Every year tens of thousands of people pack the San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortress in Havana attracted by book launchings from Cuban and foreign publishing houses, along with panel discussions, poetry readings, children’s events, crafts fairs and concerts. The International Book Fairalways begins in Havana for 10 days and then spreads east and west of the capital to all the provinces of the country. During the past fair in 2011 over 1.7 million books were sold, which shows why it is Cuba’s foremost cultural event.

Here we are again, saying goodbye to another year with many projects completed and looking forward to 2012 with loads of new ideas. Our goal has been to bring to our readers the most updated listings of the best in Havana entertainment throughout the year.

During the first two weeks of December, a virulent plague takes hold of Havana. Immunisation is impossible and there´s no option but to surrender. The consolation is that there are so many fellow-sufferers with whom to compare notes on symptoms, cures and pulling extended sickies from work. Employers are not inclined to be sympathetic to doctor´s certificates for Cinemania Febril Virulans, or to give it its common name, Film Fever.

Since December 3, 1979, Havana has been the main venue for the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema, which has served as a launch pad for Latin American cinematography and become one of the leading festivals of the region.

This eagerly awaited movie, sponsored by Havana Club, premiered last night (Saturday December 10, 2011) in Havana´s Charlie Chaplin Cinema. This was the one and only showing of the film at the Festival, which let the movie open with the great, and the good of Havana´s glitterati all in attendance and packed with sharp elbows to fight for their seats.

People from all over the world, young and old, have shown their interest in learning how to dance casino, a Cuban ballroom dance that was born in the late 1950s and which was created anonymously within the urban popular classes. The 6th World Meeting of Casino and Salsa Dancers and Dance Academies “Baila en Cuba”

Michelangelo Merisi de Caravaggio, known for his startlingly naturalistic depiction of religious figures, a master of chiaroscuro and an influential figure in Baroque art, heads the exhibition of Italian paintings with his masterpiece “Narcissus at the Fountain” plus 12 other works of his followers.

The 3rd International Cuban Rumba Festival Timbalaye 2011 will be held in Havana and Matanzas from September 1 to 7. The opening ceremony of Timbalaye 2011, which will take place at Parque Trillo in the working-class neighborhood of Cayo Hueso in the heart of Central Havana, will surely be one great party where musicians from ...

Artist Carlos Trillo is an exceptional case in Cuban art—while many of those who have experimented with the pure expressiveness of matter have done so occasionally, Trillo has made it the centre of his creation. Using cement, sand, marble dust, acrylic paste, glue or asphaltite, whether on canvas or wood, preferring ochres, blues and black, his abstractions, which are sometimes sober and sometimes splendidly luminous, have been described by the poet Manuel Díaz Martínez as “a hymn of praise to the beautiful visual surprises that matter has in store for us.” www.carlostrillo.com

Santiago de Cuba is all about music, and the Carnival can surely attest to that. Comparsas, elaborate floats and costumes, and dancing in the street with the conga parades are all part of this popular festivity, which stretches over a week towards the end of July. The Fiesta del Fuego or Festival del Caribe, which is dedicated each year to a different country, is another week-long festival of Caribbean cultures that takes place as a prelude to the Carnival.Two great experiences not to be missed.

The contemporary art scene in Cuba is lively, passionate, caustic,stimulating–unquestionably one of the most interesting and vibrant in the world. Paintings, sculptures, ceramics, photographs, prints,installations are some of the mediums that are used to explore tradition, identity, religion, Cubanía and society. The streets of Havana are cluttered with art galleries and Cuban art always has a statement to make.

Taking place for the first time outside of Havana, the International Cubadisco Fair will be dedicated this year to soneros--Son music players--of the world and to Santiago de Cuba, venue of the event. One of the highlights of the event will be the world’s longest Son, a 24-hour concert to be staged in every province of the country by the best Son groups and soloists of the island. Other highlights include the National Contest of Son Interpretation and Improvisation and the performance of international artists, including Puerto Rican singer Andy Montañez, students of Boston's berklee College of music, and the French seplet Son de Salon

The 2011 Montecristo & Esencia Cups will be held on April 15th—16th 2011 at Varadero Golf Club, Cuba. On Thursday 14th there will be a practice round available for all players. Friday 15th and Saturday 16th will be the tournament days with prize—giving on the Saturday. The guest of honour this year is Tony Jacklin CBE, the most successful British player of his generation. He was also the most successful European Ryder Cup captain ever.

The brilliant British musician Sue Herrod captivated the public who last Wednesday and Thursday attended the Sala Teatro del Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, which was packed with an expectant and impatient audience, who were eager to witness the “mystery” of so many years of waiting. Her debut and her concert “QUIET NIGHTS” will be remembered for a long time in the Cuban capital.

It seems that a day cannot go by without an article in the MSM declaring that “Cuba is opening up to the world.” There’s a lot of tricky logic going in such statements, and this past Sunday’s Concert for Peace without Borders organized by Colombian pop star Juanes can help us to reflect on this a bit, and also to act to change United States restrictions on travel by Americans to Cuba.

For some time now, when in Cuba, and especially in Havana, people talked about “The Concert,” it was understood to be the one that took place at the Revolution Square, on Sunday, 20 September, under a blazing sun and before a gigantic audience of over one million people. Organized by the 38-year-old, 12-time Latin Grammy winner, Colombian singer Juan Esteban Aristizábal—better known as Juanes...

A little history.....Everyone who knows Cuba knows that music is an essential and vibrant part of her national character. Of predominately Spanish and African roots her music has infiltrated and influenced most styles ranging from classical, ragtime and tango to jazz, rock and roll and rap. In more recent years, the old son and bolero classics of Buena Vista Social Club exploded onto a world stage and, more recently, a number of more alternative, contemporary artists have been recorded and toured abroad. And inside, as you wander around the city of Havana, you might be forgiven for thinking that all is rap, reggaeton, jazz fusion, son, salsa, timba or trova – and all played with full-on Caribbean exuberance.

I have 206 bones in my body, one head, two eyes that blink 25 thousand times a day. I have a tongue that is the most potent organ in my body. I have a heart that beats three thousand times a day, two kidneys that are worth a fortune, 96.500 kilometers of veins and arteries, two feet that could take me anywhere, 50 million cells, 100 billion neurons, but my bull is dead, what will become of me?” With these words, Marcelo

Calle 13 (13th St.) in the Vedado district of Havana ends in a great open space right in front of the sea. This 23rd of March, 2010, the city awoke from a very long siesta to enjoy a concert by the duo/band known precisely as Calle 13. An estimated 300,000 people attended the two–hour show at the open–air Tribuna Antiimperialista opposite the Malecón seawall arriving from before noon for the 5pm concert to give the band a rapturous welcome.

If you are in Havana over New Year, and are looking for the best party in town, then Toby Brocklehurst’s annual extravaganza is the place to be. While this does not come cheap at CUC 150 (US$ 162), we think that it is well worth the expense.

Havana, Cuba is the venue for the International Festival of new Latin American cinema in the Caribbean since 1979. Biarritz, France is another superb venue in Europe. It lies on the bay of Biscay ,on the Atlantic coast ,in south— western. It is a luxurious seaside town and is popular with tourists and surfers.

The Royal Ballet’s first ever trip to Cuba marked many milestones and ticked many boxes but above all it was a triumphant homecoming for the magnificent Carlos Acosta (the Cuban lorry drivers son now a star with the Royal Ballet in London) and a tribute to the legendary Alicia Alonso (iconic Cuban legend and current artistic director of the principal Cuban Ballet). Above all, perhaps it was simply a magnificent treat for the Cuban ballet aficionados.

Dedicated to Africa and its Diaspora, Cubadisco 2008 has just come to an end, and yet already we are making plans for Cubadisco 2009, scheduled to take place from 16 to 24 May, 2009 with guests of honour Puerto Rico and the Music from the South—the music that represents the identities and legacies of countries that are usually ignored by the media and the record industry.

Imagine yourself in front of a 16th-century fortress facing the Malecon in Old Havana, Cuba. The fortress occupies a vast expanse of land with a wall that extends the length of the fortress, surrounded by a deep moat, once legend to have been filled with crocodiles. The fortress is comprised of underground tunnels, old dungeons and hundreds of ancient cannons. It is rumored to have been built to resist pirates, buccaneers and corsairs. Every evening, since the 18th century, there is a symbolic firing of the cannons at 9pm.

Absent for several years from the big stages in Havana—its usual venue is the Favorito, a converted movie house with quite uncomfortable conditions for both audiences and dancers—the company founded and directed by dancer and choreographer Narciso Medina returned to the Mella Theatre with a program that included two new dances plus the piece that has been his trump card for more than two decades—Metamorfosis.

For approx a month now, a delightful herd of elephants and a strange plague of revolting insects have seemed to capture the interest of Habaneros. “I wonder where the elephants are today.” “Did you already see the roaches?”

Anyone who climbed around, crouched under, or peered above the herd of inflated metal elephants that made its way around Havana during the first week of the 2009 biennial is familiar with the work of Jose Emilio Fuentes Fonseca (also known as JEFF). His name was on the tip of the tongues of those who visited with the elephants—along with those who murmured about their gargantuan size or wondered just how they’d been ...

This week, this majestic dame of a city plays hostess to the 30th International Festival of New Latin American Cinema. Hundreds of film producers, actors and participants alike have flown in from across the globe, mostly from South and Central America, though there have been eminent European and American visitors here too, with names such as Mike Leigh and Benicio del Toro crowning the list of heavyweights who are familiar to Western audiences.

There were no Hollywood stars or attendant paparazzi. Hype, glamorous red carpet photo shoots and posh after-parties were also nowhere to be seen at the 5th International Cine Pobre Festival, in the eastern Cuban town of Gibara this past April. But don't take Cine 'Pobre' too literally—while even many Cubans may struggle to find this picturesque fishing village on a map, the International Low-Budget Film Festival has ...

During the first two weeks of December, a virulent plague takes hold of Havana. Immunisation is impossible and there’s no option but to surrender. The consolation is that there are so many fellow-sufferers with whom to compare notes on symptoms, cures and pulling extended sickies from work.

Blind but beady-eyed, beaky-nosed, old, imposing and profoundly glamorous, Alicia Alonso stands in a single spotlight at the front of the dress circle of the Gran Teatro de La Habana, bathed in waves of applause. Whenever she appears in the audience, everyone in the theatre—not least the prima ballerina assoluta herself—considers a standing ovation her due. The epitome of a Grand Dame, Miss Alonso holds the Ballet Nacional de Cuba in thrall.

Like all the best fishing stories, mine began in a bar. One evening in Havana, I was introduced to a man called Stewart, an affable commercial manager in a London building firm. It turned out he was part of the English team in this year's Hemingway fishing tournament. In fact he was the only Englishman on his boat, and he was taking on recruits.

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.

What have you got in your fridge, right now? Prosciutto, black olives, clotted cream, Parmesan, smoked salmon, strawberries, Dom Pérignon? A long-forgotten, green-furred can of something that ceased to be fit for human consumption decades ago, a bottle of vile-smelling solidified milk and some distressing-looking wizened objects, obviously organic but now unrecognisable? Your clothes? ...

Havana is music. From first thing in the morning till last thing at night it pours out of houses, bars and cafes, echoes down narrow alleys, reverberates from balconies, blares from radios, booms from cars and wafts round squares. “Where can we hear some real Cuban music?” incoming innocents ask their taxi driver as they head from the airport into the city. “Where can we not hear it?” might be a more appropriate enquiry.