What’s On Havana, listings and reviews of cultural events in Havana, updated monthly, Havana events and schedules and timetables for nightlife and cultural events

Visual Arts

	Amelia Peláez, una Mirada Retrospectiva Amelia Peláez, una Mirada Retrospectiva	Opens 4 Feb 2011
	A collection of 40 paintings and drawings which represent 40 years of the work (1926-1966) carried out by the painter, draughtswoman and ceramist Amelia Peláez, one of the founders of Cuba’s avant-garde. Influenced by Cubism, she excellently recreated themes that include stained-glass windows, Cuban fruits, tropical flowers and spaces that are quickly identified as Cuban with an outstanding use of colour.

	Un Minuto de Silencio Casa Museo Oswaldo Guayasamín	Throughout Feb 2011
	Thirty acclaimed Cuban artists from different generations and trends have been convoked by the also painter Maykel Herrera to pay tribute to something that they believe is praiseworthy or sacred, with the condition that they use only grays, white and black. Participating artists in this project Roberto Fabelo, Manuel Mendive, Pedro Pablo Oliva, Flora Fong, Eduardo Roca (Choco), Zaida del Río, Alicia Leal, Juan Moreira, Ileana Mulet, Alexis Leyva (Kcho), Ernesto Rancaño, Eduardo Abela, Agustín Bejarano, Aziyadé Ruíz, Bonachea, Rigoberto Mena, José Omar Torres, Rubén Rodríguez, Carlos Guzmán, Ángel Ramírez, Ernesto García Peña, Nelson Domínguez, Aimée García, Estereo Segura, Ever Fonseca, Roberto Diago, Adigio Benítez, José Fúster, Áisar Jalil, Ramón Casas, Maykel Herrera, a true galaxy of stars of Cuban art today.

	Fuera de Casa Palacio Lombillo	Opens 4 Feb 2011
	This exhibit puts forward four views of the natural beauties of the famous Viñales Valley in the western province of Pinar del Río, which has been the source of inspiration of many Cuban writers and artists. Juan Carlos Morales, Jessy Gómez, Jorge Antonio Sixto and Sandy Morales avail themselves of the valley proving that landscape painting is very much alive.

	Profunda Sed Casa del Benemérito de las Américas Benito Juárez	Throughout Feb 2011
	Curated by the well-known critic David Mateo, this exhibition by the self-taught artist Adonis Ferro, who is known for his expressionistic works, features mid-size and large paintings, which are accentuated by the dramatic distortion of figures and the use of resources such as dripping and an unconventional use of colour.

	Ámbito Heterotópico Factoría Habana	Throughout Feb 2011
	A daring exhibit of works by Humberto Díaz, Duvier del Dago, Wilfredo Prieto and José Emilio Fuentes (JEFF), members of the latest generations of Cuban artists.

	40 años de gráfica Galería Latinoamericana, Casa de las Americas	Throughout Feb 2011
	A sample of the graphic work of the outstanding Mexican artist Manuel Felguérez

	Ámbito Heterotópico Factoría Habana	Throughout Jan 2011
	The public is welcome to witness the setting up of this exhibition with works by Humberto Díaz, Duvier del Dago, Wilfredo Prieto, Iván Capote, Yoan Capote and José Emilio Fuentes (JEFF), members of the latest generation of Cuban artists.

	Cóndor contra Toro Galería Mariano	Throughout Feb 2011
	Exhibition of Peruvian popular art donated by the collector of traditional art Alicia Bustamante Vernal (1905-1968) to Casa de las Américas

	Paisaje Cubano Galería Carmen Montilla	Throughout Feb 2011
	Kamil Bullaudy invites the viewers to take a different and new look of the city’s landscape through twelve large canvases and 10 sculptures based on objects found in the streets of Havana.

	Traslúcidos Deseos La Acacia	Throughout Feb 2011
	The fine drawing, the explosion of greens and blues, the delicate transparencies applied to the female nude lend voluptuous sensuality to the obsessive search for beauty which characterizes the work of Ernesto García Peña. The plant motifs, with an evanescent lightness, create a dreamlike atmosphere, which the artist uses at will to attenuate or emphasize the erotic nature of his enigmatic women, or the copulation of his levitating couples.

	Onírica Collage Habana	Throughout Feb 2011
	Dreams, nightmares, reality, anguish, irony, pleasure…emotions and sensations that envelop the viewer compelling them to become involved, to examine and confess themselves before zoomorphic, mutant creatures, who are themselves and at the same time others and us. Aisar Jalil, Cuban of Lebanese descent, has said of this his latest exhibition: “I set out situations that invite the interlocutor to see optimism or pessimism. This is what the entire work, which is not demagogic, does.

Music

	En la Basílica Basílica Menor de San Francisco de Asís Oficios y Churruca, La Habana Vieja Tel. +(53) 7 862 9683	6:00 pm / 2011
	5 Feb 2011, 6:00 pm Saxophonist Javier Zalba, a master of the classical repertoire, jazz and fusion, together with Temperamento, a band that Zalba describes as “an ideal space to make jazz,” will play several pieces from their recent albums Zamzu y Akokan. 12 Feb 2011, 6:00 pm Concert by the excellent all-female ensemble Camerata Romeu, conducted by Zenaida Romeu. 19 Feb 2011, 6:00 pm The lute player Edin Karamazov will play works by Bach and Cuban Leo Brouwer, one of the great composers for guitar of the 20th century. 23 Feb 2011, 6:00 pm Works by Bach, Rachmaninov and Prokofiev palyed by the pianist Gabriel Urgell. 24 Feb 2011, 6:00 pm A meeting of choirs: Schola Cantorum Coralina, directed by Alina Orraca and the Arts Institute Choir, directed by Carmen Collado, both from Cuba, and the choir of Brandon University, Canada. 26 Feb 2011, 6:00 pm The duet Promúsica, composed of pianist María Victoria del Collado and violinist Alfredo Muñoz, will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a concert to which they have invited another duet, Habana D´Camara.

	Liliana Herrero in Concert Centro Cultural Pablo de la Torriente Brau	11 Feb, 5:00 pm / 2011
	Don’t miss the concert by the Argentinean singer Liliana Herrero, one of the great voices of America with over 12 albums; an expert in folklore and considered one of the most important musicians in her country during the last two decades.

	Peña del Ambia Hurón Azul, Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba (UNEAC) Calle 17 esquina a H, El Vedado Tel. +(53) 7 832 4551-53	9 & 23 Feb, 5:00 pm / 2011
	The best place to go for those seeking to become acquainted with authentic African-Cuban traditions, hosted by the poet Eloy Machado, aka. El Ambia.

	Dúo AlCanto Biblioteca Pública Rubén Martínez Villena	23 Feb, 5:00 pm / 2011
	The duet AlCanto will dedicate this musical meeting to the work of the sinter, guitarist and composer María Teresa Vera, the most significant female voice of traditional Cuban trova.

	La Utopía Casa de la Música de Miramar	Every Saturday, 5:00 pm, Feb / 2011
	The “in” place of Havana’s trova scene, La Utopía combines live performances by troubadours, impromptu performances by the audience, and videos of important domestic and international musicians of the past 50 years.

	La Tanda Centro Cultural Fresa y Chocolate	Every Thursday, 9:00 pm, Feb / 2011
	Inti Santana, a troubadour of the younger generations, in an informal get-together.

	Peña de Los Kents Café Cantante, Teatro NacionalCalle Paseo y 39, El Vedado Tel. +(53) 7 870 4651	Every Sunday, 4:00 pm, Feb / 2011
	Los Kents, another “dinosaur” of Cuban rock, play their own hits from the 60s and 70s.

	Noche de Boleros de Oro Hurón Azul, UNEAC	Every Saturday, 10:00 pm, Feb / 2011
	Lovers of this romantic genre par excellence have the opportunity of meeting and enjoying the performances of the best Cuban bolero singers.

	Trovando Patio-bar of the EGREM record label San Miguel 410 entre Campanario y Lealtad, Centro Habana Tel. +(53) 7 862 0673	Every Wednesday, 4:00 pm Feb / 2011
	A place where troubadours and poets get together for a unique performance in a bohemian atmosphere, combined with the launching and sale of record albums, books and magazines.

	La Trova sin Traba Hurón Azul, Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba (UNEAC) Calle 17 esquina a H, El Vedado Tel. +(53) 7 832 4551-53	2 & 16 Feb, 5:00 pm / 2011
	Different generations and styles converge in a natural combination of traditional, new and very new trova.

	Peña de Pancho Amat Sede provisional del Museo Nacional de la MúsicaObrapía 509, entre Bernaza y Villegas, La Habana Vieja	Every Sunday, 6:00 pm Feb / 2011
	The popular tres player Pancho Amat and Cabildo del Son with a sample of the most Cuban ofCuban song and dance styles, son.

	Rumba Palacio de la Rumba	Fri, Sat & Sun; opens 6:30 pm, Feb / 2011
	Lovers of real rumba meet Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays every week to enjoy performances by rumba musicians and dancers.

	Peña de Aceituna sin Hueso Centro Cultural Fresa y Chocolate	Every Sunday, 6:00 pm Feb / 2011
	Not to miss. The popular Aceituna sin Hueso band mixes the music of the island with elements from flamenco, country, rock, Celtic, Arab, Andean or Hindu musics creating a fusion that is surprisingly very Cuban. The topics which the band expresses in their lyrics establish from the start a magnetic communication with the audiences.

Descarga de Ivette Cepeda y su Grupo Reflexión

	Descarga de Ivette Cepeda y su Grupo Reflexión Snack Bar of the Telégrafo Hotel	Every Saturday, 9:00 pm, Feb / 2011
	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.

	Oratorio San Felipe Neri	7:00 pm / 2010
	3 Feb 2011, 7:00 pm Performance by Cuba’s National Choir, directed by Digna Guerra, and the choir Exaudi, directed by María Felicia Pérez, two of the most important choirs in Cuba. 5 Feb 2011, 4:00 pm The Oratorio San Felipe Neri will celebrate its 7th anniversary with the performance of the chamber orchestra Nuestro Tiempo conducted by Enrique Pérez Mesa, together with the soprano Milagros de los Ángeles, and pianist Mayté Aboy. 10 Feb 2011, 7:00 pm Masquerade, second act of Johann Strauss the Younger’s operetta The Bat. 24 Feb 2011, 7:00 pm Cuban music by Lírica Intramuros together with the reading of poems by Carilda Oliver, who is much admired for her love poems. 25 Feb 2011, 6:00 pm En versos y en música, a space dedicated to French speaking countries: reading of poems with the accompaniment of the piano by Laure Cambau and Jean Portante.

Theatre

	Festival del Monólogo Cubano Teatros Tomás Terry, Guanaroca, Guiñol and A Cuestas, in Cienfuegos and Bertolt Bretch in Havana	10-13 February / 2011
	Sponsored by the Tomas Terry Theatre in Cienfuegos, the Cuban Monologue Festival was launched in 2003 with the aim of validating a genre, which by nature demands intense commitment of both playwrights and 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. Twelve companies from six Cuban provinces plus five companies from Argentina, Peru, Puerto Rico and Spain will be performing this year. An anthology of monologues which have been staged in previous festivals will be presented this year. The event includes the launching of specialized magazines and books, lectures and workshops.

	Visiones de la cubanosofía Sala El Ciervo Encantado	4 & 5 Feb, 8:30 pm; 6 Feb, 5:00 pm / 2011
	Rerun of Visiones de la cubanosofía, written, produced and directed by Nelda Castillo, director of the company. The play reveals incredible and controversial versions of what it means “to be Cuban,” a concept which is sought obsessively by philosophers and poets. The excellent performances and stage production have made this play, since it first opened in 2005, one of the company’s trump card and winner in that same year of the Villanueva Prize awarded by the critics.

	Monseñor Bola Sala Hubert de Blanck	Opens mid-February, Fri & Sat, 8:30 pm; Sun, 5:00 pm / 2011
	Monseñor Bola, by Cuban playwright Héctor Quintero, evokes the figure of the Cuban chansonnier and composer Ignacio Villa, popularly known as “Bola de Nieve,” through the recourse of “the theatre within the theatre”. A Latin theatre company in Washington DC decides to stage a play on Bola de Nieve, and in between mishaps on the road to production, this great figure of Cuban song is paid tribute to. The play, which successfully combines music, dance and acting, was first produced by the Washington DC-based Teatro Latino in 2010.

	Afuera Sala Rita Montaner	Through 24 Feb, Tue, Wed & Thu, 6:00 pm / 2011
	Playwright Liliam Susel Zaldívar has said about Afuera, written Cuban by playwright Liliam Ojeda Hernández: “The reclusive patients plot to evade the confinement which prevents them from living out their fantasies. They dream of an “afuera” (outside), which the access of which is denied to them by the Doctor because she considers it to be “dangerous.” Inside, each patient is a beautiful universe inventing a much yearned outside. The doctor is an island in her myopic, bizarre and dictatorial sanity…With a sense of humour that is inherent to the text, the play draws in the consonace of these patients (You? Us? Them?) in their endeavor to reach a state of grace where the “outside” is not the craftiness of the powerful and the “inside” will never become a prison for the virtuous.

	La pasión de Juana de Arco Centro Cultural Bertolt Brecht	Fri & Sat, 8:30 pm; Sun, 5:00 pm, Jan / 2011
	According to Lilian Susel Zaldívar, La pasión de Juana de Arco, by Rubén Sicilia, “takes place…is a monologue for two voices. The actresses skilfully incorporate different characters who narrate the story, transforming themselves with an admirable show of their histrionic abilities in Juana, God, the devil, Baudricourt, the King, an old woman and a soldier.

Dance

	En el País de las Sombras Sala Teatro Las Carolinas	4, 5 & 6 Feb, 7:00 pm, 2011
	Conceived by Miguel Azcue and Johanna Jonasson to the delight of both children and adults, En el País de las Sombras [In the Land of Shadows] is a beautiful show in which dance, shadows and projections create a magical world which appeal to the audiences’ imagination.

	Ballet Nacional de Cuba Teatro Nacional de Cuba	11 & 12, 8:30 pm, 13, 5:00 pm, Feb / 2011
	Alicia Alonso’s choreographic version of one of the great Romantic classics: Giselle, based on the original by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, to music by Adolphe Adam.

Events

	Feria Internacional del Libro Havana’s San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortress (10-20 Feb) and provincial capitals (21 Feb-6 Mar)	10 February-6 March 2011
	What began as a modest book fair founded by the famous Cuban writer, scientist and philosopher, Alejo Carpentier round Havana’s Central Park, eventually became the most important literary event on the island. The 20th edition in 2011 will be dedicated to National Prize-winners Jaime Sarusky and Fernando Martínez Heredia, etc.—for Literature and Social Sciences, respectively—and to the cultures of ALBA countries and the bicentennial of the wars for independence in Latin America. Every year, during the International Book Fair, 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, lectures by guest authors and editors, poetry readings, concerts, children’s events, and a crafts fair. This year, the organizers have extended points of sale to the Pabellón Cuba and lectures and a number of launchings to Centro de Estudios Martianos, Casa de las Américas and UNEAC, all in the El Vedado district. The City Historian’s Office publishing house, Ediciones Boloña, will exhibit and launch its beautiful books to the gallery of the Rubén Martínez Villena Public Library right across the Plaza de Armas in Old Havana. After Havana, the fair travels to the rest of Cuba’s provincial capitals and Isla de la Juventud.

Coloquio internacional Mujeres y Ambiente en las Culturas Latinoamericana y Caribeña

	Coloquio internacional Mujeres y Ambiente en las Culturas Latinoamericana y Caribeña Casa de las Américas, Havana	22-26 February / 2011
	The 2011 International Colloquium on Women and Independence in Latin American and the Caribbean in the 19th and 20th Centuries will deal with the subjects of “Gender and History,” “Women in the Latin American and Caribbean Wars for Independence: History and testimmonies,” “Textual and Artistic Production of Women Dealing with the Latin American and Caribbean Wars for Independence,” and the “Literary and Artistic Representation of Women in the Latin American and Caribbean Wars for Independence.” As usual, the event will also include guest lectures and panels on the topics that will be discussed in the colloquium, as well as readings, concerts, and exhibitions by Cuban female artists and writers.

	Muestra Nacional de Nuevos Realizadores Havana	20-27 February / 2011
	An event for stimulating awareness and consideration of new video/filmmakers and getting into contact with daring and inquisitive works usually produced outside official production. The event includes the screening of films by young filmmakers as well as international contemporary cinema; theoretical meetings; discussions and seminars; a competition of unpublished scripts; workshops with the participation of important film directors; and an poster exhibition/competition.

	Talk on the Green House Casa de las Tejas Verdes	11 Feb, 2:00 pm / 2011
	The journalist and researcher Ciro Bianchi, who is conversant with Cuban historic and cultural curiosities, will talk about legends and true stories of great love affairs that took place in Havana and bequeathed the city with constructions that are today part of its architectural heritage. (Casa de las Tejas Verdes: Calle 2, entre 3ra y 5ta, Miramar. Tel: 212 5282)

	Exhibition Espacio Barcelona-La Habana	11 Feb, 2:00 pm / 2011
	Exhibition of the extensive rehabilitation that Barcelona Street and the building that houses this institution are undergoing. (Espacio Barcelona-La Habana: Calle Barcelona No. 63, esquina a Águila, Centro Habana. Tel: 864 9576).

A PREVIEW OF THE COMING MONTHS

Festival de música de concierto A Tempo con Caturla

	Festival de música de concierto A Tempo con Caturla Santa Clara and Caibarién, Villa Clara province March 2011
	Dedicated to one of the greatest Cuban composers of the 20th century, Alejandro García Caturla, representative of the first musical avant-garde in the Island, this concert music festival aims to showcase Cuba’s young composers and musicians from all over Cuba.

Concurso y Festival Internacional Fiesta del Tambor Guillermo Barreto in Memoriam
Teatro Amadeo Roldán and Instituto Superior de Arte, Havana
March 2011

This festivity of percussion pays tribute to one of the cult figures of Cuban percussion: Guillermo Barreto, star of the Tropicana orchestra in the 1950s and founding member of the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna. While young talents measure their skills during the competition, experts disclose the secrets of the complex Cuban percussion at theoretical meetings, lectures and guest speeches and the evenings are dedicated to the performances of popular national and international bands and soloists.

Festival Internacional de la Trova Pepe Sánchez
Casa de la Trova and Sala de Conciertos Dolores in Santiago de Cuba
16-20 March 2011

The International Pepe Sánchez Trova Festival began in 1962 in homage to local Santiago de Cuba composer José (Pepe) Sánchez (1856-1918), considered the father of Cuban trova (the troubador genre of voice, song and poetry that is usually accompanied by a guitar). Several generations of musicians from different musical trends within trova participate in this event, including exponents of more traditional trova, of filin (an evolution of bolero and trova), and of nueva trova (the very Cuban genre of personal commentary influenced by British, US and Brazilian popular music). Santiago de Cuba—the cradle of trova—hosts this festival which takes the city’s streets and parks by storm in a celebration where musicians and singers from abroad join their Cuban counterparts. The closing of the festival on Troubador Day, March 19th, commemorates the anniversary of the birth of Pepe Sanchez.

Festival Internacional de Música Electroacústica Primavera de La Habana
Old Havana
March 2011

Organized by composer Juan Blanco, a pioneer of electroacoustic music in Cuba, the Varadero Spring Festival—as it was first called—gathered important figures which included Jon Appelton, Max Matthew, Leo Kupper, Ahmed Malek, Nicola Sani, Lejaren Hiller, Manuel Enríquez, Ricardo Dal Farra and Andrew Schloss. In 1998, the event moved its venue to Havana's Historical Centre. It is now the Havana Spring International Electroacoustic Music Festival.

Festival Internacional de Documentales Santiago Álvarez In Memoriam
Movie theatres Cuba and Rialto, Santiago de Cuba
7-11 March 2011

Created in 2000, the International Documentary Festival Santiago Álvarez In Memoriam aims at highlighting the prominent role of the documentary, a film genre that has been somewhat consigned to oblivion by the promotional mechanisms of the larger movie festivals, yet with a tradition of significant quality and acknowledgement in Cuba, among other factors, thanks to the work of the late prize-winning Cuban film-maker, Santiago Alvarez. Although the festival began as a national event dedicated to the memory of the most relevant Cuban documentary maker of all time, throughout the years it has attracted the attention of a number of filmmakers from Latin America, Europe and the United States. With films in competition, parallel screenings and theoretical discussions, the Festival constitutes a space for exchanging opinions and experiences among filmmakers and lovers of this genre. Venezuela will be the guest of honour in 2011. For more information, you can contact the Festival’s Office by calling +(53) 7 830 1548 or emailing festivalsantiagoalvarez@icaic.cu.