A retrospective of Antonio Vidal—awarded the National Visual Arts Prize in 1999—with 36 works (oil paintings, drawings and sculptures) which encompass the period from 1960 to 2007. Founder of the Los Once Group (1953), and considered the introducer of abstract expressionism in Cuba.

Founded in 1999 under the name Havana Choral Meeting, for there consecutive years it was a meeting of Cuban and American choruses. En 2002, it became Corhabana and widened its scope to include choruses from other countries. The event is presided by one of the leading choral directors in Cuba, Digna Guerra, who today heads the National Chorus.

Organized for the first time in 1993, this meeting of ballet academies has made it possible for dancers, teachers and students to become familiar with the technical and stylistic peculiarities of the Cuban School of Ballet through workshops, courses, and methodological/master lessons, while dancers and pedagogues from other countries have contributed their own experiences. In addition, since 1995, an international competition for students is held in different categories (13-14, 15-16 and 17-18 years old) and four prizes are awarded: revelation, best partners, best individual performance and the Grand Prix.

Founded in 1989 by Cuba’s prima ballerina, Alicia Alonso, this festival (literally, “Spanish Imprint Festival”), while acknowledging both traditional and contemporary Spanish cultural influence on the island, is nonetheless very Cuban. Cuban and Spanish soloists, theatre companies, dance ensembles and music groups perform at the Gran Teatro de La Habana as well as in the Plaza de Armas and the Castillo de la Real Fuerza—itself an enduring testimony of previous Hispanic presence in the city.

This unique International Urban Dance Festival was first held in 1996 in two or three small museums located in Havana’s Historical Centre, eventually bringing into play most of the institutions, plazas and streets of Old Havana. Aiming to link dance choreography with the visual and expressive nature of the old city, as well as seeking to interact with passers-by, the event, organized by the Retazos Dance Company directed by dancer and choreographer Isabel Bustos, is attended by hundreds of foreign and Cuban guests.

Continuing a tradition that dates back to colonial times, in 1993 a group of young artists decided to organize this popular festivity with the arrival of Spring. This festival, which was held for the first time at the foot of the cross which Father Antonio Alegría placed on 3 May, 1790 at the top of a hill, 275 metres above sea level, is presided over by the Hacha Taína (the Taino Axe) and the Cruz de Madera (the Wooden Cross), symbols of the mixture of elements that constitute the Cuban culture. Following this spirit, every year musicians, actors, researchers, artists, writers and dancers come together to share their artistic endeavour during intense days and nights in which the diversity of their propositions is exhibited, and Cuban and foreign artists join the locals to enjoy a marathon-like programme in various parts of the city.

Nothing to do with discotheques, this fair was begun in 1997 as a way to bring to national and international attention what the Cuban recording industry has been up to with concerts, recitals, symposia and exhibits. The 2007 edition, which was dedicated to Venezuela, included tributes to Cuban film music by Leo Brouwer, Edesio Alejandro, the brothers José María and Sergio Vitier, and the former Grupo de Experimentación Sonora from the Cuban Film Institute (ICAIC). The 2007 festival Grand Prix was awarded to albums Akapellando, by the a capella vocal ensemble, Sampling, and to Cinco conciertos para piano y orquesta de Heitor Villa-Lobos (Five Concerts for Piano and Orchestra by Heitor Villa-Lobos), performed by various Cuban pianists.

The Latin American Theatre Festival, sponsored by Casa de las Americas in the 1960s, and which in 1964 went international, was discontinued until 1998 when the Drama Department of the Casa de las Americas organized the Theatre in May festival in its place. This is now a biannual affair. The festival features the performances of the most important Cuban theatre companies as well as renowned Latin American groups plus workshops and lectures by experts from Cuba and abroad.

Founded in 1982 by internationally famous guitarist, composer and conductor Leo Brouwer as the Havana Guitar Competition and Festival, it has welcomed guitarists distinguished guitarists, including Ichiro Suzuki from Japan, Costas Cotsiolis from Greece, Paco de Lucía from Spain, María Luisa Anido from Argentina, Francis Bebey from Cameroon, David Russell and John Williams from the UK, and Alirio Díaz from Venezuela, among others. After an hiatus of several years, the organizers have announced the renewal of the Festival to take place in May.

Organized by the Animation Studios of the Cuban Institute of Cinematic Art and Industry (ICAIC), this festival is dedicated to animated films for children and adolescents. The event includes a competition of short- and feature-length films produced for the cinema or television from 2006 to date, plus a program of workshops, theoretical meetings and exhibitions related to the making of films for young audiences.