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

	Dichos de Sabios Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Arte Universal)	Through 26 Jan 2011
	This exhibition by the Chinese painter Wang Xieda is a collection of 26 pieces that includes sculptures and drawings, which combine the novel abstraction from the West in sculptures and the traditional techniques applied to large ink drawings on rice paper and charcoal on canvas with the exquisite Asian calligraphy.

	La Solidez del Tiempo Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Arte Universal)	Through 26 Jan 2011
	A mixture of tradition and modernity also marks this exhibition by Cai Xiao Song. The use of silk, ink, calligraphy in his Stones or in an installation made up of 1,100 calligraphic pieces made in the course of 10 years, are witness to a harmonic irruption of contemporaneity in a millenary tradition.

	Todas las Esculturas de Edgar Degas Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Arte Universal)	Through 24 Jan 2011
	All of Edgar Degas’s sculptures-74 pieces-will be exhibited in Cuba for the first time courtesy of the Greek Heraklion Museum. The exhibit will give the viewers the chance to acquaint themselves with a less known side to the great French Impressionist. Female nudes, heads, horses and, of course, the ballerinas that characterized his paintings.

La otra realidad. Una historia del arte abstracto cubano

	La otra realidad. Una historia del arte abstracto cubano Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Arte Cubano)	Throughout Jan 2011
	An exhibition of the best samples of Cuban abstract art from its first antecedents to the present day.

	Rapsodia insular Palacio Lombillo	Throughout Jan 2011
	Rapsodia insular is the first incursion into painting by the Cuban artist Juan Suárez, who is better known for his installations. The 15 acrylic and oil paintings on canvas focus on the city—fragmented, mended, at times invented—in a plethora of imagination, colour and poetry.

	40 años de gráfica Galería Latinoamericana, Casa de las Americas	Opens 24 Jan 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	Opens 24 Jan 2011
	Exhibition of Peruvian popular art donated by the collector of traditional art Alicia Bustamante Vernal (1905-1968) to Casa de las Américas

	Vigencia del paisaje Palacio Lombillo	Throughout Jan 2011
	Ania Toledo is set on demonstrating that landscape painting is not dead. This exhibition is inspired in forest areas of Cuba and Costa Rica. According to the art critic David Mateo, “her work is proof of the impact, the artistic and cultural validity of bucolic scenery…her paintings are a tremendous display of technical mastery, and structural.”

	Dos Instantes Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales	Throughout Jan 2011
	This solo exhibition by the young artist Rafael Villares focuses on the winning project of the first creative scholarship Estudio 21 granted by the Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales in 2011, and is composed of installation, environment and video art. The art ciritic Elvia Rosa Castro has said that “Rafael Villares does not complicate himself with mother nature interfere with it on site; he brings it to us…so that for a few (or a couple of) instances, we may forget the modern whirlwind as we immerse ourselves in the natural rhythm that he proposes.”

	Nothing to Learn Galería Habana	Throughout Jan 2011
	Antonio Eligio (Tonel) has made use of caricatures, drawings, paintings, sculptures and installations to examine both the everyday life of his immediate environment and the universal instinct of human beings.

	Las Cucarachas de mi Armario Galería del hotel Ambos Mundos	Throughout Jan 2011
	Based on digitally doctored photographs of family and friends and later artistically worked on, the very young self-taught artist Tai Ma Campos has created large works of which the curator Píter Ortega has said that “certain facial elements such as lips, cheeks, eyelids, ears, noses, tongues and eyes are enlarged out of proportion…in a gesture that is very close to caricatures and humour. The figures thus become dehumanized in some measure…which contrasts with references to the world of childhood seen in some of his works.”

	Radiografía de un instante Galería Belkis Ayón	Throughout Jan 2011
	Strange fish which at times seem close to abstraction, expressed with acrylic paints on paper and canvas testify to Osmany Piedra’s ingenuity, creativeness and free use of colour in his works.

Iba a Decir Algo Muy Importante (…pero ya se me olvidó)

	Iba a Decir Algo Muy Importante (…pero ya se me olvidó) Villa Manuela	Throughout Jan 2011
	A master of photorealism during the 1970s, Flavio Garciandía has later dealt with other styles which have taken his interest to the theoretical and conceptual planes of art. He has been arguably the most constant renovator and experimenter of all Cuban artists, without losing communication with the viewers.

	Corrientes Mundiales Galería Espacio Abierto, revista Revolución y Cultura Juárezde Asís	Throughout Jan 2011
	The American photographer Jim Campen and his wife, artist Phyllis Ewen, have gathered a number of works which bear witness to their visit to Havana in 2004, as well as reflecting pools in several parts of the world.

	Sosabravo: Obra reciente Centro Hispano-Americano de Cultura	Through 15 Jan 2011
	The Cuban painter, draughtsman, engraver and ceramist Alfredo Sosabravo, National Art Prizewinner, will be celebrating his 80th birthday with this exhibition of around 30 plates made at Albisola Mare on the Italian Riviera of Ligure, famous for their ceramics workshops; plus around 20 sculptures and paintings from his most recent production

Curso “Un ceramista habla de un ceramista”

	Curso “Un ceramista habla de un ceramista” Museo Nacional de la Cerámica Contemporánea Cubana	Fridays, 10:00 am, Jan 2011
	Lectures supported by images given by ceramists whose works are part of the permanent collection of the National Ceramics Museum. Inscriptions for the course at the Museo Nacional de la Cerámica Contemporánea, at Calle Mercaderes, esquina Amargura; by phone: 861 6130, or email: ceramica@bp.patrimonio.ohc.cu.

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
	8 Jan 2011, 6:00 pm Mozart’s The Grand Partita for wind instruments performed for the first time in Cuba by musicians from the Rouen Opera. 19 Jan 2011, 6:00 pm Cellist Amparo del Riego, flutist Niurka González and violinist Alfredo Muñoz will play Haydn’s London Trios. 22 Jan 2011, 6:00 pm The Trío Concertante (Leonardo Gell, piano; Dianelys Castillo, clarinet; and Fernando Muñoz, violin) will dedicate their performance to the 62nd anniversary of the birth of the outstanding Cuban composer Juan Piñera. 28 Jan 2011, 6:00 pm Launching of the album Siempre en mi corazón with works by the Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona, sung by Miriam Ramos and Ernán Lopez-Nussa at the piano to commemorate the 12th anniversary of Habana Radio. 29 Jan 2011, 6:00 pm Concert by the Chamber Music Orchestra of Havana to celebrate 30 years of artistic life of María Elena Mendiola.

	Festival de la Trova Longina Santa Clara, Villa Clara province	6-10 January 2011
	In remembrance of one of the greats of traditional Cuban trova, Manuel Corona, and his immortal song Longina, troubadours of different generations will share the stage with famous Cuban musicians. The event will include theoretical meetings, informal get-togethers and the traditional walk to Caibarién, Corona’s hometown, on the 9th.

	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	12 & 26 Jan, 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.

	Rock concerts Maxim Rock	Thu-Sat, 8:00; Sun, 4:00 pm / 2010
	Fri 7 Interactivo y Santiago Feliú Sat 8 Magical Beat Fri 14 Chlover y Rice and Beans Sat 15 Ancestor Sun 16 Gens Fri 21 Magnum Sat 22 Festin de Zeus Sun 23 Santiago Feliú Fri 28 Los Kent Sat 29 Combat Noise Sun 30 Gens

	La Utopía Casa de la Música de Miramar	Every Saturday, 5:00 pm, Jan / 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 Wednesday, 4:00 pm Jan / 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, Jan / 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, Dec / 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 Jan / 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	5 & 19 Jan, 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	20 Jan, 5:00 pm / 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 / 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 Jan / 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, Jan / 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.

	Iglesia de San Francisco de Paula Temporada Septiembre Barroco	7:00 pm / 2011
	14 Jan 2011, 7:00 pm Chamber concert organized by conductor José Antonio Méndez and violinist Carmen María Vázquez which includes Passacaglia for solo violin from Heinrich von Sonatas of the Holy Rosary Bach’s Trío Sonata for two violins and continuo; Vivaldi’s La cetra for violin and orchestra, among others. 29 Jan 2011, 7:00 pm Concert conducted by Gretta María Rodríguez and performed by Ensemble Alternativo to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Radio Progreso’s show De mi pa’ti.

	Oratorio San Felipe Neri	7:00 pm / 2010
	7 Jan 2011, 7:00 pm Chamber concert by clarinettist Lester Chio and guests, and the Rouen Opera octet and Cuban flutist Niurka González will perform works by Rossini, Bach and Gounod. 8 Jan 2011, 4:00 pm Concert by pianist María de los Ángeles Horta and guests. 11 Jan 2011, 3:00 pm Graduation concert by Mónica Betancourt, a student of the violin at the National Arts Institute. 13 Jan 2011, 7:00 pm Donizetti’s Lucia de Lammermoor sung by soprano Diana Rosa Cárdenas; tenors Bryan López, Yunior Luis and Orley Cruz; baritone Carlos Laurencio; bass Marcos Lima; and mezzo-soprano Lili Hernández—soloists from the Teatro Lírico Nacional—with the chorus of the company accompanied by pianist Yaliev Álvarez. 15 Jan 2011, 4:00 pm Concert by clarinettist Ailed Roque and pianist Isabel Mesa. 20 Jan 2011, 7:00 pm Mozart performed by pianist Ulises Hernández and soprano Iliana Jiménez 27 Jan 2011, 7:00 pm Concert dedicated to the second anniversary of the Lyceum Mozartiano de La Habana with chamber music by Mozart. In the second part of the concert, the orchestra of the National Arts Institute conducted by Jenifer Almeida will perform Mozart’s Symphony Number 25, 29 Jan 2011, 7:00 pm Espacio Voces Nuevas, a space for young opera talents, conducted by María Eugenia Barrios.

Theatre

	El de la Mancha no va al Paraíso Centro Cultural Bertolt Brecht, Sala Café Teatro	Fri & Sat, 8:30 pm; Sun, 5:00 pm, Jan / 2011
	Rerun of El de la Mancha no va al Paraíso, by Pequeño Teatro de La Habana, which, through the eternal characters of Cervantes’s Don Quixote takes a penetrating look into the turbulent Cuban 1970s when many intellectuals suffered condemnation and isolation.

	La gran tirana Sala Adolfo Llauradó	Wed & Thu, 6:00 pm, Jan / 2011
	La gran tirana is based on the life of the legendary Cuban singer Guadalupe Yolí, who after a brief yet successful career in her own country, obtained fame and fortune in New York to later die in poverty and anonymity. According to the playwright and critic Amado del Pino, with this play, “Carlos Padrón reveals himself as a writer who delves into the roots of nationality, into the deepest recesses of popular culture. His close examination of this woman is credible, familiar, representable…it is more than an emblematic role or a time-worn pattern.

	Lucía Sala Adolfo Llauradó	7 & 8 Jan, 8:30 pm / 2011
	Alluding to director Humberto Solás’s well-known Cuban film Lucía, which tells the story of three women in three different periods in Cuba, this fourth Lucía--one-woman show written by Maikel Chávez and Eduardo Eimil and which earned the actress the 2009 Caricato Prize--has one principal thing in common with its antecessors: the force with which she defends her dreams against adverse fate. In this case, the play deals with an actress who lives the same anxieties and anguishes as any other ordinary Cuban and who goes from casting to casting in search of a character that will lift her out of anonymity.

	Cría cuervos Sala Adolfo Llauradó	21, 22 & 23 Jan, 8:30 pm / 2011
	Teatro de las Puertas, a theatre company from the eastern city of Holguín, presents Cría cuervos, a representation of domestic violence seen from a child’s point of view.

	Chicago Centro Cultural Bertolt Brecht, Sala Tito Junco	Fri & Sat, 8:30 pm; Sun, 5:00 pm, Jan / 2011
	After two months of performance to a packed house, Mefisto Teatro continues this month with Chicago, which first opened in Broadway in 1975. Deliberately drifting away from the 2002 film version, the director, Tony Díaz, has formed a cast of bright young hopes and experienced actors.

	Santa Juana de América Sala Adolfo Llauradó	28, 29 & 30 Jan, 8:30 pm / 2011
	Teatro de las Puertas will also produce during the first month of the year Santa Juana de América, an adaptation of the play of the same name by the Argentinean playwright Andrés Lizárraga. This version tries to familiarize the younger generations with the story of a 19th-century woman who fought against the Spanish royal forces.

Dance

	En el País de las Sombras Sala Teatro Las Carolinas	6:00 pm, 29 Jan / 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
	1st Jan, 5:00 pm Gala by the Ballet Nacional de Cuba with , the adagio of act II of Swan Lake and The Magic Flute, choreographed by Alicia Alonso. 7 & 8 Jan, 8:30 pm Alicia Alonso’s choreographic version of one of the great classics of Russian ballets: The Nutcracker, to music by Tchaikovsky, performed by Viengsay Valdés, Anette Delgado, Sadaise Arencibia, Yanela Piñera, Elier Bourzac, Javier Torres, Ernesto Álvarez and Alejandro Virelles in the leading roles.

Events

	Premio Casa de las Américas Casa de las Américas	17-27 January 2011
	Initiated in Havana in 1960 to draw attention to the most significant literary production in Latin America--and at a later date, the Caribbean, too--in the genres of poetry, novel, short story, essay, theatre and testimony, as well as works in other languages spoken in the region, the Casa de las Américas Literary Award has gathered outstanding figures of contemporary writing, including Miguel Ángel Asturias, Mario Vargas Llosa, Julio Cortázar, Alejo Carpentier, Allen Ginsberg, Nicolás Guillén, Nicanor Parra, Jaime Sabines, Alfredo Bryce Echenique, Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Eduardo Galeano, Paco Ignacio Taibo II, José Lezama Lima, Italo Calvino, Camilo José Cela, José Saramago, to name a few. During the 52nd edition of this event, other prizes will be granted including the José María Arguedas Prize (narrative), the Ezequiel Martínez Estrada Prize (essay) and the José Lezama Lima Prize (poetry). Other activities include art exhibitions and the presentation of the 2011 prize-winning books.

A PREVIEW OF THE COMING MONTHS

XVII Coloquio Internacional Mujeres y Emancipación de la América Latina y el Caribe en los siglos
Casa de las Américas, Havana
21-25 February 2011

The 2011 International Colloquium on Women and Liberation of Latin American and the Caribbean in the 19th and 20th centuries will with the subjects of “Gender and History,” 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.

Feria Internacional del Libro
Havana’s San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortress and provincial capitals
10 February-6 March 2011 (10-20 Feb, Havana;

What began as a modest book fair founded by the famous Cuban writer, scientist and philosopher, Alejo Carpentier, eventually became the most important literary event on the island. 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, poetry readings, concerts, children’s events, and a crafts fair. The 19th edition in 2011 will be dedicated to National Prize-winners Jaime Sarusky and Fernando Martínez Heredia--Literature and Social Sciences, respectively--and to the cultures of ALBA countries and the bicentennial of the wars for independence in Latin America. After Havana, the fair travels to other Cuban cities.

Festival del Monólogo Cubano
Teatro Tomás Terry, Cienfuegos
February

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.

Festival de Música Antigua Esteban Salas
Old Havana
February 2011

Previously an event to commemorate the music of Cuban composer Esteban Salas, since 2003, on the 200th anniversary of his death, it became a festival of early music. Every year the event gathers outstanding performers of Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music who perform in Old Havana headed by the Ars Longa Music Ensemble. Venues include the Basílica Menor del Convento de San Francisco de Asís, Iglesia de Paula, Oratorio San Felipe Neri, Centro Hispano-Americano de Cultura and Palacio de Gobierno.

Muestra Nacional de Nuevos Realizadores
Havana
22-27 February 2011

An event for the promotion of new video/filmmakers which serves to get 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, as well as a competition of unpublished scripts workshops with the participation of important film directors, and an exhibition/competition of posters.