havana! - Visit Cuba

what’s on
havana
!
feb
2014
Taxi driving down the Malecon, Dec 2013
Photo by Alex Mene
editorial
Cover photo by Alex Mene showing Héctor
Noas during the preliminary shooting
for the Cuban Western Pink Smoke to be
directed by Ernesto Daranas.
This issue features Cuba’s cigar smoking heritage. Stephen Gibbs takes us
back a few years to a previous Festival del Habano with Sir Terence Conran,
Amir Saarony updates the cigar aficionado with an insider’s guide to Havana
and Pink Smoke hovers on the horizon.
February is looking like a tough month for culture vultures in Havana. Put
quite simply, there is not enough time—too many things to do, places to go.
The Alfonso family is front and center with the Havana World Music Festival
(Feb 7-8), organized by Eme Alfonso followed by the much anticipated opening
of Fábrica de Arte Cubano on February 13, a project of X Alfonso. Mum and
dad will also perform as part of the legendary group Síntesis.
There is definitely something for everyone this month from Conner Gorry’s
insights to her dysfunctional Harley extended family through pampered
pooches, Cuba’s boxing titans, cigar smoking socialists and everything
in-between. Don’t miss Christopher Baker’s story on Trinidad’s Horse
Whisperer—brilliant.
Hats off to Legendarios de Guajirito for the best in 1950s Buena Vista style
show, Cuba Libro for their great new show ‘Con lo que haya’ (With Whatever
There Is) and make sure you see Habana Abierta who have ceased being an
urban legend and are everywhere this month!
February 2014 Highlights
•
Havana World Music Festival (Feb 7-8)
•
Opening of Fábrica de Arte Cubano (Feb 13)
•
Feria Internacional del Libro (Feb 13-23)
•
Festival de Música Antigua Esteban Salas (Feb 15-26)
•
XVI Festival del Habano (Feb 24-28)
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 CubaAbsolutely@gmail.
com.
All the best. Viva Cuba!
VISITCUBA.com
page
1
Feb 2014
Photo by Alexander Mene
FEATURES
The XVI Habanos Festival p4
A cigar aficionado’s guide to Havana p6
havana culture
Visual arts p12 - Photography p15 Dance p16 - Music p217- Theatre p32 - For Kids
p34
CUBAN CUSTOMS
Travel
VISITCUBA.com
Valentine’s Day in Cuba p35
The 2014 Feria Internacional del Libro p36
Legendarios de Guajirito p38
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2
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Cuba Absolutely — With a Passion for Cuba
Not to miss during February 2014 what’s on havana
3
10
17
24
Harold López-Nussa @
La Zorra y el Cuervo,
11pm
El Micha, matinée @
Casa de la Música de
Miramar, 5pm
Time for a round of
golf @ Diplo Club.
Plenty of rum & cigars
on the 19th hole.
XVI Festival del
Habano
Feb 24 – 28, 2014
4
11
18
25
Dinner at El Litoral, one
of Havana’s best new
restaurants—watch life
pass by on Malecón.
Habana Abierta,
David Torrens or
Kelvis Ochoa @ Café
Cantante Mi Habana,
5pm
Opening of Veinte
años: luces y sombras
(5pm).
Take the stress out of
your day with lunch
at Atelier—an ocean of
calm with great food.
5
12
19
26
Tribute to Juan Blanco@ Stainless vs. The
Casa de las Américas,
Merger, Art exhibition
4pm
@ Galiano gallery
(showing all month)
II Encuentro
de Guitarras
‘Con lo que haya’ (With
Identidades-2014: Feb
Whatever There Is)
5-9
exhibition at Cuba
Lunch at Iván Chef
Justo, Havana’s most
imaginative food.
Dinner at Le
Chansonnier, Havana’s
coolest IT restaurant.
6
13
20
27
Legendarios de
Guajirito @ El
Guajirito, 9.30pm
Bobby Carcassés @
UNEAC, 2pm
Pancho Amat @
Museo Nacional de la
Música, 5pm
Legendarios de
Guajirito @ El
Guajirito, 9.30pm
III International
Harley Davidson
Rally, Feb 6-10
Opening of Fábrica de
Arte Cubano (F.A.C.)
Feria Internacional
del Libro, Feb 13-23
Dinner at La Guarida,
Cuba’s most famous
restaurant.
Tue
Wed
Qva Libre @ Café
Cantante Mi Habana,
5pm
Alexander Abreu y
Havana de Primera @
Casa de la Música de
Miramar, 11pm
Thu
Michel Herrera @ Jazz
Café, 10.30pm
7
14
21
28
Havana World Music
Festival @ Círculo
Social José Antonio
Echeverría
Concert by Silvio
Rodríguez @ Fábrica
de Arte Cubano
Antigonón, un
contingente épico by
Carlos Diaz @ Teatro
Trianón, 8:30pm (FRI &
SAT)
Danzando Sueños,
Ballet Español de
Cuba, 8.30pm
Fri
La magia de la danza
by Ballet Nacional de
Cuba, 8pm
The ‘Love’ classical
concert @ Basílica
Menor de San
Francisco de Asís
8
15
22
1 March
Havana World Music
Festival @ Círculo
Social José Antonio
Echeverría
Flamenco por
Dentro by Compañía
Flamenca Ecos, 7pm
Conclusion of Vuelta
a Cuba (Feb 15-22)
Brutal Fest’s 2014
Winter Festival in
Havana
Kpricho, Havana’s
ultra modern and uber
cool new club.
Yasek Manzano @ La
Zorra y el Cuervo,
11pm
Festival de Música
Antigua Esteban Salas
Feb 15-26
Brutal Fest’s 2014 Winter
Festival in Havana
Festival del Habano,
Gala Evening
Sat
Contigo pan y cebolla
by Julio CésarRamírez
Dinner at Santi.
Jaimanitas’s off the
beaten track world
class sushi restaurant.
9
16
23
2 March
My Dream by China
Disabled People’s
Performing Art
Troupe, 5pm
En Buena Compañía
@ Carpa Trompoloco,
4pm & 7pm
Pan American
Purebred Dog
Tournament @ Parque
Metropolitano
Máquina de la
Melancolía @ El Sauce,
5pm onwards
Jazz at Privé Lounge,
10:30pm
VISITCUBA.com
Jazz at Privé Lounge,
10:30pm
!
Mon
Sun
Dinner at Casa Miglis,
Centro Habana’s
Scandinavian oasis.
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XVI Festival del Habano
Feb 24 – 28, 2014
Photos courtsey of Habanos S.A.
With Sir Terence Conran
at the Festival del Habano
By Stephen Gibbs
Maybe someone was having a quiet joke. Perhaps it
was a coincidence. But for one reason or another,
Havana’s Karl Marx theatre was the setting for the
inaugural night of celebrations in honor of that
great capitalist prop, the hand-rolled cigar. The
visitors, more likely to be socialites than socialists,
come every year to rub shoulders with like-minded
aficionados. And smoke, almost continuously. With
many countries around the world now shunning
smokers, Cuba, which has not enforced its own
anti-smoking legislation, has become something
of a haven.
“We have been driven to special corners of the
world,” says Hong Kong based cigar distributor
David Tang. “Places where people still understand
that smoking is not a sin.”
Visitors to the festival spend much of the week
touring the factories where the objects of their
desires are rolled. For British designer and
restaurateur Sir Terence Conran, coming to Cuba
for the first time having smoked Cuban cigars
almost every day for the last 43 of his 75 years,
is like a pilgrimage. In the vast rolling room of H.
Upmann, the air thick with the aroma of tobacco
leaf, he recalls his first cigar.
VISITCUBA.com
“We opened the Habitat store in May 1964, and
someone suggested that the best way to celebrate
was with a Montecristo cigar.”
I ask him if he has ever considered giving up.
“No,” is his brusque reply. “Luckily I have a very
sensible doctor who smokes cigars himself.”
The festival is of course not just about smoking
cigars. It has a serious business side. Behind closed
doors, in the factories’ tasting rooms, retailers are
thinking of ways to defend their livelihoods against
anti-smoking legislation. They know that they will
probably end up selling fewer cigars. One strategy
is to go more upmarket.
The week ends with an extravagant $500 a head
final dinner, which this year was held in the
cavernous ExpoCuba, near Havana’s Parque Lenin.
Glancing around the several guests, it seemed
quite clear that there are plenty of cigar smokers
with plenty of money around the world. The dinner
ends with an auction of hand-crafted humidors.
The bids (which go towards Cuban health care)
soar into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
This does not look like a business or a habit that is
dying out.
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XVI Festival del
Habano Program 2014
Palacio de las Convenciones
(unless otherwise stated)
Calle 146, e/ 11 y 13, Playa
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Monday February 24, 2014
10.30am5pm
Preliminary Habanosommelier
International Competition.
2pm
Trade Fair and Habanos Gallery
opening
7pm
Welcoming cocktail in tribute
to the Hoyo de Monterrey and
Partagás brands at Club Habana.
Tuesday February 25, 2014
7am to
5pm
Visit to tobacco plantations in
Vuelta Abajo, Pinar del Río.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
9:45am10:30am
Germans in Habanos. Origin of the
H. Upmann brand, by Raúl Martell
11am12.15pm
Master Class on cigar rolling
technique Totalmente a Mano
(Totally Handmade)
2:153:45pm
Habanos in the cinema
4-5pm
Alliance of Habanos with some of
the world’s best and most exclusive
beers, conducted by Belgian
sommelier and beer expert Ben
Vinken.
8pm
Double Michelin-starred Dutch
chef Ron Blaauw, alongside the
famous sommelier Cuno Van’t Hoff. will delight guests in tribute to the
Trinidad brand
VISITCUBA.com
9am12pm
Visit to Habanos factories La
Corona and H.Upmann
2:303:30pm
Habanos Vintage. Tasting of an
aged Habano
3:304:30pm
Vodka and Habanos
4:305:30pm
The combination of Habanos with
cocktails and cuisine
Friday, February 28, 2014
9:3010:30am
The Final of the Habanosommelier
International Competition
11am12pm
Elements that contribute to how a
Habano burns. Contest to get the
longest ash
12-1pm
Awards ceremony
7pm5:30am
Gala Evening
Guests will be able to taste the first
H. Upmann Reserva and attend the
traditional Humidors Auction
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A cigar aficionado’s
guide to Havana
By Amir Saarony
Gardens of Hotel Nacional
Photos by Yadira Montero
La Casa del Habano, Partagás cigar factory
Industria #520 e/ Dragones y Barcelona, behind the Capitolio
While Partagás produced cigars on this street from
1848 to 2012, the factory has now been closed and
relocated. La Casa del Habano, however, remains
open and is a major destination for cigar smokers
from the world over. This store is a historical
marker in the story of Cuban cigars. Its manager
is Grecia Quiñones Marrero and her extremely
knowledgeable staff is led by Hamlet. Yes, that is
his real name. And yes, he is the very same Hamlet
who has gained worldwide recognition as a master
cigar roller from the store at the old Romeo y
Julieta factory.
Casa del Habano, Hostal Conde de Villanueva
Mercaderes #202, e/ Lamparilla y Amargura, Habana Vieja
This building was built as the mansion of Claudio
Martínez de Pinillos, Count of Villanueva, but it has
been given a new life as a nine-room hotel. Every
room and suite is named after a brand of cigars, but
that is not what makes it a haven for smokers. As
you enter the airy courtyard, on your right you will
see a flight of stairs to the old servant quarters on
the mezzanine; at the top of the stairs is a hidden
gem: a Casa del Habano. This hidden wonder is
managed by Antonio Hevia and staffed by one of
the most sought after in-store rollers in the city,
Reynaldo González.
VISITCUBA.com
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La Casa del Habano, La Quinta
Ave. 5ta #1407 e/ 14 y 16, Miramar
This was the first high-end cigar store in Cuba
when its doors opened in 1990. It is a smoker’s
store. Outside of the regular tourist environment,
it is quieter, but it is still a worthy destination in its
own right. This is the place to take your time and
truly take advantage of the expertise of the staff.
The selection is large and the suburban setting
allows you to slow down after the hectic pace of
the city. Order a coffee or a drink from the bar,
or even lunch from the adjoining restaurant, then
relax in a wicker chair and enjoy a larger, longer
smoke.
La Casa del Habano, Club Habana
Ave. 5ta e/ 188 y 192, reparto Flores
This was the exclusive Biltmore Club prerevolution and, although it boasts tennis courts,
gym, fine dining and a private beach, the real draw
for cigar smokers is La Casa del Habano that was
run by Enrique Mons. One of the living icons of
the cigar world, Mons was in charge of quality
for Cubatabaco (predecessor of Habanos S.A.) for
almost 20 years. Now that he has retired, the staff
works hard to maintain the level of excellence that
he demanded. The comfortable lounge is a great
place to sit, smoke and chat.
La Casa de Habano, Hotel Habana Libre
Calle L e/ 23 y 25, El Vedado
This may very well be both the newest and the
biggest LCDH in Havana. It is large, airy and well
located in the lobby of the Hotel Habana Libre. The
inventory is large and the staff, led by Elina Perez,
is well trained. This space is large enough to have a
fountain and fishpond in the store. It may be more
comfortable to grab your cigar here and venture
out into the Hotel Lobby to enjoy your cigar and a
surprisingly good mojito or gin and tonic, or better
yet, stroll across the street and treat yourself to a
Coppelia ice cream.
Other
There are also wonderful La Casa del Habano in
the Meliá Cohíba and the Meliá Habana hotels that
offer wonderful smoking environments.
The La Casa del Habano in the Hotel Nacional does
not have a smoking lounge per se but, of course,
the back patio of the Hotel Nacional is the prime
oasis for cigar smoking in Havana at any time.
VISITCUBA.com
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7
Amir Saarony
Obsessive collector and historian of
Cuban Cigar antiques. Publisher of
Partagás El Libro. Writer, lecturer,
designer.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
http://www.facebook.com/pages/
Old-Cuban-Cigar-Stuff/286203887318
https://twitter.com/oldcubancigar
Partagás El Libro
An unparalleled look at the history of an icon, Partagás El Libro is a culmination of efforts from
many of the world’s leading experts on the Cuban cigar and Cuban history.
Over 200 pages of information and never before published images from the National Archives of
Cuba, the archives of Partagás, the Tobacco Museum in Havana and private and public collections
around the world. A must have for anyone interested in cigars and Cuba of the past.
See http://www.oldcubancigarstuff.com/
VISITCUBA.com
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Searching for
Pink Smoke
The Cuban Western rides into Viñales
Photo by Alex Mene
Although Conducta, the most recent movie by
filmmaker Ernesto Daranas (Los Dioses Rotos,
2008) is barely out, already the Cuban director has
begun to prepare a new project. Different from his
previous social dramas that basically take place in
the neighborhoods of Old Havana, Daranas will now
venture into a rural comedy in which he flirts with
the codes of the Western genre.
The locations chosen by Daranas for the story are
several of the most beautiful Cuban landscapes.
No wonder Viñales is a much sought after tourist
destination, especially during the winter months
when tobacco plantations appear in all their
splendor giving a unique stamp to the world famous
valley thanks to its steep-sided karst hills known as
mogotes.
Pink Smoke is the working title of this story set in the
majestic Viñales Valley, a kind of tropical equivalent
to Monument Valley, where several anthological
westerns have been shot.
Daranas has said that the project has only recently
begun to take its first steps and that they are now
in the preparation stage. But after the favorable
reception of his first two films, it is not surprising
that Cuban viewers are already impatient for Pink
Smoke to hit the big screen.
Pink Smoke owes its name to what triggers the plot: a
tobacco plantation in Viñales has begun to produce a
tobacco leaf of exquisite aroma and pink smoke that
leads to a violent clash of interests.
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.
VISITCUBA.com
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Program - III Harley Davidson Rally, 2014
(Encuentro Harlista!)
Sat Feb 1
4pm
Press Conference in the Gato
Tuerto night club ( facing the
Piragua)
Thur Feb 6
9am
Departure for Varadero
Fri Feb 7
10am
Accreditation at Varadero Park
12 noon
Motorcycle tour to place of interest
- Ambrosio Cave
Evening
Concert with invited musical and
rock groups
Sat Feb 8
10am
Varadero Park
Competitions
* Slowest bike * Straw in the
bottle * Hotdog Obstacle courses
* Fastest bike to start
Prizes
* Oldest bike Best restored bike
(customized) * Best restored bike
(original) * Bike that rode furthest
to arrive at the event * Most
popular bike
4.30pm
Departure for official event photo
at the Gaviota Marina
Evening
Concerts by invited musical
and rock group at Varadero
Amphitheater
www.harlistascubanos.com
As with the 2013 event, this rally is not organized
by any specific motorcycle club, and all Harley
Davidson owners in Cuba and abroad who wish to
participate are invited, regardless of the club they
belong to or the colors they wear. Registration Fee
for visiting Harley riders is $30 CUC per rider and
$25 CUC per companion.
To coordinate advance accreditation,
accommodation and transportation please contact
Abel Pez - [email protected]/ (53-5) 264-4546 or
Max Cucchi - (53-5) 263-1339 [email protected]
Sun Feb 9
1:00 pm
Farewell lunch
Mon Feb10
Return back to Havana
VISITCUBA.com
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Fábrica de Arte Cubano (F.A.C.)
Calle 13 #61, esq. a calle 26. Vedado, (next to the Puente de
Hierro. Open 6pm to 6am
Opens February 13, 2014
Concerts planned
Thurs Feb 13: X Alfonso
Fri Feb 14: Silvio Rodríguez
Sat Feb 15: Santiago Feliú
Fábrica de Arte Cubano (F.A.C.)
New Cultural Center
Originally the headquarters for Havana’s electricity
company from 1910 to 1030, then converted to an
olive oil factory and fish warehouse, El Cocinero is
perhaps an odd choice for Havana’s most ambitious
new cultural project. Then again Battersea power
station was converted to universal praise into the
Tate Modern and the roof to the building is already
the site for one of Havana’s best bars/restaurants
(El Cocinero).
alternative fashion shows. It also aims to carry
out work with children and young people of the
community known as El Fanguito, one of the
poorest neighborhoods in the city.
X Alfonso
The Fábrica de Arte Cubano (F.A.C.), will open its
doors on February 13, 2014 offering a full range
of contemporary arts that includes music, visual
arts, dance, film, theater, photography, literature,
fashion, graphic design and architecture.
Singer, composer and video maker X Alfonso,
is the inspiration and driving force behind this
project. F.A.C. will offer concerts on Friday and
Saturday nights initially as well as art exhibitions,
screenings of shorts and documentaries, and
Entrance will be 50 Cuban Pesos for adults (Kids for Free)
First floor Art gallery, Small performing arts space, library, bar.
500 people capacity
Top Floor Photo gallery, visual arts, workshops 300 people capacity
Top Floor Dance / Theatre / Film 300 people capacity
Outside
Concert space 600 people capacity
For more information about Fábrica de Arte Cubano (F.A.C.)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fábrica-de-Arte-Cubano/140518962687358
VISITCUBA.com
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Visual Arts
Intaglios by Mario Sánchez
Edificio de Arte Cubano. Museo Nacional de
Bellas Artes, Through March 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 Opens
Feb 18, 5pm
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
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.
VISITCUBA.com
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Visual Arts
Biblioteca Pública Rubén Martínez Villena
Opens Feb 13
Opening of the exhibition El alma
desnuda by Ernesto García Peña,
whose drawings and paintings
confirm the artist’s mastery of
brushstrokes, the use of light and
transparency.
Centro Provincial de Artes Plásticas y Diseño
Through
Feb 14
Lo disperso también cumple un
objetivo, exhibition by Alejandro
García.
Through
Feb 14
In La píldora de la felicidad, artist
Claudia Corrales uses photographs,
installations and audiovisuals to
tackle the topic of the obsession
with having a perfect figure and of
certain beauty canons, all induced
through and sustained by the
market.
Through
Feb 14
Niño con trauma mira al cielo y
sonríe marks the return of artist
Pedro Pablo Bacallao to pictorial
art to gauge the situation of his
surroundings and provoke and
seduce the viewer.
Kcho Estudio Romerillo. Laboratorio para el Arte
Throughout A huge “thinker” (which alludes
February
to Rodin’s famous sculpture) in
dialogue with Cuban reality,
along with other installations and
drawings by Alexis Leyva (Kcho)
are on exhibition at this new
studio/laboratory in the marginal
neighborhood of Romerillo in the
outskirts of Havana. The project
is sponsored by the artist and the
admission is free. Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes.
Edificio de Arte Cubano
Throughout Posada, perfil de una época, an
February
exhibition in tribute to José Luis
Posada (1929-2002), includes 70
pieces inb various techniques by
this excellent Spanish drafter and
caricaturist who carried out a
prolific work in Cuba, especially in
printed periodicals.
Palacio de Lombillo
Through
Feb 16
Seisdedos en Cuba, by Spanish
artist Juan Manuel Seisdedos,
exhibits gestural painting, of
random and emotive brush strokes,
akin to psychic automatism of
early surrealist artists
VISITCUBA.com
Galería Espacio Abierto
Therough
Feb 7
In Encuentro de viajes¸ the group
Espacio Azul explores different
ways to perceive reality both what
is far away and extremely vast and
the micro world.
Galería Habana
Throughout Pintura fresca is the first show
February
from a series that under the
same name will tackle different
forms of expression within Cuban
contemporary painting. The first
show will include the work of
artists Douglas Argüelles, Enrique
Baster, Roberto Diago, Carlos
Quintana, Maykel Linares, Yornel
Martínez and Rigoberto Mena.
Galería del hotel Ambos Mundos
Through
Feb 25
El paso de la conciencia, an
exhibition by the young artist
Lázaro Nelson Céspedes.
Galería Servando
Through
Feb 12
Lo que sucede conviene is a
group exhibition of important
pieces that deal with false
memories by Cuban contemporary
artists Eduardo Ponjuán—who
recently received the National
Award for Visual Arts—José A.
Toirac, Levi Orta, Celia & Yunior,
Carlos Garaicoa, Lázaro Saavedra
and Reynier Leyva Novo.
Galería Villa Manuela
Throughout Paisaje 3600 is tye name of
February
the exhibition by young artist
Elizabeth Cerviño, who uses
painting, installation, photography
and performance, along with linen,
silk, sand and water to express
her style, which come very close
abstract art sustained by Oriental
philosophy.
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes.
Edificio de Arte Internacional
Throughout El arte de la luz is a show of
February
53 pieces by one of the most
significant European artists today,
Marie-Antoinette Courtens from
Holland. This exhibition retifies
the opinion of the well-known art
critic Dieter Paul Mahlow: “For
Marie-Antoninette Courtens, art is
the light thatcontinues to bloom in
the gardenns of the human spirit.
page 13
Galeria Galiano
Through February 2014
Stainless vs. The Merger.
art Exhibition
Chaos isn´t a pit; chaos is a ladder. Many of the people who try to climb it fail, never
getting to try again. The fall breaks them. And some are given the chance but they
refuse, they cling to the realm, or the gods, or love. Illusions. Only the ladder is real.
The climb is all there is.
Littlefinger, Game of Thrones
Season 3, Episode 6
The symmetry of chaos
The popular TV children’s series Art Attack has
become a learning niche for Cuban viewers in
recent years. Thanks to its easy-to-follow art,
a number of children have managed to create
visually attractive art pieces. In the exhibition The
Symmetry of Chaos, the creative groups Stainless
and The Merger have adopted a similar teaching
attitude. Today, these guys want to teach us “how
to make art.”
These groups will use anything—stainless steel,
Carrara marble, silicone, resin, PVC, aluminum
foil, quartz or monolayer paints. They take full
advantage of their plastic qualities and shape
them to the taste of each inquisitive viewer.
Their themes are just as wide ranging. They have
tackled the subversion of power in Los tiempos
cambian (Times Change), supposed success in
Laureados (Prizewinners), and the re-adaptation
of great stories in ¿Qué es lo más pesado, héroes?
(What’s Carries More Weight, Heroes?). Clearly,
their discourses are not restricted to national
interpretations.
These groups have transformed the Galiano Gallery
in a mixed, chaotic setting, in which the viewer is
“hit” by different shapes, colors, textures; a setting
in which—and they have given fair warning—art
attacks.
ROM & GGA
Havana, January 2014
VISITCUBA.com
page 14
photography
Imagining Cuba
Fototeca de Cuba
Through February 10
Photographers Dario de Dominicis. Gianni Gosdan, Umberto Sommaruga (Italy); Ernesto Javier Fernándea, Liudmila y Nelson, Antonio Gómes
Margolles, René Peña, Alejandro González (Cuba);
Sandro Miller and Julieve Jubin (US) give their own
view of Cuba, more documentary in the case of international photographers, and more intimate and
conceptual for the Cubans.
Miradas reveladoras
Pabellón Cuba
Through February 17
Revealing photographs taken by Cuba master photographers: José Agraz, Raúl Corrales, Alberto Díaz
(Korda), Ernesto Fernández, Liborio Noval, Luis
Pierce, Perfecto Romero, Osvaldo and Roberto
Salas.
Photographs of
Juana Bacallao
Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo,
Lam Through February 10
Photographer Teresa Correa exhibits 10 photographs of Cuban singer Juana Bacallao, who is
more interesting as a social phenomenon than
musically speaking.
Escapes soñados
Centro Provincial de Artes Plásticas y
Diseño Through February 15
Photographs by Reiko Imoto from Japan.
VISITCUBA.com
page 15
Dance
La magia de la danza
Sala Avellaneda
Feb 7 & 8, 8pm; Feb 9, 5pm
Concert program by the Ballet Nacional de Cuba
with La magia de la danza, an anthology of great
moments of 19th-century choreographies in
versions by Alicia Alonso, 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.
Danzando Sueños
Ballet Español de Cuba, Fri Feb 21, 28 &
Sat 22, 8:30pm & Sun Feb 23, 5pm
Sala Avellaneda, Teatro Nacional
Season of the Spanish Ballet of Cuba with the
performance of Danzando sueños, a tribute to
Wifredo Lam. The ballet, which is structured in
three scenes according to the three first creative
periods of this great Cuban painter, allows
audiences to admire how this company has been
able to combine Spanish dance with elements from
other cultures, in this case, Afro-Cuban folklore.
My Dream
China Disabled People’s Performing Art
Troupe, Sala Avellaneda. Teatro Nacional
Sat Feb 8, 8.30pm & Sun Feb 9, 5pm
China Disabled People’s Performing Art Troupe
was founded in 1987…the Performing Troupe bears
the dreams of people with disabilities and creates
a special art which delights audiences, purifies the
soul with Truth, Honesty and Virtue... they were
referred to as “A Special Art Star of Mankind and
Image Ambassadors for 600 Million People with
Disabilities in the World” by the Disabled People’s
International 6th World Assembly. There are 110
disabled performers and 37 staff member.
VISITCUBA.com
page 16
MUSIC
X Alfonso is performing at
Fábrica de Arte Cubano (F.A.C.)
on February 13, 2014
modern Fusion & Electronic
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. Our current
favourite is Kpricho (#110, Calle 94 entre 1ra y 3ra Miramar). This is ultra modern and uber cool with a
great DJ playing at weekends. This is where the cool cats will find their way to.
Tribute to Juan Blanco
Sala Manuel Galich. Casa de las Américas,
Feb 5, 4pm
Concert with the National Laboratory of
Electroacoustic Music on the occasion on the
50th anniversary of the first performance of
electroacoustic music in Cuba and a tribute to
Juan Blanco, pioneer of this type of music. Guest
musicians include DJ Productor, D´Joy de Cuba,
Nacional Electrónica and Ensamble de Haskell
Armenteros.
VISITCUBA.com
page 17
MUSIC
modern Fusion & Electronic
Café Cantante Mi Habana. Teatro Nacional
Casa de la Música de Miramar
Wednesdays Performances by Qva Libre
Mondays
5 pm
5 pm
Fridays
Performances by Isis Flores
5 pm
Feb 11
Habana Abierta
5 pm
Performances by El Micha
Centro Cultural Fresa y Chocolate
Mondays
10: 30pm
Wichy D´Vedado, one of the most
famous DJs in Havana, who plays
the best of world music.
Café Concert El Sauce
Sundays
5 pm
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.
Salón Rojo (hotel Capri)
Feb 2
Performance by Baby Lores.
11 pm
Fábrica de Arte Cubano (F.A.C.)
Feb 13
6 pm
Opening of the new Fábrica de Arte
with the special performance of its
mastermind X Alfonso.
Teatro Karl Marx
Feb 1 & 2
Concert by Descemer Bueno.
8:30 pm
Electronic Music Festival at the
Abreu Fontán Social Center, 2013
Photo by Alex Mene
VISITCUBA.com
page 18
Photos by Alex Mene
Habana Abierta – urban legand, at
Café Cantante Mi Habana
“que rico suena un rocanrol con timba” [Vanito Brown, Habana Abierta]
“¡Habana Abierta te lo trae de pinga!” [Cuban Fans]
Some things can’t, or at least probably shouldn’t
be translated. Lets just say that Habana Abierta
fucking rocked at Café Cantante last week in a
somewhat surprising Tuesday night appearance.
To have Vanito, Medina, Barber, Gutiérrez and
Nan San Fong – accompanied by Anton Perugorría
(drums) and Julio César González Ochoa (bass)
playing Bride of Superman in a concert costing 100
Cuban pesos was as nostalgic for another time as
it was brilliantly entertaining.
To set in context Habana Abierta emerged in the
early 90s and had become something of a Havana
urban legend - known through a handful of albums
and with so few appearances that the last major
concert in 2003 in La Tropical becomes legendary.
It was not so much that the group split up (although
of course Kelvis Ochoa did leave for his solo career
as did Boris Larramendi but that they simply
disappeared from the scene. Extensive touring in
Spain in the late 1990s, a couple of albumns and
then nothing…
The origins of Habana Abierta go back to a
personal project of music duo Gema y Pável. The
key members of the group are:
Vanito Brown: Chronicler of personal issues, a
versatile songwriter. The scale of his work ranges
from a contemporary rock ballad to the most
traditional of Cuban music.
Alejandro Gutiérrez: A modern-day bolerista,
with Filin (feeling) and urban song influences of
the continental south.
Luis Alberto Barbería: The resonance of his voice
and guitar work takes on Afro-Cuban rhythms. His
melodies are lyrical with jazz influences.
Jose Luis Medina: Refined pop successfully
blended with son, guajira and guaracha, able to
come up with the barest social criticism or the
most conciliatory ballad.
For now Habana Abierta will alternate with David
Torrens & Kelvis Ochoa at Café Cantante on
Tuesday evenings.
For now Habana Abierta will alternate
with David Torrens & Kelvis Ochoa at
Café Cantante on Tuesday evenings.
Doors open 5pm
performance from 9pm.
VISITCUBA.com
page 19
MUSIC
Salsa / Timba
Alexander Abreu at
Casa de la Música de Galiano.
Photo by Alexander Mene
Casa de la Música de Galiano
Casa de la Música de Miramar
Tuesday
5 pm
El Noro y Primera Clase
Monday
11 pm
Sur Caribe
Thursday
5 pm
Pupy y los que Son Son
Thursday
11 pm
11 pm
Charanga Latina.
Alexander Abreu y Havana
de Primera
Saturday
11 pm
Pupy y los que Son Son
5 pm
PMM en Discotemba
Sunday
5 pm
Bamboleo
11 pm
Chispa y los Cómplices
Sunday
Diablo Tun Tun
Thursdays
José Luis Cortés y NG La Banda
11 pm
Monday
El Jelengue de Areíto
Tuesdays
11 pm
Thursdays
Café Cantante Mi Habana
Septeto Habanero (traditional
music)
Manana Club
11 pm
Friday
El Noro y Primera Clase
11 pm
Guaracheros (traditional music)
11 pm
Fridays
Rumberos de Cuba (rumba)
11 pm
Sundays
Timbalaye (rumba)
11 pm
VISITCUBA.com
page 20
Eme Alfonso performing with Síntesis, 2013
Photos by Alex Mene
1st Havana World Music Festival,
February 7-8, 2014
Círculo Social José Antonio Echeverría
Calle 12 esquina a Calzada, Vedado
Havana World
Music Festival
Organized by a nonprofit group led
by young Cuban singer and composer
Eme Alfonso, the 1st Havana World
Music Festival (February 7-8, 2014)
seeks to open a window from Cuba
onto the world and from the world
onto Cuba. “The focus of HWM is to
give the Cuban people the chance to
become acquainted with the musical
diversity of Cuba and the world, as
well as to encourage exchanges among
international and Cuban bands. This
can be very beneficial to the musicians,
producers and musical promoters in
our country.” Eme Alfonso
The festival revolves on different genres
and styles that work from the roots but
aim to reach a wide audience. Therefore,
alternative music, which merges
popular genres like rock, reggae, salsa
or electronic music, is predominant
in Havana World Music. The HWM
program is rounded off by folk groups
that participated in Eme Alfonso’s Para
Mestizar Project, a documentary music
video that shows the cultural heritage
of Cuba.
VISITCUBA.com
page 21
Friday 7
Saturday 8
La cinta de Baraguá, Thea Hjelmeland Sociedad Artística Gallega, M Alfonso,
(Norway), Déjá-vu , Auntie Flo (UK), LA William Vivanco, SINTESIS, Fuel
MAKINA DEL KARIBE (Colombia) y X Fandango (Spain) y Los Van Van.
Alfonso.
Place: Círculo Social Jose Antonio Echeverría, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba.”
La Mákina del Karibe (Colombia)
Fuel Fandango (Spain)
Electronic
elements.
pop-rock
with
vocal
flamenco
Brings a fresh and lighthearted outlook on
music with roots in Colombian popular music
DJ Auntie Flo (UK)
Thea Hjelmeland (Norway)
Will perform with live percussion by South
African musician and DJ Esa Williams.
Will be accompanied by Cuban musicians
Jorge Luis Lagarza, Abel González Gómez and
Barbarito Torres Delgado, looking to give a
Cuban sonority to her characteristic music.
Síntesis
Los Van Van
Going strong for 35 straight years. Received Recently received the WOMEX (World Music
both national and international acclaim for EXpo) award in 2013 for their achievement in
their fusion of Afro-Cuban rhythms with other the international music industry.
styles, mainly rock.
Eme Alfonso
William Vivanco
(X Alfonso’sister) whose music stands out for its Evolving from his funkier tunes to a music that
sophisticated mix of Cuban rhythms with soul is more rhythmic and traditional, in the style of
his native town Santiago de Cuba
and jazz
Déjà Vu
Fusion of reggae with other musical styles.
Cuban electronic scene
DJ Yoyván Guerra, Djoy de Cuba, and the young
duo Pauza will also be performing during the
festival.
X Alfonso
Son of Síntesis band leaders Carlos Alfonso and Ele Valdés—whose music has always revolved
around roots and exploration. VISITCUBA.com
page 22
MUSIC
JAZZ
Privé Lounge
Sundays from 10:30pm
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 Sunday night is jazz night and provides the perfect mellow end to the weekend. Musicans play from 10.30pm
Café Jazz Miramar(Cine Miramar)
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..
La Zorra y el Cuervo
Feb 1
Michel Herrera (saxophonist and
composer)
Feb 2
Lázaro Valdés (pianist) y Son Jazz
Feb 3
Harold López-Nussa (pianist and
composer)
Feb 4
Denys Carbó (saxophonist) and Balance
Feb 5
Emilio Morales (pianist and composer)
and Los Nuevos Amigos
Feb 6
Yissy García (percussionist and
composer) y su grupo
Feb 7
Oscar Valdés (percussionist and singer)
and Diákara
Yasek Manzano (trumpet player) and his
group
Feb 8, 15
Feb 9
Teclas Habana
Feb 10
Yadasny Portillo (pianist and composer)
y grupo Cauce
Feb 11
Jesús Fuentes (saxophonist and
composer) y Santo Tomás Conection
Feb 12
Alexis Bosch (pianista y Proyecto Jazz
Cubano
Feb 13
Roberto Fonseca (pianist and composer)
y grupo Temperamento
Feb 14
Bellita Expósito (pianist and composer)
y grupo Jazztumbatá
Feb 17
Grupo Canela
VISITCUBA.com
Jazz Café
Feb 7, 14 & 21
10 pm
Emilio Morales (pianist and
composer) and Los Nuevos Amigos.
Feb 8, 16, 22 & 27 Michel Herrera (sax player and
10:30 pm
composer).
UNEAC
Feb 13
2 pm
Peña La Esquina del Jazz hosted by
showman Bobby Carcassés.
Somavilla (15 y H, El Vedado)
Feb 1, 8, 15 &
22
8:30 pm
Zule Guerra (singer and composer)
and Blues d’Havana. (Admission
free)
page 23
MUSIC
Bolero, Folkloric, Son & Trova
Silvio Rodríguez in Concert
Fábrica de Arte Cubano (F. A. C.)
Feb 14
Concert by singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez,
one of the greats of New Cuban Trova and founder
of this movement back in 1he 1960s.
Pancho Amat
Museo Nacional de la Música
Feb 20, 5pm
In some ways Pancho Amat is an unlikely hero.
He is a spontaneous and unaffected man who
conveys wisdom in an open and frank manner. A
guajiro in the best sense of the word. His great
love is the Cuban Tres, which is part of Cuba’s
most important musical heritage. Over the course
of several decades he is the musician who has
most contributed to universalize the tres through
recordings or live performances with musicians
from Cuba and other countries, such as Joaquin
Sabina, Oscar D’Leon, Pablo Milanés, Rosana, Ry
Cooder, Silvio Rodríguez, Victor Victor, Yomo Toro
and Victor Jara. READ MORE
Santiago Feliú.in Concert
Fábrica de Arte Cubano (F.A.C.)
Calle 13 #61, esq. a calle 26. Vedado.
Concert by singer-songwriter Santiago Feliú, one
of the most important Cuban singer-songwriters
who has preserved the troubadour spirit with
contemporary sounds.
VISITCUBA.com
page 24
MUSIC
Bolero, Folkloric, Son & Trova
Asociación Yoruba de Cuba
Fridays
Folkloric group Obiní Batá.
8 pm
Saturdays
Casa del Alba
Feb 7
7 pm
Folkloric group Los Ibellis.
4 pm
Feb 27
6 pm
Cabaret Las Vegas
Saturdays
4 pm
Performance by the folkloric group
Yoruba Andabo.
Thursdays
5 pm
Elaín Morales.
5 pm
Saturdays
6 pm
Waldo Mendoza, one of Cuba’s
most popular singers today.
Café Concert Adagio
Thursdays
10 pm
Maylú - , whose repertoire goes
from arias of famous operas
to Cuban, Latin American and
international pop hits.
Peña El Canto de Todos, with
singer-songwriter Vicente Feliú,
one of the founding members of
Cuban Nueva Trova.
Casa de la Música de Miramar
Tuesdays
Café Cantante, Teatro Nacional
With his beautiful and powerful
voice, Eduardo Sosa and guests
perform highlights of the best
Cuban trova of all time.
Cantautores, live performances
and videos of the most important
national and international singers
of author’s song in the past 50
years.
Centro Cultural Fresa y Chocolate
Saturdays
9 pm
Yeni Sotolongo, a young singer
who boasts an exceptional voice
and varied repertoire.
Centro Cultural Pablo de la Torriente Brau
Feb 22
5 pm
A Guitarra Limpia is a meeting
with trovadores accompanied only
by their guitars.
Café Concert El Sauce
Fridays
10 pm
Singer-songwriter Frank Delgado
with his ironic view of society.
5 pm
Feb 8
3 pm
Café Teatro Bertolt Brecht
Feb 22
Centro Iberoamericano de la Décima
A bolero puro, show with the
performances of singer Rafael
Espín and guests La Mezcla
Perfecta, Churrisco (comedian),
songstresses Vania Borges and
Maureen García, the group Parada
8 and Cirabana Circus.
Feb 23
5 pm
Rock/folkloric band Síntesis
3 pm
Feb 8,
Folkloric group Obiní Batá
3 pm
Casa de la Cultura Comunitaria Mirta Aguirre
Feb 23
5 pm
Get-together with trovador Ireno
García.
VISITCUBA.com
El Jardín de la Gorda with the
performances of trovadores from
every generation.
Hotel Telégrafo
Fridays
9:30 pm
Casa de África
Feb 1
Performance by the duet Ad
Libitum.
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
Feb 8
10 pm
Mundito González is one of the
most popular Cuban bolero singers.
Piano bar Tun Tun
Thursdays
Peña with trovador Ray Fernández.
5 pm
page 25
Feb 15-26, 2014
Festival de Música Antigua Esteban Salas
Dedicated to commemorate the anniversary of the death of the first Cuban musician of whom there
is record of printed scores, every year the Esteban Salas Early Music Festival gathers outstanding
performers of Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music who perform in Old Havana headed by the
Ars Longa Music Ensemble. This festival has made it possible for audiences to enjoy for the first time
in Cuba important pieces of the universal repertory, such as the madrigalian comedy “Festino” by the
Italian composer Adriano Banchieri and Handel’s “Messiah.” 2014 marks the 10th Anniversary of this
festival and this year there will be events in each of the first seven towns established in Cuba.
Program 2014, Concerts
Basílica Menor de San Francisco de Asís
Feb 15
6 pm
Gulumbá Gulumbé: The sounds of
Africa in the new World. Ars Longa
Early Music Ensemble
Basílica Menor de San Francisco de Asís
Feb 22
6 pm
Iglesia de Paula
Feb 16
7 pm
Bipolar: Pieces from the Baroque
and the 20th century (Bach,
Hindemith and Crumb). Cellist
Alejandro Martínez and soloists
from the Ars Longa Early Music
Ensemble
Basílica Menor de San Francisco de Asís
Feb 20
6 pm
...para dos...: German and French
music for the recorder. Claudia
Gerauer (Germany) and Martina
Joos (Switzerland).
Iglesia de Paula
Feb 21
7 pm
Musical Jewels of the Late
Baroque. Flutist Claudia Gerauer,
organist Stefan Baier and soloists
from the Ars Longa Early Music
Ensemble
Iglesia de Paula
Feb 23
7 pm
Organ Musical Heritage, German
Repertoire from the 19th and
29th Centuries. Organist Moisés
Santiesteban from Cuba
Iglesia de Paula
Feb 27
7 pm
The Harpsichord, Luxury in
17th- and 18th-Century European
Courts. Kathleen McIntosh (USA)
on the harpsichord and the Ars
Longa Early Music Ensemble
Iglesia de Paula
Organ Music from the South of
Germany in the 17th Century.
Organist Stefan Baier from
Germany
VISITCUBA.com
Feb 28
7 pm
German Musical Art of the 17th
Century. Martin Rost (Germany
on the organ and the Ars Longa
Early Music Ensemble
page 26
Master Classes
Edificio Santo Domingo (Obispo e/ San Ignacio y
Mercaderes):
Feb 18-21
9 am
Flauta dulce (The Recorder), by
Claudia Gerauer from Germany
and Martina Joos from Switzerland
who will lecture on the German
repertuire for recorder quartets in
the 17th and 18th centuries.
Iglesia de Paula
Feb 18-21
9 am
Iglesia de Paula
Feb 22
6 pm
Órgano for students of the organ,
by German organist por Martin
Rost.
Iglesia de Paula
Feb 23
7 pm
Órgano for students of the organ,
by German organist Stefan Baier.
Clavecín (Harpsichord) for
students of the Baroque orchestra
of the National School of Music by
Kathleen McIntosh from the US
Lectures and Workshops
Taller de Luthería, Plaza Vieja
Feb 17
2 pm
Renovating the figure of
Luthiers. For luthiers and luthier
students and students of the
Predoctoral Degree in Hispanic
Musical Heritage.
Edificio Santo Domingo
Feb 18
2 pm
Reading Tablatures for the Lute
by Costa Rican musicologist and
lute player Tania Marcela Vicente
León. For students of the string
workshop of the National School
of Music and students of the
Predoctoral Degree in Hispanic
Musical Heritage.
Edificio Santo Domingo
Feb 19
2 pm
VISITCUBA.com
“Entre crucifijos y cantos”, by
Tania Marcela Vicente León, for
the general public and students of
the Predoctoral Degree in Hispanic
Musical Heritage.
page 27
MUSIC
classical
Photo by Ivan Soca
Basílica Menor de San Francisco de Asís
Feb 1
6 pm
Concert by the Nuestro Tiempo
Orchestra conducted by Enrique
Pérez Mesa.
Feb 14
6 pm
Concert dedicated to love by the
Camerata Romeu conducted by
Zenaida Romeu.
Biblioteca Nacional José Martí
Saturdays
Performances by soloists and chamber ensembles.
5 pm
Casa del ALBA Cultural
Feb 2
5 pm
Feb 9
3 pm
En Confluencia, conducted by
guitarists Eduardo and Galy
Martín.
Tarde de Concierto, conducted by
the soprano Lucy Provedo.
Feb 16
5 pm
Feb 23
De Nuestra América, conducted by
pianist Alicia Perea.
Concert by guitarist Rosa Matos.
5 pm
Centro Hispano Americano de Cultura
Feb 8
Performance by the guitar orchestra Sonantas Habaneras conducted by Jesús Ortega.
5 pm
Sala Covarrubias, Teatro Nacional
Sundays
Concerts with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional.
11 pm
VISITCUBA.com
page 28
MUSIC
classical
Oratorio San Felipe Neri
Feb 1
4 pm
Feb 3 11
7 pm
Special chorus concert by the Coro
Nacional de Cuba conducted by
Digna Guerra.
6 pm
7 pm
International workshop sponsored
by the cultural project European
Classical Music in the Social
Context of Old Havana.
Iglesia de Paula
Feb 12
Feb 4
Internationally acclaimed
French musicians, violist Gerard
Caussé and violinist Renaud
Capuçon, will give a concert
with the accompaniment of the
ISA Symphony Orchestra, of the
Lyceum Mozartiano de La Habana.
Sala Gonzalo Roig. Palacio del Teatro Lírico Nacional
Concert by cellist Udi BarDavid from the Philadelphia
Philharmonic Orchestra.
jan 23
5 pm
Cuerda Dominical with guitarist
Luis Manuel Molina.
Sala Ignacio Cervantes
Feb 2
6 pm
Feb 9
6 pm
The duet D’Accord, made up by
Marita Rodríguez (piano) and
Vicente Monterrey (clarinet),
with guest musician Ailet Roque
(clarinet) will offer the concert
Un febrero romántico (Romantic
February) with pieces by Robert
Schumann and Max Bruch.
The Cuban pianist Leonardo
Gell and Costa Rican sax player
Sofía Zumbado have announced
a program of works by Latin
American composers Marvin
Camacho andy Jesús Bonilla (Costa
Rica), Gabriela Ortiz (Mexico),
Julián de la Chica (Colombia),
Andrés Alén (Cuba) and Astor
Piazzolla (Argentina).
VISITCUBA.com
Feb 14
6 pm
Feb 16
6 pm
Golden performance by pianists
Ulises Hernández and Rolando
Luna along with singer Miriam
Ramos in the concert Danzas
para piano y canciones cubanas,
with musical compositions
by Ernesto Lecuona, Ignacio
Cervantes, Argeliers León and
Gisela Hernández, among other
composers.
The Camerarpa project, conducted
by Mirtha Batista, will present
Anabel Gutiérrez Orraca (harp)
and Ivonne Rubio Padrón (violin),
who wiill play works by Spohr,
Saint-Saëns, Tedeschi and
Sarasate.
page 29
II Encuentro de Guitarras
Identidades-2014
February 5-9, 2014
The 2nd Guitar Identities Meeting-2014 is sponsored by the
Music Association of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba
(UNEAC), Casa del ALBA Cultural de La Habana and Casa de las
Américas.
Program 2014, Concerts
Casa de la Cultura de Plaza
Feb 5
10 am
Opening by basic-level Cuban
students of guitar, tres and lute
Casa de la Cultura de Plaza
Feb 7
6 pm
Sala Villena (UNEAC)
Feb 5
6 pm
Feb 6
6 pm
Performances by Gilson Antúnez
from Brazil, and Magela Oquendo,
Martín Pedreira, Omar Kessel,
the duo Con-trastes adn the trio
Amanecer from Cuba
Performances by Susana Frade,
Carlos Ernesto Varona, Mabel
González, Yalit González, Ricardo
González, Emilio Padrón and the
duo Espiral.
Casa de la Cultura de Plaza
Feb 7
Concert by young guitarists
Performances by Fabiano Borges
(Brazil), and Ahmed Dickinson,
Sonantas Habaneras Orchestra
and Música Eterna Orchestra with
soloists Galy and Eduardo Martín
(Cuba).
Basílica Menor del Convento de
San Francisco de Asís
Feb 8
6 pm
Performances by Edwin Guevara
(Colombia) and Freddy Pérez, Rosa
Matos, Anolan González andthe
Orquesta Juvenil de Guitarra
(Cuba)
Casa del ALBA Cultural de La Habana
Feb 9
5 pm
3 pm
Closing concert with José Luis
Lara (Venezuela) and Ana Lillian
Báez, Ariadna Cuéllar, Luís Manuel
Molina, the duo Concuerdas and
the trio Alter Ego (Cuba)
Lectures and Master Classes
Casa de la Cultura de Plaza
Feb 6
10 am
“Genres and styles of Brazilian and
South American guitar: important
contribution to classical guitar” by
Fabiano Borges (Brazil).
Casa de la Cultura de Plaza
Feb 7
Martín Pedreira (Cuba).
10 am
Casa del ALBA Cultural de La Habana
Feb 8
Ahmed Dickinson (Cuba).
10 am
VISITCUBA.com
page 30
Photos by Alex Mene
Feb 13-23
2014
Brutal Fest’s 2014 Winter Festival
A festival that insists on letting the world know that Cuban music is not only salsa
and reggaeton, but also has a heavy metal tradition with enthusiastic fans
Organized by Brutal Beatdown Records with the
collaboration of Agencia Cubana de Rock, Brutal
Fest is the first and most important international
extreme music fest in Cuba. It takes place twice
a year in Cuba: Brutal Winter Fest (February)
and Brutal Summer Fest (August). The Brutal
Winter Fest will be dedicated to Canadian Trigger
Effect vocalist Nick Babeu, who passed away in
November, 2013. The lineup includes The Prestige
(France); Chariots of the Gods (Canada); Meltdown,
No Sun in San Francisco and Algebra (Switzerland),
and Combat Noise, Darkness Fall, Switch, Arrabio,
Tragedy, Zeus and Espoleta (Cuba). As usual, the
Fest will travel to other cities around Cuba:
Feb 13 : Santa Clara
Feb 15 : Holguín
Feb 16 : Santiago de Cuba
Feb 18 : Camagüey
Feb 19 : Trinidad
Feb 21 & 22 : La Habana
Feb 23 : Artemisa
The Brutal Summer Fest is slated for August 13 to
23 2014
VISITCUBA.com
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Theatre
Antigonón,
un contingente épico
Performed by Teatro El Publico
Fri & Sat, 8:30pm; Sun, 5pmTeatro Trianón
Carlos 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!
Semen
Performed by El Portazo
Fri & Sat, 8:30pm; Sun, 5:30pm. Through
Feb 16, Argos Teatro
El Portazo, a theater company from Matanzas
Province, presents the play Semen written by
playwright Yunior García and directed by Pedro
Franco. The play brings up controversial topics in
Cuban society: double standards, homosexuality,
prostitution, incest, lack of social commitment,
drug addiction, the utopia of the new man…in a
production with a hint of the absurd, but with an
energy that is unusual on the Cuban stage and
which involves the audience
II Festival del Monólogo
Cubano
Teatro Tomás Terry (Cienfuegos) with
other venues in Havana and Villa Clara
February 12 to 16, 2014
Sponsored by the Tomas Terry Theatre in Cienfuegos, this Monologue Festival was launched in
2003 with the aim of validating a genre, which
by nature demands intense commitment of playwrights as well as actors. Despite being one of the
newer events in the domestic cultural scene, this
festival has already achieved a standing in the Cuban stage, and at present the most renowned Cuban playwrights, directors, actors and actresses
compete in the beautiful Terry Theatre.
VISITCUBA.com
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Theatre
Centro Cultural Bertolt Brecht. Sala Tito Junco
Fri & Sat
8 pm
Carne de perros by Cuban
playwright Edgar Estaco, produced
by Teatro del Círculo and directed
by Pedro Ángel Vera, with actors
Nataly Reyes, Argelio Sosa and
Juan Carlos Ayón
Centro Cultural Bertolt Brecht. Sala Tito Junco
Fri & Sat
8:30 pm
sun
5:30 pm
Directed by Alejandro Palomino,
Vital Teatro presents the
monologue Vena de Mar,
written by Adriana Quesada and
performed by Enrique Bueno. The
playwright and critic Amado del
Pino has said that “the author
has the flair to find new angles
to topics that could bore us with
the way they are treated. The
sexuality of the character and his
professional ambitions are less
important in the play than the
domain of affections and the lucid
look into this century’s Cuba.”
Centro Cultural Bertolt Brecht. Sala Tito Junco
Sat
8:30 pm
Sala Manuel Galich. Casa de las Américas
Feb 11
4 pm
Presentation of the solo show
María Woyzeck, created and
performed by the Uruguayan
actress Raquel Diana. It is
codirected by Diana and Gonzalo
Morales Colman.
Teatro Raquel Revuelta
Opens Feb 19
8:30 pm
Teatro D’Dos reruns the
successful La edad de la ciruela
by Argentinian-Ecuadorian
playwright Arístides Vargas. The
critic and playwright Nara Mansur
has defined the play as “Two
actresses, two themes. Woman
and family. Deaf, travellers, rebels,
aunts, grandmothers, mothers…
in another obvious sign of our
times—travel, self-recognition,
theatre turned immigrant body,
loneliness and stereotype.” Two
characters share their infancies
with the audiences, revealing
natures and truths that are desired
and potential harbors in which to
cast anchor.
Rerun of La farándula pasa by the
Hubert de Blanck theater company.
Sun
5 pm
VISITCUBA.com
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For kids
Pan American Purebred
Dog Tournament
February 21 to 24, 2014, Parque
Metropolitano, Located South of Calle 26
behind the Hospital Joaquin Albarran
Tents, awnings, boxes, crates, street vendors,
photographers; this is a major production. The
International Spring Dog Show brings together dog
owners, breeders, handlers and dog lovers every
single year. And every day, there is a selection of
Best in Show, which become the contenders for
Best of the Best in the categories of Baby, Puppy,
Junior and Adult.
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.
Feria Internacional del
Libro
Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña
(Feb 13-23)
The 2014 XXIII Feria del Libro is dedicated to
National Award winners Nersys Felipe in Literature
and Rolando Rodríguez in Social Sciences. Ecuador
will be the guest of honor. Special homage will also
be paid to one of the greatest Spanish-language
authors of the nineteenth century, the Cuban
poet, playwright and narrator Gertrudis Gomez de
Avellaneda on the 200th anniversary of her birth.
VISITCUBA.com
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February 14
Photo by Alex Mene
Valentine’s Day
in Cuba
Given the sexually-charged, erotic atmosphere of
Cuba on an average day, perhaps Valentine’s Day is
unnecessary, an excessive indulgence in a country
that needs little excuse for romantic courtship at
any time. Nonetheless, February 14 has assumed
increasing prominence over the years as the day
when lovers need to be packed away because
girlfriends and wives take center stage.
It was an ancient custom to worship the God of
Love—Eros for the Greeks, Cupid for the Romans—
to dedicate offerings and gifts, and to seek their
help in finding the perfect match. Although
commemorating St. Valentine’s Day has its source
in Anglo-Saxon tradition, the legend goes that
around the 3rd century, the priest Valentine of
Rome performed marriage ceremonies despite
the orders of Emperor Claudius that young
men remain single in order to expand his army,
believing that married men did not make for good
soldiers. Valentine defied Claudius and continued
to perform marriages for young lovers in secret.
When his actions were discovered, Claudius
ordered that he be taken prisoner and thrown in
jail. Further embellishment of the legend has it
that, while in prison, he fell in love with his jailer’s
daughter and sent the first “valentine” card himself,
appropriately signing it “From your Valentine,” an
expression that is still in use today.
VISITCUBA.com
In Great Britain, Valentine’s Day began to be
celebrated around the 17th century. By the middle
of the 18th century, friends and lovers in all social
classes were exchanging small tokens of affection,
notes or cards known as valentines. This practice
began to expand to other countries, with their own
particular features. Valentine’s Day was adopted in
Latin American countries in the early 20th century,
and greeting cards became just as popular as in
the United States. According to Cuban patriot and
poet José Martí, who lived many years in New York,
these cards were made “of fine Bristol lined with
lace or trimmings…there are angels, lovers, wild
flower bouquets: lilies, daisies or sunflowers, that
are in fashion now because they are the flowers of
the esthetes.”
In time, Valentine’s Day, or Lover’s Day, as it is
known in Cuba, has become Day of Love and
Friendship. This day is also chosen by many Cubans
to give their sweethearts their engagement rings.
Some even choose it as their wedding day. And,
on that special night, the Malecón fills with lovers
remembering the past and dreaming of the future.
page 35
February 13-March 9, 2014
Photo by Yadira Montero
Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña (Feb. 13-23) & provincial
capitals (Feb. 24 to Mar. 9)
The 2014 Feria
Internacional del Libro
The 2014 XXIII Feria del Libro is dedicated to
National Award winners Nersys Felipe in Literature
and Rolando Rodríguez in Social Sciences. Ecuador
will be the guest of honor. Special homage will also
be paid to one of the greatest Spanish-language
authors of the nineteenth century, the Cuban
poet, playwright and narrator Gertrudis Gomez de
Avellaneda on the 200th anniversary of her birth.
What began as a modest book fair founded by the
famous Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier, eventually
became the most important literary event on the
island. Every year tens of thousands of people pack
the San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortress in Havana,
attracted by book launchings of all genres and
topics from Cuban and foreign publishing houses,
along with panel discussions, poetry readings,
concerts, children’s events, and a crafts fair. After
Havana, the fair travels to other Cuban cities.
The first known book fair in Cuba was held in May
1937 in the areas adjacent to the esplanade of La
Punta Fortress, the Malecón and the Paseo del
Prado. Despite government collaboration, it barely
had an impact on the country’s cultural life, even in
Havana. The idea was taken up again in the 1950s,
this time designed to be held along the Paseo del
Prado and Parque Central, but this effort also left
no mark.
VISITCUBA.com
In March 1959, only three months after the
revolutionary triumph, three important institutions
were created: the National Printers of Cuba, the
Cuban School of Graphic Arts and the School
of Typography, whose purpose was to produce
books that would be available and affordable for
everyone. With the Literacy Campaign in 1961, a
wide reading public was born, one who began to
need books as an essential part of their existence.
With the creation of the National Publishers of
Cuba and the strengthening of different cultural
institutions that helped Cuban authors to get
published, the conditions for conducting book
fairs in Cuba would change dramatically. By the
mid 1960s, there was already a national industry,
a population of avid readers and new writers who
contributed to the publication of varied topics and
genres.
For three consecutive years in the 60s, Parque
Central was the venue of what was then called
the Cuban Book Festival, but this never really took
off. With the creation of the Ministry of Culture
in 1976, the Cuban Book Institute considered the
possibility of resuming the organization of book
fairs and made some launchings and sales in the
small plaza between the Asturian Center and the
Manzana de Gómez, with a high turnout due largely
to the auction of books and literary competitions.
page 36
The 1st Havana International Book Fair took place
in 1982 in the exhibition halls of the Fine Arts
Museum and was dedicated to Cuban patriot and
writer José Martí, Cuban poet Nicolas Guillén and
Bulgarian leader Georgi Dimitrov, who had been
a printer by trade. The modest representation of
publishers and guests included publishers and
writers from Latin America. Since then, the event
has expanded in different ways. From the simple
exhibition and sale of books of the early years,
the fair now revolves around a central theme
and a guest country. Activities include prizes to
Cuban authors; panels, readings and lectures by
outstanding Cuban and international writers; art
exhibitions and concerts; launchings and book
signing; and, of course, the sale of books. As of
2002, the fair was extended to 30 other cities
throughout Cuba from early February to mid
March making it the largest cultural event held in
Cuba.
The location in La Cabaña Fortress enables the
fair to attract diverse audiences. There are those
attracted by the launching of new works and
also those who go there simply to enjoy family
life ensured by the spectacular view of the city,
restaurants and fast food outlets, children’s
playground within the deep dry moat and concerts
VISITCUBA.com
in the evenings, attended mainly by a young festive
crowd. Crafts have always played an important
part in these fairs.
The last fair in 2013 saw over 2,000 titles on sale
with around 260 writers and intellectuals, and
600 editors from 41 countries actively involved.
A massive 2.5 million people bought almost 1.5
million books in 25 days. These numbers miss the
spirit and heart of this event in La Cabaña Fortress.
Take a look.
For more information see http://feriadellibro.
cubaliteraria.cu/
page 37
El Guajirito
Zulueta No. 660 entre Apodaca y Gloria, Habana Vieja.
Nightly from 9.30pm
Photos by Lorena
Legendarios de Guajirito
By John Walters
If El Guajirito were a book it would not want to
be judged by its cover. The grimy street outside
seems a world away from the beautified parts of
Habana Vieja. Only a few minutes walk from the
luxurious Saratoga hotel it seems a world away as
bicitaxi drivers loiter outside touting for business.
Entering what seems like a semi derelict building
we emerge onto the first floor, which is a hive
of activity — nicely illuminated, air-conditioned,
packed with people who clearly got the memo that
this is the place to be.
We are here for the show – the line up highlights the
groups’s bonafides, two members of the legendary
Buena Vista Social Club and three from the AfroCuban All Stars. And they have had international
success: they boast two Grammies and another
two Grammy nominees.
per head. They are simply superb; maybe there
is something in the Cuban air where age defeats
reason as an 81 year-old member of the group
twirls my date around the dance floor.
This is not stale, stiff or formulaic (à la Tropicana).
Instead it seems like they are playing for the first
time, craving the audience’s appreciation. The
drumming is out of this world—as Luis Mariano
Valiente (Betún) performs a solo, the crowd is on
its feet (German birdwatchers and all). This is as
good and as close as you will get in Cuba to that
cliché of the 1950s. Yet it is older and wiser, maybe
better in point of fact since the performers have
El Guajirito is a place for tourists looking for the
lost nirvana of the 1950s — made so very famous
by the success of Buena Vista Social Club. The
atmosphere is expectant, waitresses bustling
efficiently — it doesn’t hurt that they are all
gorgeous! The food, on the other hand, is decent
although not spectacular.
As the show starts at 9.30pm, it quickly becomes
apparent why the place if full, packed at CUC 50
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page 38
that mellowness that comes from age. They are
doing something they love and want to be heard.
Sometimes it is difficult to know if people like
something. English politeness, German reserve,
French aloofness; who knows what they really
think? Not here, and not after that performance –
by the end, even the Suecos (Swiss tourists known
for having two left feet) are on their feet dancing.
This is a simply spectacular show with world class
performers.
Members of Legendarios del Guajirito
Benitico Llanes Maida Mitchell Eduardo Rico Luis Valiente ‘Betun’ Félix Baloy Jr.
Luis Valdés Lázaro J.Villa Morgan
Carlos Puisseaux Campana de Oro (1995), Congo de Oro (1996)
Star of Tropicana
Sierra Maestra (Grammy nominee, 2010)
Cubanísimo 2003-07 / Afro-Cuban All Stars, 2011
Afro-Cuban All Stars
Buena Vista Social Club (Grammy winner)
Buena Vista Social Club (Grammy winner)
Afro-Cuban All Stars (Grammy nominee, 1998)
Other group members
Emilio Ramos, Yelfris Valdés, Jesús Bello, Eduardo Himely, Alejando Suárez
NOTES:
The first floor of this building has actually been split
between two restaurants, El Tablao de Pancho and
El Guajirito. Slightly confusingly, the show used to
be in the Tablao de Pancho. It has now moved into
a larger space the other side of the entrance (El
Guajirito). Upstairs is the nightclub, Escaleras al
Cielo (literally, Stairway to Heaven).
Although the environs are distinctly non-salubrious,
this being Havana, it is actually perfectly safe outside
just not the sort of street you would walk down late
at night back in London.
CUC 50 for dinner & show
Every night from 9.30pm
Reservations can be made through your travel
agent or directly at “El Tablao de Pancho”
(restaurant at same address).
Zulueta No. 660 entre Apodaca y Gloria,
Habana Vieja
Tel: +53 (07) 861-7761
+53 5 422-3648
VISITCUBA.com
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