Compositions for piano and orchestra by Ludwig van Beethoven in homage to the great Romantic German composer on the 180th anniversary of his death. The National Symphony Orchestra will be conducted by Enrique Pérez Mesa, with renowned Cuba pianist Frank Fernández.

Sat 8: Recital by violinist Evelio Tieles and pianists Leonardo Gell and Yamilé Cruz, who will perform sonatas for violin and piano by Ludwig van Beethoven on the 180th anniversary of his death.

Thu 13: Concert by the Coro Polifónico de La Habana, conducted by Carmen Collado, in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Septeto Ignacio Piñeiro, emblematic ensemble of Cuban son.

Sat 15: Concert dedicated to the work of Cuban composer and guitarist of world fame, Leo Brouwer, with the Amadeo Roldán Quartet plus flutist Niurka González, violinist Leonardo Pérez Baster, guitarist Joaquín Clerch, and Herman violinist Roland Glassl.

Sat 29: Concert by Promúsica duet, and guests Leonardo Gell, María Victoria del Collado and Lisandro Rodríguez at the piano, soprano Maité Fernández and clarinetist Dianelys Castillo, who will play works by Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart and Cuban composer Hubert de Blanck.

Landings 6 & 7, a collective exhibition with the work of young Central American and Caribbean artists, shown previously in Mexico, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and the United States.

Artists Casas, Roque, Montoto, Cabrera, Careaga, Hernández, Garcés, Marrero, Ramírez, Blanquito, Linares and Méndez—some living in Cuba, others abroad—celebrate the 30th anniversary of their graduation from the National Art School with the exhibition 12, 30 atrás, a collection of sculptures, paintings, drawings, and photographs.

A collection of drawings and an installation by Santiago Rodríguez Olazábal based on symbologies from African cultures which have formed the complex Cuban nationality.

Sixty-one personal caricatures by 32 Cuban artists.

Twelve pieces by artist Jesús García Montebravo who once more depicts recurrent topics in his work.

An admirer of the restoration works of the Historical Centre of the Cuban capital and the dynamic life of its dwellers, US artist Cathryn Griffith exhibits La Habana vista con nuevos ojos: herencia arquitectónica, a kind of before-and-after collection of city images from postcards printed between 1900 and 1930 and photographs of those same places taken by the artist beginning in 2003.

The Esteban Salas Early Music Seasons in 2000 and 2002 became a festival in 2003 as part of the activities of the “Salas Year" to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the death of the Cuban musician whose musical scores were first preserved. Every year, the Festival gathers outstanding performers of Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music who perform at the Historical Centre of Old Havana, together with their Cuban colleagues, headed by the Ars Longa Early Music Ensemble. The Festival‘s first venues were the Basílica Menor of the San Francisco de Asís Convent and the Iglesia de Paula, but it has now spread to other venues in Old Havana, such as the Oratorio San Felipe Neri, the Centro Hispano-Americano de Cultura or the Palacio de Gobierno, where the 2007 festival presented one of the best shows of the season: the premiere in Cuba of Festino, performed by Ars Longa with guest dancers from the Retazos theatre company.

What began as a modest Book Festival founded by Alejo Carpentier in the vicinity of Havana’s Central Park, would eventually become the most important book and literary event in Cuba. The 16th International Book Fair was dedicated to the National Literature Prize laureate César López; to the National Social Sciences Prize laureate, Eduardo Torres Cuevas; and to Argentina as the guest of honour. Tens of thousands of people packed the centenary San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortress from February 8-18, attracted by book launchings of all genre and topics from Cuban and foreign publishing houses, panel discussions, poetry readings, concerts, children’s shows, and crafts fair. Having concluded in Havana, the fair traveled to other forty-some Cuban cities where it aroused the same enthusiasm as in the capital. The 17th International Book Fair will be dedicated to award-winning writers Antón Arrufat and Graziella Pogolotti—who are both National Literature Prize laureates—and Galicia as the country guest of honour. During the closing ceremony in Havana, dozens of Galicians flooded the cobbled street of the San Carlos de la Cabaña fortress with the sound of their bagpipes as a preview of the 2008 Book Fair.

The Nueva Trova, a milestone of Cuban culture of the 20th century, will be celebrating its 35th anniversary with a number of events:
• 6-9 Dec: ‘Carlos Puebla Festival’ in the city of Manzanillo
• 21 Dec: Performances by fifteen young ‘trovadores’ at the Amadeo Roldán Theatre in Havana
• January: ‘Longina Festival’ in Villa Clara Province