As is customary every summer, the Art at La Rampa Crafts Fair opens its door with an attractive offer that includes the sale of serigraphs, engravings, handicrafts, household goods, furniture, footwear, clothing, ornaments… Fashion shows, concerts and activities for the kiddies will also take place during the Fair.

This annual popular festivity of Caribbean cultures, initiated in 1980, aims at harmonizing the identities of the peoples of the region beyond geographic and linguistic diversity. Considered Cuba’s most Caribbean city, Santiago de Cuba is the natural venue for this colourful and joyful celebration—dedicated to fire and its genesis symbolism—which combines dances, rhythms and rituals of strong African centuries-old presence syncretized into the national identity. The “El Caribe que nos une” (The Caribbean which Unites Us All) international colloquium focuses on issues related to the preservation, development and dissemination of Caribbean cultural diversity, as well as actions which could contribute to the unity of the region and promote a cultural exchange with the rest of America and the world. The 2009 edition will be dedicated to Honduras, which will participate with numerous performers, including the Ballet Folclórico Garífuna; Guillermo Anderson, one of the most outstanding musicians in Honduras today; and the Supremos Poderes Band.

The National Humor Festival takes place once again during one of the hottest months of the year to ease the hot summer days with the refreshing performance of the best comedians in the country.

To conclude their summer tour, the most prestigious British dance company, the Royal Ballet, will perform for the first time in Cuba. With 96 dancers of 19 different nationalities and a numerous technical and artistic crew, the famous company will perform concert programs with pas de deux from the international repertory and “all night” ballets. One of the most significant attractions will undoubtedly be the performance of leading dancers Tamara Rojo and Carlos Acosta in Manon.

Although relatively new (it was first held in 2003), this rock festival is the expression of more than 50 years of the presence of rock ’n’ roll in Cuba. Practically from its very beginnings, this popular music was known, enjoyed and even reviled in the country. The members of the bands that will perform during the festival may be a little over-the- hill, such as, Los Kent and Dimensión Vertical, who usually reproduce songs from legendary US and British rock bands of the 60s and 70s, or younger bands who create their own compositions, including Tendencia, Hipnosis and Agonizer. Cuban rock has been an alternative movement, although thanks to Caimán Rock, where hundreds of rock bands have performed, and in the words of the critic Joel del Río, “underground is over.”

Carnival festivities in Santiago de Cuba go back to the late 17th century with the annual procession on the feast of Santiago Apóstol, the patron saint of the town. During colonial times, slaves were granted permission by the Spanish authorities to celebrate the Epiphany with their own music and dance. By the end of the 19th century, these festivities were also held in June and July in celebration of various patron saints days. At the beginning of the 20th century, comparsas (neighbourhood dance groups) and processions of decorated floats began to parade down the streets—a tradition that is still observed. Although many Cuban towns hold their own carnival festivities, none attracts a greater crowd than the Santiago carnival: the whole city seems to move to the rhythm of conga lines, the sound of the Chinese trumpet and dozens of percussion instruments, both traditional and unconventional - bass drums, congas, pots and pans, and spoons - which lead dancing crowds down the steep roads of the city.