado .
(+53) 7-202-8337
Los Nardos
(+53) 7-866-9047
CA 4+
Opera
(+53) 7-863-9697
CA 5+
Piccolo
5+
(+53) 7-830-2201
CA 4+
Río Mar
CA
International
pasta, vegetarian
Italian
International
Great value, busy vibe
Quality food, intimate
place, by reservation only
Kitsch pizza place post
Wonderful view
5ta A #50206 e/ 502 y 504,
Guanabo, Habana del Este.
3A y Final #11, La Puntilla,
Miramar.
Prado #563 e Teniente Rey y
Dragones, Habana Vieja.
Calle 5ta #204 e/ E y F,
Vedado.
(+53) 7-863-2985
San Cristóbal CA
(+53) 796-4300
(+53) 7-831-2255
5
Santy
CA
5+
Starbien
5+
(+53) 7-209-4838
CA
5
El Templete
CA 5-
Cuban/Creole
Sushi/Oriental
Cute kitsch
World class, unique.
Quality food
Old school – quality
Calle San Rafael #469 e/
Lealtad y Campanario, Centro
habana.
Calle 240A #3023 esq. 3raC,
Jaimanitas.
Calle 29 #205 e/ B y C,
Vedado.
Ave. del Puerto #12 esq. a
Narciso López, Habana Vieja.
(+53) 7-860-9109
You’ve
(+53) 5-286-7039
5
(+53) 7-830-0711
(+53) 7-866-8807
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La Casa
CA 5
CA TOP PICK
Style of food
Contemporary fusion
CostExpensive
Type of place Private (Paladar)
Food
Ambience
Service
Value
Best for Warm hospitality and openness
from the four generations of the Robaina
family. Quality food.
Don’t miss Thursday night sushi night.
The Piña Colada.
Calle 30 No. 865 e/ 26 y 41, Nuevo Vedado.
(+53) 7-881-7000
El Cocinero
CA 5+
CA TOP PICK
Style of food
International
CostModerate
Food
Ambience
Service
Value
Best for Fabulous industrial chic alfresco
rooftop with a buzzing atmosphere, great
service & good food.
Don’t miss Some of the best parties in
Havana, which attract both a funky Cuban
set and expatriates in the know.
Calle 26, e/ 11 and 13, Vedado.
(+53) 7-832-2355
La Guarida
CA 5+
CA TOP PICK
Style of food
Contemporary fusion
CostExpensive
Food
Ambience
Service
Value
Best for Authentic, charming and intimate
atmosphere in Cuba’s best known
restaurant. Great food, professional. Classy.
Don’t Miss Uma Thurman, Beyoncé or the
Queen of Spain if they happen to be dining
next to you.
Concordia #418 e/ Gervasio y Escobar, Centro
Habana.
(+53) 7-866-9047
Iván Chef Justo
CA 5+
CA TOP PICK
Style of food
CostExpensive
Food
Ambience
Service
Value
Best for Spectacular innovative food. Light
and airy place where it always seems to feel
like Springtime.
Don’t Miss The lightly spiced grilled mahimahi served with organic tomato relish.
Try the suckling pig and stay for the cuatro
leches.
Aguacate #9, Esq. Chacón, Habana Vieja.
(+53) 7-863-9697
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El Litoral
CA 5+
CA TOP PICK
Style of food
International
CostExpensive
Food
Ambience
Service
Value
Best for Quality décor, good service and
great food. Best new place recently opened.
Don’t Miss Drinking a cocktail at sunset
watching the world go by on the Malecón
Malecón #161 e/ K y L, Vedado.
(+53) 7-830-2201
Casa Miglis
CA 5
CA TOP PICK
Style of food
Swedish
CostExpensive
Food
Ambience
Service
Value
Best for The beautifully designed interior,
warm ambience and Miglis’s personality
create the feeling of an oasis in Central
Havana.
Don’t Miss Chatting with Mr Miglis.
The Skaargan prawns, beef Chilli and
lingonberries.
Lealtad #120 e/ Ánimas y Lagunas, Centro Habana.
(+53) 7-864-1486
Opera
CA 5+
CA TOP PICK
Style of food
Pasta, vegetarian & slow food
Costmoderate
Food
Ambience
Service
Value
Best for Homely & intimate environment.
Quality food in a beautiful setting. By
reservation only.
Don’t miss The fresh pasta & vegetarian
dishes. Pool table.
Calle 5ta N.204 e/ E y F, Vedado
(+53) 7-831-2255
[email protected]
https://www.facebook.com/opera.cuba
Santy
CA 5+
CA TOP PICK
Style of food
Sushi/Oriental
CostModerate
Food
Ambience
Service
Value
Best for Fabulous sushi, wonderful ambience
overlooking fishing boats heading out to sea.
World class.
Don’t miss Getting a reservation here.
Calle 240A #3023 esq. 3raC, Jaimanitas.
(+53) 5-286-7039
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Fábrica de Arte
Calle 11 #61, esq. a 26.
Vedado (next to the
Puente de Hierro)
The best Bars & Clubs in Havana
Bertolt Brecht CA
5
Bohemio
Think MTV Unplugged. Hip,
funky and unique.
Elegant quiet bar with a
nice vibe
Calle 13 e/ I y J, Vedado.
Calle 21 #1065 e/ 12 y 14,
Vedado.
(+53) 7-8301354
Café Cantante CA
CA 5-
CA 4
The best salsa bands.
Small (ish) and a little
worn these days.
Calle 20, esq. a 35, Miramar.
La Cecilia
El Cocinero
CA 4
Love it/hate it – come for
the Friday night party
5ta Avenida #11010, e/ 110 y
112, Miramar.
Calle 26, e/ 11 y 13, Vedado.
Ave. 1ra e/ 16 y 18, Miramar.
(+53) 7-832-2355
Esencia Habana CA
4
Espacios
Zulueta #658 e/ Gloria y
Apodaca, Habana Vieja.
Calle B, e/ Linea y Calzada.
Vedado.
Calle 10 #510, e/ 5ta y 31,
Miramar.
Hemingway’s daiquiri bar.
Obispo #557 esq. a
Monserrate, Habana Vieja.
(+53) 7-867 1299
Café Madrigal CA
La Fontana
CA 5
Calle 11 #61, esq. a 26. Vedado
(next to the Puente de Hierro)
Gato Tuerto
Kpricho
CA 4+
CA 4
Outdoor Miami style
lounge bar.
Old-school state place.
Fabulous bolero singers.
Über modern stylish
indoor bar/club.
Calle 46 #305, esq. a 3ra,
Miramar.
Calle O, e/ 17 y 19, Vedado.
Calle 94 #110 e/ 1ra y 3ra,
Miramar.
Melem
4+
The best Cuban musicians
(+53) 7-202-2921
(+53) 7-202-8337
4
Fábrica de Arte CA
CA 5
Laid back contemporary
bar with a real buzz.
(+53) 7-836-3031
5-
(+53) 7-204-3837
Spacious indoor modern
bar. Good service.
CA 5-
Don Cangrejo CA
CA 5+
Fabulous rooftop setting,
great service, cool vibe.
Friday night attracts a
LGBT crowd
El Floridita
(+53) 7-860 8296/4165
Big venue, very popular,
see PMM here.
(+53) 7-204 0447
Ecaleras Cielo
CA 4
Galiano, e/ Neptuno y
Concordia, Centro Habana.
(+53) 7-878-4273
CA 4+
Casa Música
A little rough but spacious.
See the best Cuban salsa
bands
Teatro Nacional, Ave.
Paseo, esq. a 39, Plaza de la
Revolución.
(+53) 7-833 6918
Casa Música
5-
Great musicans. Recently
renovated. Good sound
CA 5-
(+53) 7-833-2224
(+53) 7-206-4167
Meliá Sports BarCA
4
Pepito’s Bar
CA 4
Beautifully décor in a
spectacular space. Cold
Popular modern bar. Can
get smoky.
Big-screen sports in
modern outdoor place.
Live nueva trova in small
(ish) intimate environment.
Calle 17 #302 (altos) e/ 2 y 4,
Vedado.
1ra, e/ 58 y 60, Miramar.
Hotel Meliá Habana
Calle 26 e/ Ave. Zoológico y
47, Nuevo Vedado.
(+53) 7-831 2433
Las Piedras
Privé Lounge
CA 4
CA 5
Bar of choice for the afterparty (3am+).
Intimate lounge club with
great acoustics.
1ra y 32, Miramar
Calle 88A #306 e/ 3ra y 3raA,
Miramar.
(+53) 7-202-9486
Sloppy Joe’s
(+53) 7-209-2719
CA 4+
One of the best bars in the
world (1950s).
Ánimas, esq. a Zulueta,
Habana Vieja.
(+53) 7-866 7157
You’ve
(+53) 7-881-1808
(+53) 7-204-8500
TaBARish
CA 4
Indoor Russian themed
bar/restuarant.
Calle 20 #503 e/ 5ta y 7ma,
Miramar.
Sangri-La
CA 5
El Sauce
CA 5-
For the cool kids.
Basement bar/club.
Best contemporary &
Nueva Trova singers.
Ave. 21, e/ 36 y 42, Miramar.
Ave.9na #12015, e/ 120 y 130,
Miramar.
(+53) 5-264-8343
El Tocororo
CA 4
Expat favorite hangout.
Small with live music.
Calle 18, e/ 3ra y 5ta, Miramar.
(+53) 7-204-6428
Up & Down
CA 4
Disco vibe with Cuban
pop. Young Cuban crowd
5ta, e/ B y C, esq. B Vedado.
(+53) 7-202-9188
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Bertolt Brecht
CA 4+
CA TOP PICK
Contemporary Bar
Ambience
Popularity
Entertainment
Service & drinks
Best for Hanging out with hip & funky
Cubans who like their live music.
Don’t Miss Interactivo playing on a
Wednesday evening.
Calle 13 e/ I y J, Vedado.
(+53) 7-8301354
Esencia Habana
CA 4
CA TOP PICK
Contemporary Bar
Ambience
Popularity
Entertainment
Service & drinks
Best for Nice vibe with good music and
attractive moden decor. Interesting clientele
of mostly 30 somethings. Smoke-free.
Don’t Miss Wednesday night Single’s night
(from 8pm) . Friday night Happy Hour (57pm).
Calle B, e/ Linea & Calzado
(+53) 7-836-3031
Espacios
CA 5
CA TOP PICK
Contemporary Bar
Ambience
Popularity
Entertainment
Service & drinks
Best for Laid back lounge atmosphere in
the garden area which often has live music.
Good turnover of people.
Don’t Miss Ray Fernandez, Tony Avila, Yasek
Mazano playing live sets in the garden.
Calle 10 #510, e/ 5ta y 31, Miramar.
(+53) 7-202-2921
La Fontana
CA 5
CA TOP PICK
Contemporary Bar
Ambience
Popularity
Entertainment
Service & drinks
Best for Contemporary lounge bar. Great
service. Excellent cocktails. Beautiful people.
Don’t Miss The influx of people from other
locations at 3am!
Calle 46 #305, esq. a 3ra, Miramar.
(+53) 7-202-8337
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Melia Sports Bar
CA 5+
CA TOP PICK
Sports Bar + Live Music
Ambience
Popularity
Entertainment
Service & drinks
Best for Watching the game (any game) on
the big screen. Great live music – busy vibe –
very popular.
Don’t Miss The World Cup – book your seats
now!
Hotel Meliá Habana
(+53) 7-204-8500
Fábrica de Arte
CA 5+
CA TOP PICK
Contemporary Bar/CLUB
Ambience
Popularity
Entertainment
Service & drinks
Best for X Alfonso’s superb new cultural
center has something for everyone
Don’t Miss The best Cuban musicians
Calle 11 #61, esq. a 26. Vedado
(next to the Puente de Hierro)
Privé Lounge
CA 5
CA TOP PICK
LOUNGE CLUB (LIVE MUSIC)
Ambience
Popularity
Entertainment
Service & drinks
Best for Intimate lounge club with quality
decor and great acoustics.
Don’t Miss Sunday night jazz – brilliant
musicans play here.
Calle 88A #306 e/ 3ra y 3raA, Miramar.
(+53) 7-209-2719
Sangri-La
CA 5
CA TOP PICK
Contemporary Bar/CLUB
Ambience
Popularity
Entertainment
Service & drinks
Best for Hanging out with the cool kids on
the Havana Farundula in the most popular
bar/club.
Don’t Miss The best gin and tonic in Havana.
Ave. 21 e/ 36 y 42, Miramar.
(+53) 5-264-8343
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Legendarios de Guajirito
Best live music venues in Havana
Classical
Teatro Auditórium
Amadeo Roldán
Great space.
Basílica Menor de
San Francisco de
Asís
Teatro Auditórium
Amadeo Roldán
Calzada #512, esq. D,
Vedado.
Oficios y Amargura
Plaza San Francisco
de Asís, Habana Vieja.
Beautiful church
Jazz
Oratorio de San
Felipe Neri
Sala Covarrubias,
Teatro Nacional
Fabulous acoustics
Recently renovated
Aguiar #412 e/
Obrapía y Lamparilla,
Habana Vieja.
Paseo y 39, Plaza de la
Revolución.
Privé Lounge
La Zorra y el
Cuervo
Café Jazz Miramar
Jazz Café
Improvised jamming.
Funky.
Quality jazz. Cold
atmosphere.
Chilled at
mosphere – private
Cine Teatro Miramar
Ave. 5ta esq. a 94,
Miramar.
10:30pm – 2am
Galerías de Paseo,
último piso, 1ra, e/
Paseo y A, Vedado.
Calle 88A #306 e/ 3ra y
3raA, Miramar.
Café Cantante
Mi Habana
Casa de la Música
de Centro Habana
Casa de la Música
de Miramar / El
Diablo Tun Tun
(upstairs)
Teatro Nacional de
Cuba, Ave. Paseo,
esq. 39, Plaza de la
Revolución.
Galiano e/ Neptuno y
Concordia,
Centro Habana.
Best salsa bands
Salsa/Timba
A bit rough. Great
bands.
Great musicians.
Basement club.
(+53) 7-209 2719
Calle 35, esq. 20, Playa.
(+53) 7-860 8296/4165
Contemporary
Café Teatro
Bertolt Brecht
Don Cangrejo
Beautiful people…cool
Cuban hipsters
Ave. 1ra e/ 16 y 18,
Miramar.
Bertolt Brecht Café
Teatro Calle 13 e/ I y J,
Vedado.
El Sauce
For best in
Nueva trova
Ave. 9na #12015, e/ 120 y
130, Playa.
(+53) 7-204 6428
Trova & traditional
Barbaram Pepito’s
Bar
El Gato Tuerto
Calle 26 e/ Ave. Zoológico
y 47, Nuevo Vedado.
Calle O, e/ 17 y 19,
Vedado.
Nueva trova musicians
Fabulous bolero.
Intimate
(+53) 7-881 1808
Intimate and
atmospheric.
23, e/ N y O, Vedado.
(+53) 7-833 2402
El Jelengue de
Areíto
Matinees on the
terrace
Patio de la EGREM
San Miguel #410, e/
Campanario y Lealtad,
Centro Habana.
Teatro de Bellas
Artes
Small intimate venue
Trocadero e/
Zulueta y Monserrate,
Habana Vieja.
Legendarios de
Guajirito
Salón 1930 ‘Compay
Segundo’
Zulueta #660 e/ Apodaca
y Gloria, Centro Habana.
Calle O, esq. 21, Vedado.
Buena Vista Social Club Buena Vista.
1950’S style - brilliantly Traditional.
Hotel Nacional de Cuba,
done.
(+53) 7-861 7761
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The best private places to stay
Artedel
1932
Artedel
CA 4
CA 5+
Casa Particular
3 bedroom penthouse
Visually stunning,
historically fascinating
Welcoming
Stylish and contemporary
feel. Beautiful 360-degree
view
Campanario #63, e/ San Lázaro
y Laguna, Centro Havana.
(+53) 7-863 6203
Bohemia Hostal CA
5+
Ave. 1ra #260, e/ 15 y 17,
Vedado.
Atlantic
CA 5+
Aurora
CA 4
Penthouse + luxury
apartments
Casa Particular
The ultimate in luxury
Calle 15 #962 apto.5, e/ 8 y 10,
Vedado.
Calle D esq. 1ra, Vedado.
Attractive penthouse
(+53) 7-833-8659
(+53) 7-830 8727
Carmita
CA 4
Concordia
CA 5+
Doris
CA 5
Casa Particular
Luxury House
3 bedroom apartment
Casa Particular
Beautiful apartment on
Plaza Vieja
Beautiful house with a pool
a little out of town
Beautifully designed and
spacious with 5 balconies
Lovely sun drenched
apartment. Friendly
Calle Concordia, #151 apto.
8, esq. a San Nicolas, Centro
Habana.
Calle 19th #1211 apto 3, e/ 18 y
20. Vedado.
Calle 19b #21421, e/ 21 y 214
Rpto. Atabey.
Plaza Vieja
(+53) 5 4031 568
[email protected]
Habana
CA 4
(+53) 7-272-5027
(+53) 5-254-5240
Habana Vista
CA 5
Julio y Elsa
CA 5
Lilly
CA 5
Casa Particular
Casa Particular
Casa Particular
Casa Particular
Beautiful colonial
townhouse, great location
Two storey penthouse b&b
with private pool
Cluttered bohemian feel.
Hospitable
Incredible view of the
seafront
Consulado #162, e/ Colon y
Trocadero, Centro Habana.
Calle G #301 e/ 13 y 15, Apto 13,
Vedado.
Habana #209, e/ Empedrado, y
Tejadillo, Habana Vieja.
(+53) 7- 861 0253
Manolos
CA 5
Calle 13 #51 esq. a N Vedado.
(+53) 5-388-7866
Miramar 301
(+53) 7-861 8027
CA 5
Portería
CA 5+
Rosa D’Ortega CA
Luxury House
Luxury House
Casa Particular
Boutique B&B
Family environment.
Up-market
4 bedrooms private luxury
villa with swimming pool
Amazing antiques, lovely
house
Beautiful and welcoming
large home
Calle 4 #310 e/ 13 y 15,
Vedado.
Patrocinio #252 esq. a Juan
Bruno Zayas , 10 de Octubre.
Ave. 1ra e/ 46 y 60 #4606,
Miramar.
(+53) 7-203-4273
Siboney 33
(+53) 7-833-8670.
CA 5
Teresita
CA 4
Verano Azul
CA 5
(+53) 7-641-4329
Vitrales
CA 5
Luxury House
Casa Particular
Casa Particular
Boutique B&B
5 bedroom private villa,
swimming pool.
Elegant, old-fashioned
green Vedado mansion
Suburban home. Great art
& food
Hospitable, attractive and
reliable boutique hotel
Paseo #208 e/ Línea y 11,
Vedado.
Calle 42 #1514 Miramar.
(+53) 7-830 2649
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Habana #106
e/ Cuarteles y Chacón
Habana Vieja.
(+53) 7-866-2607
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Artedel Penthouse
CA 5+
CA TOP PICK
3 Bedroom penthouse
Facilities
Rooms
Ambience
Value
Best for Stylish and contemporary furniture
along with a beautiful 360-degree view over
Havana
Don’t Miss Ydalgo – an impeccable host,
discreet or gregarious, as you prefer
Ave. 1ra #260, e/ 15 y 17, Vedado.
(+53) 7-830 8727
Bohemia Hostal
CA 5+
CA TOP PICK
Casa Particular
Facilities
Rooms
Ambience
Value
Best for Independent beautifully decorated
apartment overlooking Plaza Vieja.
Don’t Miss Spending time in Havana’s most
atmospheric Plaza.
Plaza Vieja
[email protected]
(+53) 5 4031 568: (53) 7 8366 567
http://livingincuba.weebly.com/
Casa Concordia
CA 5
CA TOP PICK
3 Bedroom apartment
Facilities
Rooms
Ambience
Value
Best for Beautifully designed and spacious
apartment with 5 balconies offering views of
the city and sea
Don’t Miss Feeling a part of Centro Habana,
the beating heart of the city.
Concordia, #151 apto 8, esq. San Nicolas, Centro
Habana.
Casa Vitrales
CA 5
CA TOP PICK
Boutique Bed & Breakfast
Facilities
Rooms
Ambience
Value
Best for Incredibly hospitable, attractive and
reliable boutique hotel in Old Havana.
Don’t Miss Osmani’s gregarious warmth.
Sundowners on the roof terrace.
Habana #106 e/ Cuarteles y Chacón, Habana
Vieja.
(+53) 7-866-2607
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