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feb
2015
XVII Festival del Habano
(Feb 23 – 27, 2015)
A cigar aficionado’s guide
to Havana
United Buddy Bears in
Havana
THE CUBAN CIGAR ISSUE
HAVANA GUIDE
RESTAURANTS — BARS & CLUBS — ACCOMMODATION
Photo by Yadira Montero, night time in Vedado, Havana
EDITORIAL
Cover picture by Alex Mene
Welcome to our Cuban cigar issue. Or Cuban tobacco issue, for there is no quick just in time
manufacturing system when it comes to getting the best leaf from Vuelta Abajo. It may be an
exaggeration to say that Cuban cigars are hand-rolled on a virgin’s thigh, but it is undeniable that
much love and attention goes into every step of the process. The result is what brings thousands
of cigar aficionados to the world’s most prestigious cigar festival in Havana. This year will be XVII
Festival del Habano, to be held from Feb 23-27, 2015. If you get a chance to get a ticket for the gala
dinner, don’t be put off by the formidable entry price—this is an event like no other in Cuba. Thanks
to Amir Saarony for his cigar aficionado’s guide to Havana. If you get a chance do try and get a copy
of his Partagás El Libro. This is the unparalleled look at the history of an icon.
The Havana World Music Festival features a superb line-up and is not to miss, Feb 6-7. Sticking with
music, take the chance if you can to see Scott Zoid play at Cuba Libro on Feb 11, (5pm).
For fans of boxing, or simply the curious, check out the Cuban Domadores—they have taken their
group by storm so far and will fight against the Chinese Dragons on Friday, February 6 and then the
British Lionhearts on February 20. The atmosphere in Ciudad Deportiva is electric and this is your
chance to see Cuba’s storied Olympic athletes at their prime. Pity anyone who has to go up against
the incomparable Erislandy Savón Cotilla. His last Russian opponent barely lasted 30 seconds before
being destroyed. Brits in Havana, your team needs your support. Bring a flag!
My favorite exhibition in years, the United Buddy Bears, are still around for the first couple of weeks
in Plaza de San Francisco. If you haven’t seen them yet, make it your mission to do so. They are
fabulous. And whatever you do, don’t forget Valentine’s Day on February 14. Nothing like a Cuban
woman forgotten on the day of amor!
February 2015 Highlights (Havana, unless stated)
* Feb 6-7: Havana World Music Festival
* Feb 11: Scot Zoid at Cuba Libro (5pm)
* Feb 13 – Mar 9: International Book Fair
* Feb 14: Valentine’s Day
* Feb 20: Cuba Domadores va England Lionhearts World Series of Boxing
* Feb 23 – 27: XVII Festival del Habano:
XVII Festival del Habano
Feb 23-27, 2015
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.
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“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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XVII Festival del
Habano Program
Palacio de las Convenciones
(unless otherwise stated)
Calle 146, e/ 11 y 13, Playa
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Monday February 23, 2015
10-11am
9am12pm
Visit to Habanos factories
Corona and H.Upmann
2:303:30pm
Lecture: Habanos and Art- Artist
David Kessell’s Los Besos de Fuego
by. Antonio Fernández Seoane
3:454:45pm
The Perfect smoke. Contest to get
the longest ash.
4:45
-5:45pm
Habanos Moments
Press Conference
11am5pm
Preliminary
Habanosommelier
International Competition
2 pm
Trade Fair and Habanos Gallery
opening
La
Friday, February 27, 2015
7pm
9:3010:30am
The Final of the Habanosommelier
International Competition
11am12pm
Visit to tobacco plantations in
Vuelta Abajo, Pinar del Río.
Lecture:
Habano
Brands.
Montecristo
in
its
80th
Anniversary, by Roberto Delgado
Perez.
International
Market
SupervisorMarket Supervisor
12-1pm
Closing and awards ceremony
Tasting by invitation
7:30pm
Gala Evening
dedicated to Montecristo in its 80th
Anniversary. Traditional humidors
auction. (Pabexpo)
Welcoming cocktail in tribute to
Romeo y Julieta Gran Reserva
Cosecha 2009 (Antiguo Almacén del
Tabaco y la Madera, Puerto de La
Habana)
Tuesday February 24, 2015
7am-5pm
3pm
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
9:3010:30am
Lecture: Tobacco readers, 150th
anniversary, by Zoe Nocedo Primo,
Director of the Tobacco Museum
11am12.15pm
Master Class on cigar rolling
technique Totalmente a Mano
(Totally Handmade). How to make
a figurado
2:153:45pm
Lccture: Diversification of Habano
Brands, by Cruz Maritza Carrillo,
Director
of
Habanos
Brand
Diversification
4-5pm
Habanos Alliance – Chianti wines
DOCG
8pm
La Casa del habano, 25th
anniversary of its first opening
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VISUAL ARTS
Factoría Habana
February 6-28
Occidente tropical
The exhibition refers to anthropological and philosophical concerns
that invite the viewer to reflect on part of the Cuban culture of the
1980s and 90s, through Esterio Segura’s markedly conceptual work,
which depicts historical and sociocultural processes, and their effect
on individuals who anonymously suffer or are involved in them,
and their sexual, religious, ideological, political referents…through
drawing, sculpture, photography, installation, with an intention that is
consciously eclectic, transgressive and ironic regarding the inevitable
kitsch of popular representations.
Galería Artis
Through February 21
Ciudades
Luis E. Camejo has gathered oils and acrylics of
various formats, which deal with a recurring theme
in his production. A debtor of post impressionism,
however, he has set himself to representing the
taste of his profoundly dispersed and fragmented
time through the urban landscape as a state of
mind, rather than landscape, with a peculiar
conception of space, of the value of color and a
play with abstraction.
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Biblioteca Pública Rubén Martínez Villena
OPENS
FEBRUARY 14
Erotismo y sexualidad en el arte.
An exhibition of books and posters
on eroticism and sexuality in art.
OPENS
FEBRUARY 14
Exbition of ceramic pieces by
artists Amelia Carballo, Julia
González, Rogelio Oliva, Grisel
Rivera, Gilberto Gutiérrez, Pedro
Cantero, Jacas and Ferrero, among
others.
Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales
THROUGH
FEBRUARY 17
Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam
THROUGH
FEBRUARY 6
Casa del Benemérito de las Américas Benito Juárez
OPENS
FEBRUARY 19
Nuevas tentaciones de Narciso.
Curated by the critic Onedys
Calvo Noya, the exhibition delves
into self-representation in the
most recent Cuban visual art.
Calvo Noya’s book, whose title is
the same as the exhibition, will be
launched on the show’s opening
day, February 19, 3pm, at the
Wooden Street on Plaza de Armas.
Casa de la Obra Pía
THROUGHOUT Danza interior. Exhibition by
FEBRUARY
artist Osvaldo Garcia, in which,
Síndrome
de
Estocolmo
(ECÚMENE). Performance by
Jorge Luis Marrero, in which
ideas are mixed together and
superimposed.
Quisiera ser Wifredo Lam…… pero
no se va a poder. A retrospective of
Flavio Garciandía’s work, with over
70 pieces created from 1973 to
2014, now in the hands of private
collector and the Cuban State.
Drawings, videos, paintings and
installations illustrate the different
phases of this important artist and
teacher. Radical and inquisitive, F.
Garciandía has always paid close
attention to the latest trends in
contemporary visual arts.
Centro Hispano Americano de Cultura
THROUGHOUT Bienal de Cerámica. Exhibition
FEBRUARY
of the works competing and
prizewinners of the 13th Ceramics
Bienneial edition, dedicated to
sculptures
and
installations.
Prizewinners
include
Cubo
mágico by Lázaro Luperón (award
for best monumental project);
Cómo hacer un avión by Joán
Carratalá (creation scholarship
granted by the National Council of
Visual Arts), and Torpeza by Javier
Alejandro González and Robin
Echenique (First Work Award).
according to critic Toni Piñera,
“Alicia…and the other dancers
that accompany her on this
voyage through oil paintings,
emerge dressed as weather, wind,
vegetation and can be swans,
daisies, women of flesh and blood,
defying storms, crossing dreams
with sheer dresses that move to
the rhythm of celestial music...
sculpting silhouettes in the air.”
Fábrica de Arte Cubano
Casa Oswaldo Guayasamín
THROUGH
FEBRUARY 17
THROUGH
FEBRUARY 27
Con-tenido.
Focusing
mainly
on installations from multiple
visual resources and based on
an introspective study of its
causes and consequences, artist
Sandra Pérez Lozano, addresses
repression as a method of
education, indoctrination and
mastery of human social behavior.
Histo-Grama. In this video
installation, Aissa M. Santiso
Camiade reflects on the stratagem
that the information circulating
over the distribution mechanisms
has been subjected to. Actual
documents
are
coded
into
sequences that change color
randomly and are projected
onto a sheetrock structure and
controlled by the interaction of
the public with the work.
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FEBRUARY
6-MARCH 14
Geo-gráficas 2015. Exhibition
of work carried out by Cuban
designers in various parts of
the world. The organizers have
announced that prizes for the
poster competition will be given
on the day of the opening day of
exhibition.
Fortaleza San Carlos de La Cabaña
FEBRUARY 1222
Exhibition by Zaida del Río with
pieces that reflect the sensuality
and mystique of India.
Galería Collage Habana
THROUGH
FEBRUARY 14
La lluvia en tu ventana. Solo
exhibition by artist Ernesto
Rancaño.
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Galería El Louvre. Hotel Inglaterra
THROUGH
FEBRUARY 16
Asedios. Ink and wash drawing,
mixed technique or acrylic on
cardboard are the techniques
that journalist and painter Vladia
Rubio use to conjure everyday
life routine, the sordidness or
absurdity that reality can have in
store for us.
Galería Villa Manuela
THROUGH
JANUARY 18
Galería Galiano
THROUGH
FEBRUARY 9
Añejo 27. An exhibition that
revisits the work carried out by
Lázaro Saavedra’s (recently named
National Visual Arts Prizewinner)
during 1987 and 1988 for Mesa
sueca, his graduation thesis at the
University of the Arts. Saavedra
has recovered several pieces
from in 1988, some of which have
become emblematic within his
production.
Galería Servando Cabrera Moreno
Galería L
FEBRUARYMARCH
THROUGH
MARCH 15
Solo exhibition by Rolando
Fernández Álvarez (Rolo).
THROUGH
FEBRUARY 23
Cambio de estado. Through
deconstructing and transforming
objects, artist Adriana Arronte
delves into the cycles of power,
their system of relationships and
exercise from the most general
to the most intimate spheres, and
their impact on individuals and
communities.
Retrospective
of
the
work
by landscaper Carlos Alberto
Casanova from Camagüey, who
following in the footsteps of the
great Cuban and international
masters of the genre, displays in
his usually large-format pieces
exquisite workmanship with light
and color to show mountains,
boundary strips or reflecting pools,
like a barely glimpsed tribute to
the Creator of such wonders.
THROUGHOUT Dulce dolor (tattooed posters).
FEBRUARY
This exhibition officially opens
La Marca, a space led by Cuban
tattoo artist Leo Canosa, designer
Roberto Ramos Mori and tattoo
scholar Ailed Duarte. Curated
by designer Pepe Menéndez, the
exhibition includes Cuban posters
using tattoos as expression, made
from 1959-2014.
Pabellón Cuba
THROUGHOUT Monstruos de mi maquinaria. The
FEBRUARY
young artist Yorjander Capetillo
confesses that in his work of
strong theatrical accent and ironic
undertones, he uses “human
pain, death and what remains
after death, and things that never
happened.”
Galería Carmen Montilla
FEBRUARY
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Mi casa es tu casa
Exhibition by artist Kelvin López
that includes paintings, drawings,
collages, objects and installations
that make reference to the urban
landscape.
La Marca
Museo de Arte Colonial y Palacio de Lombillo
OPENS
FEBRUARY 6
2do Encuentro Universitario de
Arte Contemporáneo. Second
University Meet of Contemporary
Art.
Galería Servando
THROUGHOUT Atrapados en su propio juego
FEBRUARY
Galería Villa Manuela
El peso de la Historia. In his
constant exploration into History,
Reynier Leyva Novo uses the laws
put into practice by the Revolution
in 1959 and the recent changes
occurred in the island according
to new circumstances are the
focus of his exhibition. A computer
program calculates the area,
volume and weight of the ink used
to print those documents, which
are projected on the gallery’s
walls. .
Tiempos de collage. Exhibition of
collages by artist Carlos Guzmán,
who has always been interested in
the imaginary world, the passage
of time and the of man-machinetechnology relationship.
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PHOTOGRAPHY
THROUGHOUT FEBRUARY
THROUGHOUT FEBRUARY
90 aniversario de Raúl Corrlaes. Anthological showing
of the work of Raíl Corrales, one of the most important
Cuban photographers of all time.
Havana Modern. Exhibition by photographer Nestor
Martí of meticulously made pictures showing a
profound conceptual inspiration.
Galería Habana
Casa Víctor Hugo
THROUGHOUT War
Hero.
Digital,
largeFEBRUARY
scale, color photographs share
the gallery’s space with two
installations, all created by artist
Jorge Otero, who is determined
on finding a representation of
the Cuban spirit through icons
associated with country-dwellers
(war hero or peasant, according
to a disputed etymology), but
appealing more to the conceptual
value of the body that to their own
individual condition and visual
values.
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THROUGHOUT Meliponas o “Abejas de la tierra”
FEBRUARY
de Cuba. Every Thursday, at
2pm, there will be a lecture
on the subject along with the
photographic exhibition.
Centro Cultural Pablo de la Torriente Brau
THROUGH
FEBRUARY 16
Pechito, un hombre
Exhibition by photo
Kaloian Santos.
extraño.
reporter
Fábrica de Arte Cubano
OPENS
FEBRUARY 5
Sensus. Exhibition by the young
photographer Jorge Lavoy, who
experiments with images on
women’s bodies.
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DANCE
Swan Lake
Sala Avellaneda. Teatro Nacional
Feb 13, 14, 20 & 21, 8:30pm, 15 & 22, 5pm
The Ballet Nacional de Cuba season, with its popular version of this classical ballet, choreographed
by Alicia Alonso based on the original by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivánov and music by Tchaikovsky.
Starring roles performed by Viengsay Valdés, Anette Delgado, Sadaise Arencibia, Amaya Rodríguez, Dani
Hernández, Víctor Estévez, José Carlos Lozada, Grettel Morejón, Estheisy Menéndez and Alfredo Ibáñez.
Great Spanish Classics
Teatro Nacional. Sala Covarrubias
February 15, 11am
The National Symphony of Cuba, conducted by
Enrique Pérez Mesa, and the Irene Rodríguez
Company will be staging the celebrated work of
the Spanish composers Manuel de Falla, Isaac
Albéniz and Amadeo Vives.
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MUSIC
CONTEMPORARY FUSION
Club Habana Party
Photo Alex Mene
The contemporary fusion and electronic music
scene has expanded recently as new bars
and clubs have opened party promoters have
organized events in parks and public spaces.
Good live music venues include Bertolt Brecht
(Wed: Interactivo, Sunday: Déjá-vu) and El Sauce
(check out the Sunday afternoon Máquina de la
Melancolía) as well as the newly opened Fábrica
de Arte Cubano which has concerts most nights
Thursday through Sunday as well as impromptu
smaller performances inside.
In Havana’s burgeoning entertainment district
along First Avenue from the Karl Marx theatre to
the aquarium you are spoilt for choice with the
always popular Don Cangreco featuring good live
music (Kelvis Ochoas and David Torrens alternate
Fridays), Las Piedras (insanely busy from 3am) and
El Palio and Melem bar—both featuring different
singers and acts in smaller more intimate venues.
Café Cantante, Teatro Nacional
Fresa y Chocolate
TUESDAYS
Deja Vu
5 pm
5 pm
Café Concert El Sauce
5 pm
La Máquina de la Melancolía, with
Frank Delgado and Luis Alberto
García
Baby Lores
11 pm
EVERY OTHER
FRIDAY
Soul Train, a show of soul music
SAT & SUN
Cover rock bands
10 pm
Club Turf
Djoy
10 pm
Le Select
SUNDAYS
Café Corner
THURSDAYS
Havana Hard Rock
THURSDAYS
Tercera y 8
MONDAYS
Aceituna Sin Hueso
10 pm
WEDNESDAYS Qva Libre
SUNDAYS
SUNDAYS
Tesis de Menta
Los Ángeles
5pm
10:30 pm
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Havana World Music
A musical fiesta for all tastes
Havana World Music (HWM) returns to the Cuban Capital on February 6th-7th.
After a successful first festival, led by the young and talented Cuban artist Eme
Alfonso, the event seeks to grow to be an important world music festival in
the region. The line-up this year includes, among others, artists like Roberto
Fonseca, The Mexican Institute of Sound and the French DJ Phillippe Cohen
Solal (Gotan Project).
The same time last year, we first began to hear
about Havana World Music in the streets of
Havana. An English name, hard to pronounce for
many, but easy to understand: WORLD MUSIC IN
HAVANA.
“We wanted it to be clear that this was a fresh
and contemporary approach to music, because
our goal is to introduce the Cuban public to new
music, artists and styles,” says the director of
HWM, Eme Alfonso.
And so they did. They invited artists from around
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the world, prestigious in the alternative circuits of
their respective countries, but real strangers to the
Cuban public: Norwegian singer Thea Hjelmeland,
the Colombian sukus group La Mákina the Karibe,
the Spanish electro-flamenco duo Fuel Fandango
and the British DJ Auntie Flo featuring Shingai
Shoniwa.
These artists shared the stage with many
Cuban artists, thus introducing the diversity of
contemporary Cuban music to the audience. This
formula proved to be successful. Despite being
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the first festival of its kind, around 8,000 people
attended the event and enjoyed the unknown
artists as much as their old favourites.
After such a successful event, it became clear
that there had to be a second one. This has
been programmed for February 6th and 7th, this
time at Parque Almendares (under the bridge
which connects Vedado and Miramar on 23rd
Street). It boasts a program that has generated
high expectations, both due to the national and
international acts that fuse wildly different genres
such as folk, rock, jazz, electronic music and even
trova and salsa.
“This year we believe
that the line-up is
even better, with
greater diversity and
more spectacular
shows”
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The artists come from 7 different countries,
such as Morocco and Senegal (Aziz Sahmaoui &
Universtity of Gnawa) France (DJ Philippe Cohen
Solal, best known as one of the founder of Gotan
Project) and of course Cuba (Roberto Fonseca,
Raul Paz and Alain Pérez amongst others).
A new feature this year is that the festival will
welcome new artists to share the stage with the
already renowned artists. HWM launched an
open call for new groups at the festival and the
best proposals will be selected to participate.
“The festival also aims to be a place of inspiration,
and with this we strive to encourage and support
young talent,” explains the director of HWM.
Like other international festivals, HWM is offering
something more than just a line-up. One may
decide to come because they are attracted by one
of the names on the poster, but the real draw is to
see something new, discover unknown artists and
enjoy the festival atmosphere.
The jam packed program will begin at 5:00 pm
and last until 1:00 am, and includes, apart from
the concerts, activities such as graffiti and mural
painting, performances, break-dance... This is a
festival to follow, it looks like there will be a 3rd,
a 4th and who knows how may more thereafter
each surpassing the last.
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SATURDAY 7th OF FEBRUARY
FROM 5:00 PM TO 1:00AM
ISSAC DELGADO Cuba
The long lost salsa king
AZIZ SAHMAOUI & UNIVERSTY OF GNAWA
Morocco, Senegal
Tradition and modernity between Africa and Cuba
ALAIN PÉREZ Cuba
Cuban music in the XXI century
PROJECT WOMEN OF THE WORLD with :
EME ALFONSO Cuba
The soul-pop queen of Cuba
ELLEN ANDREA WANG Norway
A double bass playing a pop jazz
MÉLISSA LAVEAUX Francia/ Canada
Folk from the soul
YISSY Cuba
FRIDAY 6th OF FEBRUARY
FROM 5:00 PM TO 1:00AM
RAÚL PAZ Cuba
Cuban percussion at high speed
DAVID WALTERS France
Acoustic folk spiced with electronic music and
Afro Caribbean beats
Lively and cheerful Cuban Pop
DURING THE FESTIVAL...
INSTITUTO MEXICANO DEL SONIDO Mexico
DJ KIKE WOLF Cuba
Cumbia can also be cool!
DJ that captures the new Cuban grooves
DJ SET PHILIPPE COHEN SOLAL (Gotan Project)
France
PRIMERA BASE: NEW MUSICAL PROPOSALS
Cuba’s future stars
Vibrating electronic folk
ROBERTO FONSECA Cuba
Contemporary Latin jazz with a twist
TONY ÁVILA Cuba
FOLKLORIC GROUPS FROM PARA
MESTIZAR PROJECT (CUBA) :
Cinta de Baraguá (Ciego de Ávila) and the
Cuban School of Wushu (Havana).
Trova without humor is not trova
...ALSO: URBAN ART, BODY ART, DANCE BREAK ... AND MUCH MORE
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Photo by Alex Mene
SALSA / TIMBA
Casa de la Música Habana
MONDAYS
11 pm Havana Show and guests
WEDNESDAYS
11 pm NG La Banda
THURSDAYS
5 pm Pupy y los que Son Son
11 pm Charanga Latina
Casa de la Música de Miramar
MONDAYS
5 pm Will Campa
11 pm Sur Caribe
TUESDAYS
5 pm Alexander Abreu
11 pm Pedrito Calvo
WEDNESDAYS
5 pm Juan Guillermo
11 pm Adalberto Álvarez
TUESDAYS
11 pm Havana Show and guests
FRIDAYS
5 pm Pedrito Calvo
THURSDAYS
11 pm Alexander Abreu
SATURDAYS
5 pm Discotemba
FRIDAYS
11 pm NG La Banda
SUNDAYS
5 pm Bamboleo
Piano Bar Tun Tun
TUESDAYS
11 pm NG Jorgito Melodía
THURSDAYS
11 pm NG La Banda
SATURDAYS
11 pm Manana Club
Jardines del 1830
FRIDAYS
Azúcar Negra
10 pm
Tercera y 8
Café Cantante, Teatro Nacional
MONDAYS
11 pm Manana Club
FRIDAYS
11 pm Cuaranga Latina
SUNDAYS
11 pm Discotemba
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WEDNESDAYS Alain Daniel
11 pm
Arco de Belén
FRI-SAT, FEB
8 pm
Reggae Fest dedicated to Bob Marley
on his 70th birthday, organizaed the
Habana Reggae Project
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MUSIC
JAZZ
Jazz Café
Calle 88A No. 306 e/ 3ra y 3ra
A, Miramar. +53 (07) 209-2719
Shows: 10:30pm - 2am
Mellow, sophisticated and freezing due to extreme
air conditioning, the Jazz Café is not only an
excellent place to hear some of Cuba’s top jazz
musicians, but the open-plan design also provides
for a good bar atmosphere if you want to chat.
Less intimate than La Zorra y el Cuervo – located
opposite Melia Cohiba Hotel.
Café Jazz Miramar
Shows: 11 pm - 2am
This new jazz club has quickly established itself as
one of the very best places to hear some of Cuba’s
best musicians jamming. Forget about smoke filled
lounges, this is clean, bright—take the fags outside.
While it is difficult to get the exact schedule and in
any case expect a high level of improvisation when
it is good it is very good. A full house is something
of a mixed house since on occasion you will feel
like holding up your own silence please sign!
Nonetheless it gets the thumbs up from us.
Asociación Cubana de Derechos de Autor Musical
Café Miramar
Alexis Bosch (pianist) and Proyecto
Jazz Cubano.
SATURDAYS
FEB 19
6 pm
UNEAC
FEB 12
2 pm
10 pm
11pm
&
Casa de la Poesía
Peña La Esquina del Jazz hosted by
showman Bobby Carcassés.
FEB 20
8:30pm
Fábrica de Arte Cubano
FEB 20
Roberto Carcassés (pianist
composer) and his trio
Michel Herrera (saxophonist and
composer) and the Madre Tierra
Project
Jazz Café
FEB 8
11pm
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Jazz Poetry has invited on this
occasion the group Polaroid,
singer-songwriter Vicente Feliú,
and poets Lourdes González and
José Luis Fariñas
Michel Herrera (saxophonist and
composer) and the Madre Tierra
Project
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PAGE 15
MUSIC BOLERO, FOLKLORE, SON & TROVA
Asociación Yoruba de Cuba
SATURDAYS
Los Ibellis (Folkloric group)
4 pm
Elaín Morales
5pm
SATURDAYS
Waldo Mendoza
5pm
8 pm
FRIDAYS
Plus Trova with Charly Salgado
and guests.
Frank Delgado
11 pm
Rafael Espín and guests
4 pm
6 pm
Trovador Eduardo Sosa
5 pm
Peña El Canto de Todos, with
Vicente Feliú
Get-together with trovador Ireno
García.
Casa de la Cultura de Plaza
FEB 14
Filin with Fausto Durán and guests
3pm
Peña La Juntamenta, with trovador
Ángel Quintero.
Casa de la Música Habana
SUNDAYS
FRIDAYS
Rumberos de Cuba
5 pm
SUNDAYS
Timbalaye
5 pm
FRIDAYS
Ivette Cepeda.
9:30 pm
Bolero Night
9 pm
FRIDAYS
4 pm
SATURDAY
4 pm
Peña Tres Tazas with trovador
Silvio Alejandro
Peña Participo with trovador Juan
Carlos Pérez
Barbaram Pepito’s Bar
SATURDAYS
10pm
TUESDAYS
9pm
THURSDAY
Casa Memorial Salvador Allende
5 pm
Conjunto de Arsenio Rodríguez
Alternting Raúl Torres and Erick
Sánchez
Fresa y Chocolate
Centro Cultural Habaneciendo
FEB 27
THURSDAYS
Peña with Marta Campos.
7 pm
SUNDAYS
trova.
Pabellón Cuba
Casa de la Cultura Comunitaria Mirta Aguirre
FEB 22
5 pm
SATURDAYS
5 pm
FEB 26
WEDNESDAYS Trovando, a meeting with good
Hurón Azul, UNEAC
Casa del Alba
FEB 6
El Jelengue de Areíto
Hotel Telégrafo
Café Teatro Bertolt Brecht
FEB 28
Marta Campos
5 pm
Café Concert El Sauce
TUESDAYS
FEB 19
4:30 pm
Café Cantante, Teatro Nacional
THURSDAYS
Centro Memorial Martin Luther King, Jr.
Yoruba Andabo
5 pm
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Trova hosted by Richard Luis and
Eric Méndez
Fernando Becquer
10:30pm
Centro Iberoamericano de la Décima
FEB 7
Duo Ad Libitum
3 pm
FEB 22
5 pm
El Jardín de la Gorda with trovadors
from every generation.
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PAGE 16
CLASSICAL MUSIC
Photo by Ivan Soca
Basílica Menor de San Francisco de Asís
FEB 7
Schola Cantorum Coralina choir concert, directed by Alina Orraca.
6 pm
FEB 13
6 pm
FEB 14
The Camerata Romeu, under the baton of Zenaida Romeu, will dedicate their concert to
Valentine’s Day.
Chamber orchestra Música Eterna concert conducted by Guido López-Gavilán.
6 pm
FEB 19
6 pm
FEB 21
6 pm
As part of the presentation of the first Cuban edition of Devocionario nuevo y completísimo
en prosa y verso by Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, pianist José María Vitier will be playing
selected pieces.
Alioska Jiménez and Katia Selva (sopranos), Eleomar Cuello (baritone), Roger Quintana (tenor)
and Marcos Lima (basso) will be performing work from Cuban and world music repertoires
dedicated to love.
Casa del ALBA Cultural
FEB 1
En Confluencia, conducted by guitarists Eduardo and Galy Martín.
5 pm
FEB 8
Tarde de Concierto, conducted by soprano Lucy Provedo.
5 pm
FEB 15
De Nuestra América, conducted by pianist Alicia Perea.
5 pm
FEB 22
Concert by guitarist Rosa Matos.
5 pm
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PAGE 17
Biblioteca Nacional José Martí
SATURDAYS
Concerts with chamber soloists and ensembles.
6 pm
Casa Víctor Hugo
FEB 14
The Vocal Leo Choir will be performing under the direction of Corina Campos.
7 pm
FEB 21
Móviles Trio recital (oboe, clarinet and bassoon).
7 pm
Centro Hispano Americano de Cultura
FEB 14
Valentine’s Day Concert by the Solistas de La Habana chamber ensemble.
5 pm
Iglesia de Paula
FEB 7
7 pm
FEB 11
7 pm
FEB 12
7 pm
FEB 13
7 pm
FEB 14
7 pm
Fantasías, romances y diferencias en la corte de Carlos V performed by the Ars Longa Early
Music Ensemble and students of the Convivium Musicum academic program.
Orquesta de Cámara de La Habana (chamber ensemble) under the direction of Thomas
Gabrich from Canada.
The Ars Longa Early Music Ensemble and the Viola da Gamba Dojo Ensemble from New York
playing European Baroque music.
Convivium Musicum academic program concert conducted by flautist Susana de la Cruz,
with the participation of Cuban and US students.
The Baroque Orchestra of the National Music School, under the direction of professors Laura
Valdés and Yulnara Vega, announces a program that will include music from the Renaissance
through to the beginning of the seventeenth century.
Oratorio San Felipe Neri
FEB 7
7 pm
FEB 27
4pm
Romanzas y canciones de amor, program directed by soprano Ivette Betancourt and pianist
Vilma Garriga performing songs by Enrique Granados, Spanish zarzuela romances and Cuban
pieces by Carmelina Delfín and Ernesto Lecuona.
Arístides Porto (clarinet) and Lianne Vega (piano) will be performing work by Johannes
Brahms, Malcolm Arnold and Claude Debussy.
Sala Covarrubias, Teatro Nacional
SUNDAYS
Concerts with the National Symphony Orchestra.
11 am
Sala Gonzalo Roig. Palacio del Teatro Lírico Nacional
FEB 22
Cuerda Dominical, with guitarist Luis Manuel Molina
5 pm
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PAGE 18
Sala Ignacio Cervantes
FEB 8
6 pm
FEB 13
6 pm
FEB 22
6 pm
Harpist Mirtha Batista will perform works ranging from the sixteenth to the twentieth
century.
Soprano Milagros de los Ángeles, with the Vocal Leo choir as guests, will perform arias from
operas and operettas, zarzuela romances, Cuban, Latin American and European concert
songs and negro spirituals.
Maite Aboy (piano), Anolan González (viola), Camila Martel (viola), Elio Hernández (French
cornet), Ivette Betancourt, Luselci Fernández, Cristina Rodríguez and Angeline Oviedo
(sopranos), Ramón Centeno and Luismel Guerra (tenors) and Alejandro Zuñiga (baritone) will
perform works by singer-songwriter Pablo Milanés.
Sala Manuel Galich
FEB 10
3 pm
Lecture “Research on the arts/art in research. Prospects for higher education in the
arts” (Investigación en las artes / arte en la investigación. Perspectivas para la educación
superior en las artes) dedicated to the integration of creative processes in research and
their connections with teaching electro-acoustic composition, by Philippe Kocher, Martin
Neukom and Germán Toro Pérez, members of the Institute for Computer Music and Sound
Technology of the Art Academy of Zurich.
Direct from New York…
Scot Zoid—New Yorker, multi-instrumentalist,
luthier, and teacher—will play several exclusive
gigs in Havana, accompanied by Cuban musicians.
FEBRUARY 11
5 pm
FEBRUARY 12
7 pm
FEBRUARY 13
7 pm
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Cuba Libro (Calle 24, corner
Calle 19, Vedado). Open jam in
a beautiful garden setting. All
musicians invited to sit in!
Iglesia
de
Paula
(Habana
Vieja). Baroque concert with
US musicians Scot Zoid and
Hugh Young on viola da gamba,
together with Ars Longa Early
Music Ensemble.
Iglesia de Paula (Habana Vieja).
Convivium Musicum academic
program concert, conducted by
flautist Susana de la Cruz, with
US musicians Scot Zoid, Hugh
Young, Diana di Zerega Wall and
Harriet Holtzman, and Cuban
conservatory students.
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PAGE 19
THEATRE
Decamerón
Teatro El Público / Production: Carlos Díaz
Fri & Sat 8:30pm; Sun 5pm
Teatro Trianón
Several stories from Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron are put onstage with more than a hint at
Cuba today. Those who expect nudity galore from Carlos Díaz are in for a surprise.
Fool for Love
Leonarda
Play written by successful American playwright/
actor Sam Shepard, in which two desperate lovers
involve the viewer in the asphyxiating setting of a
cruel and destructive love story.
Free version of the drama of social life by Danish
playwright Bjornstjerne Bjornson, that brings to
this day and age a longstanding theme in theater
and film: the triangles that arise in the search for
love.
Remembranzas
Fuenteovejuna
A selection of scenes from successful productions
by the company: Cabaret, Contradanza, Fresa y
Chocolate, Canción de Rachel and Chicago.
Play written in 1619 by the Spanish playwright
Lope de Vega, nicknamed The Phoenix of Wits, in
which love, ambition, abuse of power and the fight
for justice are all brought to bear.
Argos Teatro / Production: Yailen Copola and
Yeandro Tamayo
Fri & Sat 8:30pm; Sun 5pm
Argos Teatro
Mefisto Teatro / Production: Heidy Villegas
Fri & Sat 8:30pm; Sun 5pm
Café Teatro Bertolt Brecht
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Proyecto Holo Teatro / Production: Erick
Morales
Tuesday-Thursday, 6pm, Sala Adolfo Llauradó
Compañía Teatral Hubert de Blanck
Fri & Sat, 8pm; Sun, 5pm
Sala Hubert de Blanck
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MUSICAL THEATER
Broadway returns to Havana
Friday-Sunday, 8:00pm
Teatro Bertolt Brecht
Broadway returns to Havana. Rent, a rock musical based on Puccini’s La Bohème, tells the story of a
group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York City’s
Lower East End under the shadow of HIV/IUDS. This Spanish language production of Rent is being
produced by Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment in partnership with the Cuban National Council of
Performing Arts and is the first Broadway musical with a full cast, musicians and first-class production
elements to be staged in Cuba in over 50 years. Andy Señor, Jr., who directs a company of 15 Cuban
actors, is a leading member of Broadway’s Cuban American community. He first starred as “Angel” in
Rent on Broadway and later directed productions of the show in numerous places around the world.
The Cuba production of Rent also features choreography by Marcus Paul James, musical direction by
Emmanuel Schvartzman, sound design by Michael Catalan, and costume design by Angela Wendt. Thom
Schilling is production manager.
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FOR KIDS
Hansel and Gretel
February 7 & 8, 5pm
Karl Marx Theater
Eduardo Blanco’s choreographic version of the
fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, with music by
Jules Massenet, Richard Wagner, Sergei Prokofiev
and Joseph Luigini. Starring guest dancers from
the Ballet Nacional de Cuba, accompanied by
students from the Vocational Workshop of the
Dance Department of the Cuban National Ballet,
members of La Colmenita and students from the
National Ballet School.
Fantasías
Circo Nacional de Cuba
Sat & Sun, 3pm
Cine Yara
Jugglers, contortionists, Strongman Trio, balancing
objects, fire-eaters, magic and illusionism, and
clowns are just some of the attractions of the
National Circus in this popular spot in El Vedado.
Mayito el de la mula
Calidoscopio Theater Group
Fri, Sat & Sun, 3pm
El Arca Puppet Theater
Show highlighting popular storytellers, characters
who, like the minstrels of old, travelled from town
to town with their fables that entertained and had
people thinking.
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PAGE 22
EVENTS IN HAVANA
II Havana World Music
Parque Metropolitano de La Habana
February 6-7
Under the direction of singer-songwriter Eme Alfonso, the festival announces performances by DJ
Philippe Cohen Solal and multi-instrumentalist David Walters whose music is folk acoustic with AfroCaribbean influences, both from France; the Instituto Mexicano del Sonido, an electro-folk project
considered to be one of the best exponents of alternative Latin American music; the Spanish group
Muchachito Bombo Infierno doing a fusion of flamenco, funk and rock; the Moroccan singer Aziz
Sahmaoui and his band University of Gnawa, which fuses traditional Maghrebi sounds with jazz and
rock; Thea Hjelmeland and Ellen Andrea Wang from Norway; and Mélissa Lavaux from Brazil. Cuba will
be presenting Isaac Delgado, Roberto Fonseca, Tony Ávila, Yusa and Alain Pérez, along with bands and
solo artists approved by the Primera Base Project for young people between the ages of 14 and 30.
Casa de las Américas
February 23-27
Coloquio internacional La Educación de las
Mujeres en la Historia de la Cultura de la América
Latina y el Caribe. Participants to the International
Colloquium Education of Women in the History
of Latin American and Caribbean Culture will
discuss the following topics: “Learned Women
from Antiquity to the Renaissance,” “Misogyny and
the Counter-Reformation,” “Convents, evasion,
Constraint and Rebelliousness,” “Sor Juana Inés
de la Cruz,” “Controlling the Rebels: Houses of
Repentant Women,” “Houses of Friends, Schools
for Nuns, Lay Schools, Secondary Schools,”
“Women in Colleges,” “Women in National 20thcentury Eduactional Projects,” “Theories and
debates on the Education of Women,” “Towards a
Non-sexist Education.”
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PAGE 23
EVENTS IN HAVANA
IX Simposio Internacional Desafíos en el Manejo y
Gestión de las Ciudades
February 1-4
Camagüey
The central theme of this professional meeting on the preservation and management of the heritage,
sustainability and challenges faced by cities that have exceptional historical and cultural value is
“Tourism as a factor of development.” Discussions will revolve around the economic value of cultural
heritage; sustainability, development and management of tourism as an endogenous factor of
development; preservation and interpretation of cultural heritage for tourism; community participation
and authenticity of the cultural message; cities as historical urban landscapes; and cultural identity and
integrated urban planning.
XXV Cruzada Teatral
Guantánamo-Baracoa
Through March 3
The 25th Theatrical Crusade will host around ten
international theater companies as well as Cuban
companies who will be performing at around
200 rural communities of the Manuel Tames,
Yateras, San Antonio del Sur, Imías, Maisí and
Baracoa municipalities in the easternmost region
of Cuba. this theatrical tour will be covering a
total of 400 kilometers. Non-professional groups
from the region will join the Crusade during their
performances.
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PAGE 24
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.
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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.
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