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National Events
Cuba is bursting of culture. At any street corner you can hear the tipical sounds of the Cuban salsa or the Afro Rumba. Art is being exposed in dedicated spaces and workshops are given on a daily basis throughout the island. Cuba also offers an extraordinary variety of dance, art and music festivals and fairs. Below we give an overview. If available a web-site where more information can be found, is given. Unfortunately, not all web-sites are in English, nor are they all kept up to date. The latter does not necessarily mean that the event has been cancelled. For up-to-date information and exact dates – dates of festivals and fairs tend to vary - you can contact us in www.casa hostal cuba.com.
January:
Día de la Liberación, nationwide. Liberation Day is celebrated everywhere on Cuba on New Year's Day to commemorate the success of the Communist revolution. New Year's Eve's festivities continue in to the national holiday of Liberation Day, another reason to keep partying.
Premio Literario Casa de las Américas, La Habana. South America´s most prestigious literary awards, of which the ceremony is organized by La Casa de las Américas in La Habana, Cuba. In 2013 the competing categories were poetry, novels, essays, testimony, Brazilian and native American literature
More info: http://www.casadelasamericas.org
Festival Nacional de Música de Concierto La-mi-si-fa para agrupaciones de pequeño formato, Bayamo, Granma province. A national music festival for small-scale ensembles, celebrating this year the 160th anniversary of the premiere of La bayamesa, which is considered the first popular song written in Cuba. The festival takes place in Bayamo, with sub-venues in Manzanillo and Jiguaní. The festival is open to the general public.
February:
Festival de Música Antigua Esteban Salas, La Habana Vieja. The Esteban Salas Early Music Festival, named after the first Cuban musician of whom there is record of printed scores, is organized on a yearly basis with the objective to revive and diffuse antique genres of music, featuring Baroque, Renaissance and medieval compositions, mostly of church music.
Feria Internacional del Libro, La Habana (and other provinces). What began as a modest book fair, has become the most important literary event in Cuba. If you can read Spanish, this gathering of authors, publishers, distributers, journalists etc., with book launchings, panel discussions, poetry readings, concerts, children´s events, and a crafts fair, will be the best place to get in touch with Cuban readers.
More info: http://www.cubaliteraria.cult.cu
Habanos Festival, La Habana. An annual celebration of the Cuban cigars, organized by the official state-run cigar company, Habanos, S.A.. The festival includes lectures, factory visits, tastings, and a gala dinner with an auction of rare cigars.
More info: www.habanos.com
Festival del Monólogo Cubano, Cienfuegos. Sponsored by the Tomas Terry Theatre in Cienfuegos, this Monologue Festival was launched in 2003 with the aim of bringing this genre to the map. Despite being one of the newer events in the Cuban cultural scene, this festival has already achieved a certain standing, and at present the most renowned Cuban playwrights, directors and actors compete in the Terry Theatre.
More info: http://www.monologo.cubaescena.cult.cu/
Muestra Nacional de Nuevos Realizadores, La Habana. An event to support new video and filmmakers. The event includes the screening of films by the up-and-coming filmmakers, a competition of unpublished scripts, discussions and seminars, workshops with the participation of important film directors as well as an exhibition and competition of film posters.
March:
Festival Internacional de Documentales Santiago Álvarez In Memoriam, Santiago de Cuba. Created in 2000, the International Documentary Festival Santiago Álvarez In Memoriam aims at highlighting the documentary, a genre with a tradition of significant quality and acknowledgement in Cuba, among other factors, thanks to the work of the most relevant Cuban documentary maker, Santiago Alvarez. Although the festival began as a national event dedicated to the memory of Santiago Álvarez, it now also attracts the attention of filmmakers from Latin America, Europe and the US, with film competitions, screenings and discussions.
More info: http://santiagoalvarez.org/
Festival Internacional de Música Electroacústica Primavera de La Habana, La Habana Vieja. Organized by composer Juan Blanco, a pioneer of electroacoustic music in Cuba, the biennial event promotes electroacoustic music created by means of computers and other multimedia. It is one of the most important events of its kind worldwide.
Festival de música de concierto A Tempo con Caturla, Santa Clara and Caibarien, Villa Clara province. Aimed to bring the genre closer to the Cuban people and dedicated to one of the greatest Cuban composers of the 20th century, Alejandro García Caturla, young composers and singers from all over Cuba perform during this music festival.
International Culinary Festival, Varadero. Gives a chance for visitors to sample delicious recipes from regional Cuban dishes, as well as popular international cuisine such as Chinese and Italian. The most famous chefs attend this magnificent event, where visitors can taste their creations. Many special dishes are created during the festival. This festival is held every two years, usually during the month of March.
Concurso y Festival Internacional Fiesta del Tambor Guillermo Barreto in Memoriam, La Habana. 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. The 6-days programme is filled with performances of young talent and popular bands and soloists, as well as contests and seminars on percussion techniques.
More info: http://www.fiestadeltambor.cult.cu/
Festival Internacional de la Trova Pepe Sánchez, Santiago de Cuba. If you like traditional Cuban folk music, you would not want to miss this festival. The festival began in 1962 in homage to José (Pepe) Sánchez, a local of Santiago de Cuba and considered the founder of Cuban trova (a genre of voice, song and poetry, usually accompanied by a guitar). Nowadays performances of trova, filin (a mix of bolero and trova) and nueva trova (Cuban trova influenced by British, US and Brazilian popular music) are given, not only by the local Santiagueros, but also by singers and groups from throughout Cuba and Latin America.
Celebration of Classic Cars, La Habana. Recognizing the appeal of its huge fleet of classic American cars, Cuba organizes a celebration of these antique automobiles that lasts a full week. Events include lectures, mechanical workshops, and parades. Owners from other countries are encouraged to bring their old-timer to Cuba.
April:
XIX Encuentro Internacional de Academias para la Enseñanza del Ballet y XII Concurso Internacional para Estudiantes de Ballet, La Habana. This event allows specialists, teachers, students and dancers from all continents to exchange experiences and has the objective to promote and advance the study of ballet. Among the scheduled activities are talks about the methodology of the Cuban School of Ballet, lectures and workshops classic duets, technique, folk dance and Kinesiology applied to dance.
Premio de Composición, La Habana. The Composition Prize Competition is aimed at contemporary Latin American concert music composers. The event includes beside recitals and concerts, lectures and workshops dealing with the most modern-day music made in the continent.
Encuentro Internacional de Danza en Paisajes Urbanos: “Habana Vieja, Ciudad en Movimiento”, La Habana Vieja. This unique International Urban Dance Festival : “La Habana Vieja, City in Motion” was first held in 1996 in two or three small museums located in La Habana´s Historical Centre, nowadays bringing into play most of the institutions, plazas and streets of La Habana Vieja. Aiming to link dance choreography with the arquitecture of the old city, is attended by an international crowd.
More info: http://www.danzateatroretazos.cu/index.php/festivales/festival-ciudad-en-movimiento
Taller Internacional de Títeres Matanzas, Matanzas. The Puppet Theatre Festival and International Workshop - held each April - brings together puppeteers and craftspeople from across the world. During the event, puppets are everywhere, with shows all day long and in the evenings Puppet Street and a puppet contest. This is great fun, especially if you are travelling with children.
More info: http://titerescuba.wordpress.com/tag/taller-internacional-de-titeres-de-matanzas/
May:
May Day Parades, nationwide. If you are in Cuba on May Day, the socialist celebration of Labor Day and public holiday throughout Cuba, you will want to join (or at least watch) one of the many parades and public gatherings. The biggest of them all takes place at the Plaza de la Revolución in La Habana, where more than 100,000 people usually gather to listen to the president's annual May Day speech.
More info: http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=92316
Romerías de Mayo, Holguín city, Holguín province. Continuing a tradition that dates back to colonial times, in 1993 a group of young artists decided to organize these romerías with the arrival of Spring. This festival, which was held for the first time at the foot of the cross which Father Antonio Alegría placed on 3 May, 1790 at the top of a hill, is presided over by the Hacha Taína (the Taino Axe) and the Cruz de Madera (the Wooden Cross), symbols of the mixture of elements that constitute the Cuban culture. Following this spirit, every year musicians, actors, researchers, artists, writers and dancers come together to share their artistic endeavour during intense days and nights in which the diversity of their propositions is exhibited, and Cuban and foreign artists join the locals to enjoy a marathon-like programme in various parts of the city.
More info: http://www.romeriasdemayo.cult.cu/
Festival Internacional de Cine Pobre, Gibara, Holguín province. The International Low-Budget Film Festival, a biennial event, hosts a competition for low-budget productions as well as meetings, concerts, recitals and art exhibitions, aspiring to become an alternative to commercial filmmaking.
More info: http://www.festivalcinepobre.cult.cu/
Feria Internacional Cubadisco, La Habana and surroundings. Through symposia and seminars, the fair addresses the varies aspects of the Cuban music industry, in order to promote the exchange of experience and knowledge and as such to contribute to the development of Cuban recording industry. It includes concerts, recitals, symposia and exhibits.
More info: www.cubadisco.soycubano.com
Festival Internacional de Poesía, La Habana. A meeting ground for poets from every continent, the International Poetry Festival, held biennially, includes a number of activities, such as seminars, readings and exhibitions.
More info: http://www.cubapoesia.cult.cu/
Bienal de La Habana, La Habana Vieja. Every two years, La Habana swarms with activity with the attendance not only of artists, but critics, curators, dealers, collectors, and art lovers in general. Founded in 1984 and initially conceived as a competition, the event was reformulated to focus on key issues concerning contemporary art, embracing artists from all over the world. La Habana, which during the Biennial is transformed into the largest gallery in the world, becomes a place for debate and reflection on essential problems of our contemporary world.
Festival La Huella de España, La Habana. This festival brings together dance, music, visual arts, literature and theater, showing both traditional and contemporary Spanish cultural influence on Cuba and its culture and customs.
More info: www.balletcuba.cu
June:
Coloquio Internacional Ernest Hemingway, San Francisco de Paula, La Habana. A yearly symposium on the life and work of Ernest Hemingway. It takes place in the Ernest Hemingway House Museum, in the "Finca Vigia”, La Habana, where the author wrote one of his most famous novels, "The Old Man and the Sea", for which he received the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Festival Internacional Boleros de Oro, La Habana and other cities throughout Cuba. Bolero, one of the most loved and performed musical genres in Cuba, which emerged in the second half of the 19th century is what the International Golden Boleros Festival is all about. Its first festival, held in La Habana in 1987, is considered the oldest of its kind in Latin America. Theaters, clubs, and concert halls across La Habana will be filled with the sweet and melancholy sounds of bolero. Concerts are also staged in other major cities.
More info: musicos@uneac.co.cu
Atenas National Rock Festival, Matanzas. The biggest Cuban rock festival, including performances of the most popular rock bands, like Rice and Beans, Hipnosis and Dead Point, takes place at the annual Atenas National Rock Festival in Matanzas’ Canímar River Campsite. During the festival they organize open-air theatre, tattoo exhibitions, audiovisual projections and other fun events.
More info: http://www.cuba-metal.com/noticias/junio-2013.html
Jornada Cucalambeana y Encuentro Festival Iberoamericano de la Décima, Las Tunas. In commemoration of the birth of Juan Cristóbal Nápoles Fajardo (El Cucalambé), the most important Cuban country ballad poet of the 19th century, musicians, poets and folklorists get together in this unique festival to enjoy the songs and dances of Cuban country people.
Fiesta del Fuego, Santiago de Cuba. This annual popular festivity features lectures, concerts, parades, and street fairs celebrating Afro-Caribbean dance, rhythm and rituals. The main objective of the event is the preservation, development and dissemination of Caribbean cultural diversity. Santiago de Cuba, considered Cuba´s most Caribbean city, hosts the event. Speakers, guests, and musical groups from around the Caribbean are usually invited.
More info: www.casadelcaribe.cult.cu
Torneo Internacional de la Pesca de la Aguja “Ernest Hemingway”, Playas del Este, La Habana. The Ernest Hemingway International Billfishing Tournament was founded by the great man himself in 1950. Deep-sea fishing was a favourite sport of the famous author. He spent much of his time in and around Cuba fishing for marlin and loved his adventures so much that the sport was the inspiration of his famous book “The Old Man and the Sea”. The tournament is a four-day event that occurs every June nine miles west of La Habana. The contest hosts fishermen from around the world who use 50 pound fishing lines to compete for awards for first place, first capture, and greatest capture. You can sail your own yacht or rent one at Hemingway Marina (Inscription: 450CUC per team, Rental boat including equipment: around 25,000CUC). Those arriving by yacht do not need to make reservations but should call in on VHF 17 or 72 prior to arrival.
More info: www.nauticamarlin.com /// www.internationalhemingwaytournament.com
July:
Feria de Arte en La Rampa, La Habana. From the beginning of July till the end of August the Art at La Rampa Crafts Fair opens its door at the Pabellón Cuba, with an attractive variety of objects that includes serigraphs, engravings, handicrafts, household goods, furniture, footwear, clothing, ornaments, all made by national handicraft artists. Fashion shows, concerts and activities for kids complement the fair.
More info: http://www.cubadebate.cu/etiqueta/arte-en-la-rampa/
Festival Nacional del Humor Aquelarre, La Habana. The National Humour Festival takes place during one of the hottest months of the year with performances of the best comedians in the country.
More info: http://cubaxdentro.wordpress.com/2013/06/21/para-rer-a-moriraquelarre-2013/
Carnival, Santiago de Cuba. The most "African" city in Cuba throws an excellent annual carnival. Carnival festivities in Santiago de Cuba go back to the late 17th century with the annual procession on the feast of Santiago Apóstol, the patron saint of the town. During colonial times, slaves were granted permission by the Spanish authorities to celebrate the Epiphany with their own music and dance. By the end of the 19th century, these festivities were also held in June and July in celebration of various patron saints days. At the beginning of the 20th century, comparsas (neighbourhood dance groups) and processions of decorated floats began to parade down the streets, a tradition that is still observed. Although many Cuban towns hold their own carnival festivities, none attracts a greater crowd than the Santiago carnival: the whole city seems to move to the rhythm of conga lines, the sound of the Chinese trumpet and dozens of percussion instruments, both traditional and unconventional - bass drums, congas, pots and pans, and spoons - which lead dancing crowds down the steep roads of the city.
More info: http://www.santiagoencuba.com/carnaval.htm
August:
Festival Internacional de Rap “Habana Hip Hop”, La Habana. Initially, hip hop was viewed with suspicion in Cuba, and not only by the government. With rappers imitating the aggressive posture of American rappers and using a strong lyrical content, hip hop was seen as a cultural invasion of the US. Nevertheless, hip hop became a sensation in Cuba during the 1990s when this rap festival was born. Since then, the event has attracted an increasing number of hip hop artists internationally, as well as featuring many important local groups. More recently, the festival has also included rap dancing, graffiti and discussions on hip hop culture and issues regarding this genre which has dug into several controversial aspects of Cuban life, such as racism and emerging economic inequalities.
Cubadanza, La Habana. Workshops on techniques organized by Danza Contemporanea de Cuba.
More info: http://www.dccuba.com/index.php/en/home.html
Carnival, La Habana. Although not nearly as colorful or charismatic as Santiago's Carnival, there's still a good dose of public celebrations, street parties, open-air music concerts, eating, drinking, fireworks and the occasional parade with the so-called "Muñecones" (huge figures representing different type and characters) and "faroleros" (dancers who carry a multicolored light moving it around as they dance). Normally, one day of the festivities is dedicated to kids.
More info: www.sancristobal.cult.cu
Beny Moré International Festival of Popular Music, Cienfuegos. Although he was actually born a few kilometers away in the little hamlet of Santa Isabel de las Lajas, Moré – the King of Rhythm - is celebrated here with a heavy schedule of concerts, dance, musical theater, parades, exhibitions, workshops and symposia during four day late August, and sometimes into September.
September:
Fiesta de la Virgen del Cobre, El Cobre, Santiago de Cuba. In El Cobre, a village located about 16 kilometers west of Santiago de Cuba, the shrine of the Virgin of Charity has been erected, in 1916 proclaimed patroness of Cuba. On September Cubans and foreigners, Roman Catholics and Santeras alike, flock to her altar to honor the most important religious icon of the island. Allegedly the Virgin was found by three men who where heading off to the salt fields by boat, after some days of rough weather at sea, they found the image of the Virgin Mary placed on a table with the inscription “I am the Virgin of Charity”.
Festival Internacional Matamoros Son, Santiago de Cuba. This festival is a tribute to one of the big names of Cuban son music, Miguel Matamoros, author of the well-known song “Son de la loma”. Every two years soloists and bands from all over Cuba, as well as other countries meet. Concerts, lectures, dances, workshops, book and CD launches are part of the program, as well as a Cuban popular dance competition that includes danzón, son, cha-cha-cha, mambo, casino and salsa. Off program are the musicians, young and old, who play on any chosen street, corner, square and park and bring the city to full life.
October:
Days of Cuban Culture, nationwide. It is said that on October 20, in the year 1869, the national hymn of Cuba was sung for the first time. Today this date is celebrated as the Cuban Culture Day and nationwide the anticolonial spirit is being manifested with celebrations of Cuban and Afro-Cuban culture.
Festival de Ballet de la Habana, La Habana. The International Ballet Festival of La Habana, is a ballet festival held in the Great Theater of La Habana, Cuba every two years. Created in 1960 the International Ballet Festival of La Habana was added to the plans of massive diffusion of arts started after the popular Cuban revolution. The Festival, one of the oldest held in the world, has allowed people to enjoy performances and the works of prestigious figures of the world of dance and has shown the high level of Cuban ballet.
More info: http://www.festivalballethabana.cult.cu/
Fiesta de la Cultura Iberoamericana, Holguín. The event seeks to recover and promote the Spanish roots and history and background of the Cuban nation by way of a program composed of concerts, exhibitions, workshops and popular festivities, with the participation of important Cuban artists and guests from all over Latin America.
More info: http://www.casaiberoamericana.cult.cu
Festival de Teatro de La Habana, La Habana. All trends of the contemporary stage converge in this event which features a selection of the most relevant present-day Cuban theatre, along with international theatre companies. Workshops, seminars and lectures participated by play writers, critics and the public, complete the program of the festival.
More info: http://www.cubaescena.cult.com
November:
Festival Internacional de Música Contemporánea de La Habana, La Habana. Every year this prestigious festival welcomes musicians from the national and international classical scene. Its program includes soloists, choirs, chamber orchestras and ensembles of Cuban musicians and reflects the latest trends in classical music.
More info: http://www.musicacontemporanea.cult.cu/
Festival Internacional de Coros, Santiago de Cuba. It was in the Cathedral of Santiago de Cuba where the first known choir pieces in the Island were composed by composer Esteban Salas (1725-1803). Honouring this tradition the International Chorus Festival was called into existence. An intensive programme of concerts in theatres, schools, factories, hospitals and public squares characterizes these days during which the public can enjoy the best of choral music.
Baila en Cuba, La Habana. Salsa, rueda, afro, rumba, son, cha cha cha, timba, mambo, they are all represented at this worldwide meeting of dancers and dance academies. The programme includes dance lessons, short courses, choreography workshops and offers many opportunities to dance.
Habana Jo Jazz, La Habana. Jo Jazz takes place prior to the International Jazz Festival as a competition for young musicians, aged between 16 and 30 years old. Proposed by five-time Grammy winner Chucho Valdés in 1998, this competition encourages the young jazz singers and composers to explore not only traditional jazz but also to find a style of their own. A special bonus for the winners is the chance to record an album with Chucho.
December:
Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Iberoamericano, La Habana. This is one of the most prestigious film festivals in Latin America. A packed schedule of films and documentories is shown in theaters over a period of 10 days throughout La Habana.
More info: http://www.Habanafilmfestival.com
Las Parrandas, Remedios. Remedios is the Cradle of the Parrandas, possibly the Caribbean's largest and oldest traditional festivity, this year declared national cultural heritage. This extravagant public carnival features late-night parades and a serious amount of fireworks.
International Jazz Festival, La Habana. This festival, organized by five-time Grammy winner Chucho Valdés, has strengthened the tradition of Latin and Cuban jazz as well as its international influence. The festival usually draws a handful of top international bands and soloists to share the stage Cuba's best jazz talents. More info: www.festivaljazzplaza.icm.cu
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