A day that will go down in history

jan
2015
Photo by Alex Mene of men catching fish in Cojímar
EDITORIAL
Cover picture by Alex Mene in Plaza
de la Revolución, December 20, 2014
[This is a remake of this photo from
the 1960’s]
December 17, 2014 began like any other day—kids getting ready for school, adults heading
to their jobs, moms making breakfast, elders going out to buy bread and the newspaper…
Nothing indicated that the regular daily routine would be broken that day. But around midmorning, my neighbor started banging on my door and in a voice choked with emotion told
me that Cuba was releasing Alan Gross and that the United States would do the same thing
with Gerardo, Tony and Ramón, the three Cuban Five that still remained in US prisons.
The road is long, complex, risky… The questions are many and the possible answers,
infinite. There are few guarantees and many uncertainties. But today, I only wish to enjoy
this different day, a happy day for my people, for the families of the prisoners who were
released. A day that will go down in history!
This issue is dedicated to Cuban literature in recognition of Cuba’s growing influence in
the world of literature, which this month sees Cuba’s premier literary event. This issues
features interviews with three of Cuba’s best contemporary writers: Pedro Juan Gutiérrez,
Leonardo Padura and Wendy Guerra. We also have included a piece on the late Gabriel
García Márquez and his long-standing relationship with Cuba.
January is a beautiful time to visit Cuba. You may need to hurry up with your reservation
since the No Vacancy sign has been already hung up on many hotels and private houses and
you will need to book ahead for the best restaurants.
Finally, in this month of change, it is worth pausing to commemorate José Martí, who
was born in 1853, on Paula Street in Havana, in the house that is currently marked with
number 314. Poet, journalist, orator, essayist, translator, José Martí is not only the most
significant literary figure of the 19th century in Cuba, he was also the organizer of the
Cuban Revolutionary Party against Spanish colonialism.
January 2015 Highlights (Havana, unless stated)
* January 1: Anniversary of the Revolution
* January 7-11: Festival de la Trova Longina (Santa Clara)
* January 20: Casa de las Américas Literary Prize
* January 27: Marcha de las Antorchas
* January 28: Birthday of José Martí
Queremos darles las gracias a todos nuestros colaboradores, patrocinadores, socios y
lectores. Para cualquier información, dirigirse a info@VisitCuba. ¡Viva Cuba!
A day that will go down in history
by Victoria Alcalá
December 17, 2014 began like any other day—kids
getting ready for school, adults heading to their
jobs, moms making breakfast, elders going out to
buy bread and the newspaper… Nothing indicated
that the regular daily routine would be broken that
day.
But around mid-morning, my neighbor started
banging on my door and in a voice choked with
emotion told me that Cuba was releasing Alan
Gross and that the United States would do the same
thing with Gerardo, Tony and Ramón, the three
Cuban Five that still remained in US prisons. Aware
that my placid neighbor does not drink alcoholic
beverages so early in the morning, I asked him for
the source of the news. “Telesur,” he said, and I
diligently rushed and tuned in on that TV channel.
There, Gross’s arrival in the US shared the screen
with a speech by a Latin American president (I can’t
remember which) at the Mercosur meeting, and a
few minutes later, President Cristina Fernández
de Kirchner, who was visibly moved, announced
the release of the Cuban prisoners and that the
governments of Cuba and the United States would
normalize their diplomatic relations.
I have to admit that the first news did not allow
me to assimilate the second one and I couldn’t
contain the tears thinking the happiness that
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mothers, wives, sons and daughters, brothers and
sisters, and friends—from both sides of the Florida
Straits—were experiencing at that moment. But
the Argentinian President also disclosed that Raúl
Castro and Barack Obama would be speaking at
noon. It was 11 o’clock and that was the longest
hour in my life.
At 12 sharp, Raúl, completely composed, without
letting his feelings show, announced that the
Cuban prisoners, for whom so many people had
fought all over the world, had arrived on Cuban
soil and that the governments of Cuba and the
US would reestablish diplomatic relations. And
then, I saw Obama on Telesur ratifying that his
country was changing its relations with the Cuban
people. And then I understood that what Cristina
Fernández had said was not wishful thinking but a
reality.
An explosion of adrenaline shook my home, my
street, my neighborhood, my city, my country.
Tears, laughter, cheers… The reflections of the
middle-aged ran along the path of emotions: “Fidel
should have been the one to break the news.” “I’m
glad it was Raúl after all these hard years.” “It’s a
good thing Fidel is alive to see this!” The young
people, in tune with the times, ran to IM or chat
with their friends scattered around the world. The
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more pragmatic began to imagine how the words of an inscrutable Castro and a smiling Obama would
influence their existence, their decisions, their future.
That day, people stopped working at their offices, their factories. The optimistic envisaged that the
end of the embargo was just around the corner ,while others, like me, thought that this was just the
beginning of a long road although we can already see a light at the end. Some started to joke about
California apples and wine for Christmas, or gave thanks to Saint Lazarus, whose feast day was being
celebrated on that day, for his intercession. There were questions, too: How will life be without the
embargo? Can we look to the future without fearing that a family member may need a certain drug and
we cannot get hold of it because it’s made in the U.S.? Will I be able to send cigars to my uncle with their
bands and labels and in their original boxes unafraid of its Cuban origin? Will we be ready to abandon
the land-under-siege mentality? Will future U.S. governments coexist in a civilized manner with such a
different neighbor?
The road is long, complex, risky… The questions are many and the possible answers, infinite. There are
few guarantees and many uncertainties. But today, I only wish to enjoy this different day, a happy day
for my people, for the families of the prisoners who were released; a complex day for the presidents of
both countries. A day that will go down in history!
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VISUAL ARTS
Museo Nacional
de Bellas Artes
Edificio de Arte Cubano
Through January 2015
Bésame mucho
Solo exhibition by Eduardo Ponjuán, National Art prizewinner 2013,
made up of large paintings and 3-D works that show a novel visual
morphology in his career. Regarding the title, Bésame mucho, or
Kiss Me a Lot, the artist has said: “I have always liked this bolero by
Mexican composer very much for its lyrics…the notion that in face
all things transient, fleeting, ephemeral, of the end of things, a simple
kiss can make one go on living.”
Centro de Arte
Contemporáneo Wifredo
Lam
Through Frebuary 6, 2015
Quisiera ser Wifredo Lam……
pero no se va a poder
A retrospective of Flavio Garciandía’s work, with
over 70 pieces created from 1973 to 2014, now
in the hands of private collector and the Cuban
State. Drawings, videos, paintings and installations
illustrate the different phases of this important
artist and teacher. Radical and inquisitive, F.
Garciandía has always paid close attention to the
latest trends in contemporary visual arts.
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Casa Oswaldo Guayasamín
THROUGH
JANUARY 17
Con-tenido. Artist Sandra Pérez
Lozano, focused especially on
installations from multiple visual
resources and based on an
introspective study of the causes
and consequences of repression,
deals with repression as a method
of education, indoctrination and
mastery of human social behavior.
Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales
THROUGH
JANUARY 17
Polite & B_Side. Solo exhibition
by Luis Gómez, in which he
reflects on the relations of power
in artistic circles through physical
works and documentation of
multiple negotiation processes.
Biblioteca Pública Rubén Martínez Villena
THROUGH
JANUARY 4
Prólogo para una historia del
arte cubano (Volumen II). Making
use of theatrical scenography,
Eduardo Ponjuán, focuses on the
metaphor of art as a spell in which
an exchange between the artist
and the viewers, and vice versa, is
established.
La piel que habla. Solo exhibition
by Roberto Diago, who conveys
the pain, resistance and selfassertion of Afro-Cuban culture
from a minimalistic point of view
bordering with abstraction while
referring to black skin.
Casa de Asia
Manipulación
mediática
y
autotelia en el arte cubano
contemporáneo. Group exhibition
curated by Israel Castellanos,
who was awarded Estudio 21
Curatorship Scholarship for this
project given its theme which
required long hours of research,
unprecedented in the history of
Cuban art.
THROUGHOUT Universo de rocío. Cuba and Japan
JANUARY
joined in poetry and painting
through some 20 ink wash
paintings by Miguel Ángel Anaya,
Centro Provincial de Artes Plásticas y Diseño
THROUGH
JANUARY 20
Salón de la Ciudad 2014. The
organizers
have
invited
a
group of artists who have a
noteworthy oeuvre and have
exhibited previously at the Center
throughout its three decades of
existence.
Síndrome
de
Estocolmo
(ECÚMENE). Performance by
Jorge Luis Marrero, in which
ideas are mixed together and
superimposed.
Galería La Acacia
Galería Artis 718
THROUGHOUT Luis Enrique Camejo exhibits his
JANUARY
first bronze sculptures made in
THROUGH
JANUARY 18
Miami in 2014.
Galería Espacio Abierto
THROUGHOUT Re-verso. Solo exhibition by artist
JANUARY
Antonio Núñez.
Galería Habana
THROUGH
JANUARY 9
La mesa está servida. Works by
Rolando Quintero Capote, mostly
installations, that allow a direct a
dynamic interaction between the
artist and the iewer.
Palabras. Exhibition by Santiago
Rodríguez Olazábal, in which he
establishes an infinite and multiple
dialogue with the orishas of the
Yoruba pantheon.
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Homostalias Arquea-Appaloosa.
Paintings, artwork in resin,
drawings and video-installation
are the mediums used by Glauber
Ballestero to show, with a dose
of irony, the risks, agonies and
devastation one must go through
to reach a state of harmoiny
and balance in which only pure
sensations are perceived.
Restaurante El Templete
THROUGH
JANUARY 17
Litoral. Show by Ileana Mulet of a
group of oil paintings whose theme
is Cuba’s coast reinterpreted
through her exquisite sensitivity
and her imaginary along with
poems dedicated by the artist to
José Martí.
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Galería Latinoamericana. Casa de las Américas
THROUGH
JANUARY 19
Nature Boy: Edel Rodríguez en la
Casa. First solo exhibition in Cuba
by Cuban-American designer Edel
Rodríguez. Graphic design and
art meet in this show, made up by
40 posters conceived for theater
festivals, Broadway shows, operas
and films; drawings and original
books; and a digital sample
of illustrations and covers for
different magazines he has worked
for, including Time magazine.
Galería Servando Cabrera Moreno
THROUGHOUT El sur del cielo. Show by ceramist
JANUARY
Joan Alvad.
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Galería Villa Manuela
THROUGH
JANUARY 18
El peso de la Historia. In his
constant exploration into History,
Reynier Leyva Novo uses the laws
put into practice by the Revolution
in 1959 and the recent changes
occurred in the island according
to new circumstances are the
focus of his exhibition. A computer
program calculates the area,
volume and weight of the ink used
to print those documents, which
are projected on the gallery’s
walls. .
Memorial José Martí
OPENS
JANUARY 8
18 artistas cubanos de hoy.This
exhibition of works from the
collection of Spanish Luciano
Méndez includes pieces by both
acclaimed and young artists who
have just begin to exhibit fot the
first time: Luis E. Camejo Elizabet
Cerviño, Daniela Díaz, Roberto
Fabelo, Moisés Finalé, Carlos
Guzmán, Alexis Leiva Machado
(Kcho), Cristian López, Manuel
Mendive, Mabel Poblet, Carlos
Quintana,
Ernesto
Rancaño,
Gabriel y Leticia Sánchez Toledo,
Serón, Alfredo Sosabravo, Ana
Toledo and Diego Torres .
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PHOTOGRAPHY
Convento de San Francisco de Asís
Throughout January
Mascarada. Exhibition of Italian photographer
Alfredo Cannatello
Sala L´Escalier de l´Art.
Alianza Francesa de Cuba
Through January 20
Imágenes de barrios de Silvio Rodríguez. Pictures
taken by the Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio
Rodríguez during his concerts around different
neighborhoods around Cuba since 2010. “I have
been fortunate to be in circumstances and
places that have been beautiful, dramatic and
sometimes terrible. This is the material which
these photographs are made of,” said Silvio at the
opening. citadels to its current image of a degraded
environment.
Museo Nacional de Bellas
Artes. Edificio de Arte
Cubano
Throughout January
Cómo lo vemos a usted (y cómo nos ven). Artists
Jeffrey Cárdenas and Yanela Piñeiro opened two
photographic studios at Plaza Vieja in July 2014.
During this time, they photographed approximately
600 people. Each artist, separately, selected the
image that best depicted the subject’s personality
and created diptychs with both pictures. As a
whole, the photographs express the diversity of
biotypes, genotypes and even characters that can
be found in Havana today.
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DANCE
Como el primer día.
Resplandor de tacones
Teatro Martí
Jan 23 & 24 8:30pm; Jan 25, 5pm
Show by the Ballet Español de Cuba, directed
by Eduardo Veitía, which approaches Spanish
dance respecting its particularities while
incorporating techniques from classical, modern
and contemporary dance.
La magia de la danza
Teatro Nacional. Sala Covarrubias
Jan 1, 3, 9 & 10, 8:30pm; Jan 4 & 11,
5pm
Concert program by the Ballet Nacional de Cuba
with The Magic of Dance, an anthology of great
moments of 19th-century choreographies in
versions by Alicia Alonso and the Cuban School of
Ballet, including Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, The
Nutcracker, Coppelia, Don Quixote, Swan Lake and
The Gottschalk Symphony, the latter an example of
the most recent Cuban choreography that shows
the possibilities of classical dance with the Cuban
identifying nature. In the principal roles: Viengsay
Valdés, Anette Delgado, Sadaise Arencibia, Yanela
Piñera, Amaya Rodríguez, Dani Hernández, José
Losada, Grettel Morejón, Arián Molina, Jessie
Domínguez, Camilo Ramos, Dayesi Torrientes,
Ginett Moncho, Lissi Báez, Serafín Castro and
Alfredo Ibáñez, accompanied by soloists and corp
de ballet.
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MUSIC
CONTEMPORARY FUSION
Club Habana Party
Photo Alex Mene
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.
Good live music venues include Bertolt Brecht
(Wed: Interactivo, Sunday: Déjá-vu) and El Sauce
(check out the Sunday afternoon Máquina de la
Melancolía) as well as the newly opened Fábrica
de Arte Cubano which has concerts most nights
Thursday through Sunday as well as impromptu
smaller performances inside.
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.
Café Cantante, Teatro Nacional
Fresa y Chocolate
TUESDAYS
Mariana y La Maquinaria
5 pm
THURSDAYS
Elaín Morales
Café Concert El Sauce
5 pm
La Máquina de la Melancolía, with
Frank Delgado and Luis Alberto
García
Havana Hard Rock
EVERY OTHER
FRIDAY
Soul Train, a show of soul music
SAT & SUN
Cover bands
10 pm
Club Turf
THURSDAYS
Tercera y 8
MONDAYS
Aceituna Sin Hueso
10 pm
5 pm
SUNDAYS
SUNDAYS
Baby Lores
Djoy
10 pm
11 pm
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MUSIC CONTEMPORARY FUSION
Café Corner
THURSDAYS
Diablo Tun Tun
Tesis de Menta
10:30 pm
Jardines del teatro Mella
JAN 7
Ruta 11 and guests
4 PM
JAN 22
Con100cia
4 pm
Piano Bar Habaneciendo
THURSDAYS
Aire Limpio
11 PM
SUNDAYS
WEDNESDAYS Karamba,
5 PM
Adrián
Ernesto Blanco
FRIDAYS
Gens
y
5 pm
SUNDAYS
5 pm
11 pm
Proyecto Urbano
Gens
La Madriguera
JAN 15
Con100cia
8:30 PM
Fusión Latina
5 pm
JAN 28
El Prófugo
5 pm
Centro Cultural Bertolt Brecht
WEDNESDAYS Roberto Carcassés and Interactivo
10 pm
Submarino Amarillo
Fábrica de Arte Cubano
10 PM
DJ Iván Lejardi / Concert by
Ernesto Blanco
JAN 2
Concert by Dejavu
JAN 1
WEDNESDAYS Dimensión Vertical
10 pm
9 pm
JAN 3
SUNDAYS,
Berazaín
Los Kents
9 pm
Concert by Síntesis
10 pm
JAN 4
Concert by Gerardo Alfonso
10 pm
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Photo by Alex Mene
SALSA / TIMBA
Casa de la Música Habana
MONDAYS
5 pm Habana C
11 pm Havana Show and guests
Casa de la Música de Miramar
MONDAYS
11 pm
TUESDAYS
5 pm Havana de Primera
11 pm La Justicia
Sur Caribe
WEDNESDAYS
11 pm NG La Banda
THURSDAYS
11 pm Charanga Latina
THURSDAYS
11 pm Adalberto Alvarez
FRIDAYS
5 pm La Nueva Justicia
11 pm Bamboleo
FRIDAYS
5 pm El Niño y La Verdad
11 pm NG La Banda
SATURDAYS
5 pm Discotemba
SUNDAYS
5 pm Bamboleo
SUNDAYS
11 pm Havana Show and guests
Jardines del 1830
FRIDAYS
Piano Bar Tun Tun
THURSDAYS
11 pm NG Jorgito Melodía
SATURDAYS
11 pm NG La Banda
FRIDAYS
11 pm Chispa y los Cómplices
Azúcar Negra
10 pm
Tercera y 8
WEDNESDAYS Alain Daniel
11 pm
Café Cantante, Teatro Nacional
FRIDAYS
5 pm Manana Club
11 pm Discotemba
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MUSIC JAZZ
© Adam Bernstein - Will
Magid gives it his all at
Jazz Plaza 2012
Jo Jazz
November 19-22, 2014, Havana
Although some people still see it as a mere
preamble to the International Jazz Plaza Festival,
Jo Jazz has been gaining in popularity from that
distant day in 1998 when the first festival was held
on the initiative of the famous musician Chucho
Valdés and other enthusiasts.
The ever-increasing numbers of Jo Jazz fans
are getting ready to enjoy this competition for
young Cuban and international jazz musicians
and composers from 16 to 30 years of age. Prizewinners have included musicians who today are
popular not only in Cuba but abroad, such as
Yasek Manzano, Michel Herrera, Yissy Garcia and
Harold López-Nussa.
Besides the competition, the event will include
workshops organized by experts on the subject,
concerts and jam sessions in various places in
Havana. However, one of the most exciting thing
for jazz lovers seems to be to predict, in situ, the
birth of future Cuban jazz stars.
Café Jazz Miramar
Shows: 11 pm - 2am
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
Café Miramar
Alexis Bosch (pianist) and Proyecto
Jazz Cubano.
SATURDAYS
JAN 15
6 pm
UNEAC
JAN 8
2 pm
10 pm
Roberto Carcassés (pianist
composer) and his trio
&
Centro Hispano Americano de Cultura
Peña La Esquina del Jazz hosted by
showman Bobby Carcassés.
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JAN 14
2 pm
Yasek Manzano (trumpet player)
and his group
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MUSIC BOLERO, FOLKLORE, SON & TROVA
Asociación Yoruba de Cuba
SATURDAYS
Los Ibellis (Folkloric group)
4 pm
Waldo Mendoza
5 pm
Café Concert El Sauce
TUESDAYS
8 pm
FRIDAYS
Plus Trova with Charly Salgado
and guests.
Frank Delgado
11 pm
Rafael Espín and guests
4 pm
6 pm
WEDNESDAYS Trovando, a meeting with good
5 pm
trova.
THURSDAYS
Conjunto de Arsenio Rodríguez
5 pm
FRIDAYS
5 pm
SUNDAYS
FRIDAYS
Peña El Canto de Todos, with
Vicente Feliú
Get-together with trovador Ireno
García.
Casa de la Cultura de Plaza
JAN 10
Peña with Marta Campos.
SATURDAYS
Centro Cultural Habaneciendo
Filin with Fausto Durán and guests
3pm
Pabellón Cuba
5 pm
4 pm
SATURDAY
4 pm
Peña Tres Tazas with trovador
Silvio Alejandro
Peña Participo with trovador Juan
Carlos Pérez
Piano Bar Tun Tun (Casa de la Música de Miramar)
THURSDAYS
Peña with trovador Ray Fernández
Fresa y Chocolate
TUESDAY
6 pm
Casa Memorial Salvador Allende
JAN 30
Bolero Night
5 pm
7 pm
SUNDAYS
Ivette Cepeda.
9 pm
Casa de la Cultura Comunitaria Mirta Aguirre
5 pm
Timbalaye
Hotel Telégrafo
FRIDAYS
JAN 25
Rumberos de Cuba
Hurón Azul, UNEAC
Trovador Eduardo Sosa
5 pm
JAN 29
El Jelengue de Areíto
9:30 pm
Casa del Alba
JAN 2
Marta Campos
5 pm
Café Teatro Bertolt Brecht
JAN 31
JAN 15
4:30 pm
Café cantante, Teatro Nacional
SATURDAYS
Centro Memorial Martin Luther King, Jr.
Peña La Juntamenta, with trovador
Ángel Quintero.
THURSDAY
Trova hosted by Richard Luis and
Eric Méndez
Fernando Becquer
4 pm
Centro Iberoamericano de la Décima
Casa de la Música Habana
SUNDAYS
Yoruba Andabo
5 pm
JAN 3
3 pm
JAN 25
5 pm
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Duo Ad Libitum
El Jardín de la Gorda with trovadors
from every generation
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CLASSICAL MUSIC
Photo by Ivan Soca
Basílica Menor de San Francisco de Asís
JAN 8
6 pm
JAN 10
6 pm
JAN 17
6 pm
JAN 24
6 pm
Concert with the Vocal Leo chorus, conducted by Corina Campos, and pianists Jorge Luis
Pacheco and Marialy Pacheco.
Pianist Eralys Fernández, with guest soprano Elina Calvo and guest musicians cellist Alejandro
Martínez, clarinetist/saxophonist Alejandro Calzadilla and percussionist Eugenio Arango,
will perform works by Bach, Brahms, Saúl Cosentino, Astor Piazzolla, Carlos Gardel, Lucio
Dalla and Eralys Fernández.
Soprano Johana Simón, along with Bryan López, Eleomar Cueto, Roger Quintana, Alioska
Rodríguez, Milagros de los Ángeles and pianists Ana Magdalena, Marita Rodríguez and Yanner
Rascón, will give a program based on lieder by Beethoven, Schubert, Strauss, Brahms and
Wagner.
The Orquesta de Cámara de La Habana, conducted by Daiana García, will play works by Bach,
Mendelssohn and Reger.
Casa del ALBA Cultural
JAN 4
En Confluencia, conducted by guitarists Eduardo and Galy Martín.
5 pm
JAN 11
Tarde de Concierto, conducted by soprano Lucy Provedo.
5 pm
JAN 18
De Nuestra América, conducted by pianist Alicia Perea.
5 pm
JAN 25
Concert by guitarist Rosa Matos.
5 pm
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Biblioteca Nacional José Martí
SATURDAYS
Concerts with chamber soloists and ensembles.
4 pm
Iglesia de Paula
JAN 8
7 pm
Organists Gabriela Mulen and David Pérez will play works from the 16th-18th Latin
American repertoire.
Oratorio San Felipe Neri
JAN 9 & 16
7 pm
JAN 10
7 pm
Concerts with the Lyceum Mozartiano de La Habana and the Symphony Orchestra of the
University of the Arts.
Violist Anolan González, along with harpist Maite Rodríguez, flutist Alberto Rosas, soprano
Alioska Jiménez and pianist Vilma Garriga will play works by Debussy, Vierne and Brahms.
Sala Covarrubias, Teatro Nacional
SUNDAYS
Concerts with the National Symphony Orchestra.
11 pm
Sala Gonzalo Roig. Palacio del Teatro Lírico Nacional
JAN 25
Cuerda Dominical, with guitarist Luis Manuel Molina
5 pm
Sala Ignacio Cervantes
JAN 11
6 pm
JAN 18
6 pm
JAN 25
6 pm
Pianist Erarys Fernández, and guests Alejandro Calzadilla (clarinet-saxophone), Elina Calvo
(soprano) and Diego Carneiro (cello) have announced the concert La voz del tango, (The Voice
of Tango) with works by Erarys Fernández, Astor Piazzolla, Aníbal Troilo, Saúl Cosentino,
Ariel Ramírez and Carlos Gardel.
The Solistas de La Habana, chamber orchestra conducted by Iván Valiente; Vocal Leo chamber,
choir directed by Corina Campos, and the Camerata Vocale Sine Nomine, conducted by
Leonor Suárez, and the participation of a group of operatic singers, will perform works bt the
Cuban composer Beatriz Corona.
National Opera Concert. Famous lieder by Mozart, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schubert and
Pergolesi, among other composers, sung by the Teatro Lírico Nacional directed by Dennise
Falcón and soprano María Felicia Pérez,.
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THEATRE
La catedral del helado
Teatro del Sol / Production: Sara María Cruz
Tue-Thurs, 8:30pm
Sala Adolfo Llauradó
Monologue based on the short story El lobo, el
bosque y el hombre nuevo written by Senel Paz,
which was also the bassi to Tomás Gutiérrez
Alea’s Oscar-nominated film Fresa y chocolate.
Performed by the young actor Manuel Alejandro
Rivera, the play is a criticism on homophobia
and intolerance, and a hymn to friendship and
understanding among people.
Sábado corto
Teatro D’Dos / Production: Julio César
Ramírez
Fri & Sat 8:30pm; Sun 5pm
Teatro Raquel Revuelta
Well known Costumbrismo play (local everyday
life, customs and manners) written by the Cuban
playwright Héctor Quintero.
Cloaca
El Ingenio / Production: Juan Carlos Cremata
Fri & Sat 8:30pm; Sun 5pm
Sala Adolfo Llauradó
Considered one of the most successful plays of
Dutch theater, this piece by playwright María
Goos, deals with the friendship of four adult men
and what has remained in common among them
when life and commitments lead them to assume
different attitudes.
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MUSICAL THEATER
Broadway returns to Havana
Friday-Sunday, 8:00pm
Teatro Bertolt Brecht
Broadway returns to Havana. Rent, a rock musical based on Puccini’s La Bohème, tells the story of a
group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York City’s
Lower East End under the shadow of HIV/IUDS. This Spanish language production of Rent is being
produced by Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment in partnership with the Cuban National Council of
Performing Arts and is the first Broadway musical with a full cast, musicians and first-class production
elements to be staged in Cuba in over 50 years. Andy Señor, Jr., who directs a company of 15 Cuban
actors, is a leading member of Broadway’s Cuban American community. He first starred as “Angel” in
Rent on Broadway and later directed productions of the show in numerous places around the world.
The Cuba production of Rent also features choreography by Marcus Paul James, musical direction by
Emmanuel Schvartzman, sound design by Michael Catalan, and costume design by Angela Wendt. Thom
Schilling is production manager.
The Phantom of the Opera
Sat & Sun, 9pm, Anfiteatro de La Habana Vieja
Alfonso Menéndez celebrates his 30th anniversary
in show business with The Phantom of the Opera,
the famous musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Menéndez is responsible for the script, Spanish
version and production of the musical. The main
roles will be interpreted by Maylú Hernández/
Marla Pileta as Christine; José Luis Pérez/Andrés
Sánchez as The Phantom; and Rigoberto López/
Rogelio Rivas as Raoul, who will be accompanied
by a cast of young singers, many of whom are
newcomers to the stage. Also participating in the
production are the Ballet de la Televisión Cubana
and the Ballet de Bertha Casañas.
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FOR KIDS
Meñique
La Colmenita
Jan 24, 10am
Museo Casa Natal de José Martí
The popular children’s theater group La Colmenita
will present Meñique, authored by Laboulaye, in a
version by José Martí.
Siempre Havana
Circo Nacional de Cuba
Sat & Sun, 4pm & 7pm
Carpa Trompoloco
Brand new circus show for the autumn with
exciting acts combined with the vernacular humor
that the first circuses in Cuba were based on. The
kids will love the clowns, the trained animals, the
fire-eaters, as well as other highly skilled acts, such
as aerial silk, tumbling and trampoline, juggling,
acrobatics, and much more.
Los Ibellis y el diablo
El Arca
Fri, Sat & Sun, 3pm
Teatro de títeres El Arca
Reopening of the multi-prizewinning solo show
written by Adalett Rafael Pérez Pupo, based on an
Afro-Cuban legend about two twin brothers who
manage to beat the devil’s prepotency through
shrewdness, intelligence and games.
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EVENTS IN HAVANA
Taller Práctico Internacional de
la Danza Moderna Cubana
Winter Workshop: January 5-16, 2015
Summer Workshop: August 3-18, 2015
Teatro Nacional de Cuba
The two-week long International Workshop on Cuban Modern Dance, Cubadanza, aimed at professional
dancers and students, teaches different Cuban popular rhythms and dances from which Cuban modern
dance draws on and shows how the pelvic region and the undulation of the torso, among other
characteristics, are the fundamental basis of the Cuban technique of modern dance. According to the
availability of the company for the period in which the workshop will take place, it will possible to attend
rehearsals and demonstrative lessons with first dancers of Danza Contemporánea de Cuba.
Classes will be held Monday-Saturday on the first week and Monday-Friday the second week from
9am to 2pm. The subjects that will be taught are Cuban Modern Dance Technique, Cuban Folklore,
Traditional and Popular Dances, Barre Technique, Choreography Workshops and Methodology for
Teaching Cuban Modern Dance.
Details of registration options and fees:
1. Two hours daily of Cuban modern dance technique, Cuban traditional and popular dances, Cuban
folklore, choreography workshops, barre technique, lectures, talks, etc/ (CUC 250 p/person).
2. The same as above plus Methodology for teaching Cuban modern dance (CUC 300 p/person).
Students will get a 10% discount with the presentation of an official document proving they are students.
The fee includes the diploma and certificate.
For more information:
http://www.dccuba.com/index.php/es/taller-cubadanza.html
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EVENTS IN HAVANA
FolkCuba. Laboratorios
Internacionales de
Folklore de Cuba
January 19-February 2
Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba
Sponsored by the Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de
Cuba, the two-week long FolkCuba, International
Folklore Laboratories, is held twice a year in
January and July in which experts in Cuban folklore
dances teach Cuban dances and music of African
and Spanish origin, as well as the principal Cuban
percussion instruments. The “secrets” of mambo,
cha-cha-cha, rumba, mozambique, pilón, conga,
and dances and drum beating related to African
religious rites are revealed by outstanding figures
of the Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba.
XIX Taller de Antropología Social y Cultural
Afroamericana y VIII Encuentro de Oralidad Festival
Afropalabra
January 5-8 (Havana); January 9-10
(Matanzas)
The opening of the cultural year at Havana’s
Historical Center will be marked by the 19th
Workshop on Afro-American Social and Cultural
Anthropology with the presence of academicians
and researchers, and the 8th African Word
Festival, which will be dedicated to Vitalia Oviedo,
“Old Havana’s Storyteller,” and to the Decade of
Afro-descendants, with the presence of Cuban
and international artists from all manifestations of
the arts, including the Senegalese Prince Mamour
Ba, who is a composer, vocalist, arranger, teacher,
dancer and percussionist, who now lives in Brazil.
religious rites are revealed by outstanding figures
of the Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba.
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PROGRAM
19th Workshop on Afro-American Social and Cultural Anthropology, and 8th African Word Festival
Jan 5, 2015
CASA DE ÁFRICA
9 am
CASA DE AFRICA &
CASA BENITO JUÁREZ
Opening of the 19th Workshop on Afro-American Social and Cultural Anthropology
and 8th African Word Festival.
Special performance by narrators Mirta Portillo and Lucas Nápoles
Opening of exhibition by Italian photographer Alfredo Cannatello.
11am-1pm / 2:30-5:30pm
Committee sessions
Jan 6, 2015
CASA DE AFRICA
10am
11am
PLAZA DE SAN
FRANCISCO
2:30pm
PLAZA VIEJA
3 pm
CASA DE AFRICA
7 pm
Introductory words by the City Historian, Dr. Eusebio Leal Spengler. Lecture by
MSc. Ramón Torres Zayas: “Abakuá: ¿ekue entemesoro?”.
Committee sessions
Epiphany: Recalling an old tradition, the Afro-Cuban Council will tour the principal
plazas of the Historic Center. Performances by children and youth ensemble under
the Quisicuaba Sociocultural Project, Gigantería and the Piquete de Santiago de las
Vegas
Performances by Rumba Morena, Fanm Zetwal and Makuta, exponents of African
and Caribbean culture.
Culrtural gala with the special performance of the artists participating in the Afropalabra Festival.
Jan 7, 2015
CASA DE AFRICA
9:30am
Opening of the exhibition by photographers Elio Delgado and Marco Marini.
CASA DE AFRICA &
CASA BENITO JUÁREZ
10am-1pm / 2:30-5:30pm
CASA DE LA POESÍA
Opening of the exhibition El Plante by the Mujeres Trabajando art group.
Committee sessions
7 pm
Jan 8, 2015
CASA SIMÓN BOLÍVAR
Opening of the exhibition of the artist Alexis Cardona
9:30am
CASA DE ÁFRICA
Committee sessions
10am-1pm
CASA BENITO JUÁREZ
2:30pm
CASA DE AFRICA
5:30pm
Opening of the exhibition Mujeres afrodescendientes en México, by photographer
Janette Housman
Closing ceremony of the Workshop with the master lecture “The Decade of Afrodescendants and the promotion of racial equality in Brazil” by Mr. Albino Ernesto
Poli Junior, minister advisor of the Brazilian Embassy in Cuba. Special performance
by the group Brasilua, and opening of Vida cotidiana, an exhibition of tapestries by
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AROUND CUBA
Festival de la Trova Longina
January 7-11, 2015
Santa Clara
In remembrance of one of the greats of traditional Cuban trova, Manuel Corona, and his immortal song
“Longina,” trovadors of different generations and from all over Cuba have shared the stage for 18 years
during the Festival de la Trova Longina. The event includes concerts and informal get-togethers at La
Caridad Theater, the famous El Mejunje Cultural Center, the Museo de Artes Decorativas and Casa del
Joven Creador in the afternoons and evenings; theoretical meetings and the traditional walk to Corona’s
grave.
The rumor that Argentine folk rock performer, composer and interpreter León Gieco might be performing
at this year’s Longina Festival has trova fans on tenterhooks. Gieco, who is often called “The Argentine
Bob Dylan” is the author of the emblematic Solo le pido a dios (I Only Ask of God) and other cult songs,
has visited Cuba on other occasions with great success. However, Gieco is not the only attraction. The
popular La Trovuntivitis project from Villa Clara will be opening the festival, and singer-songwriters
Tony Ávila and Roly Berrío will also be participating.
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