Category: Culture and History

Visiting Cuba means taking a walk along its streets, admiring its nostalgic atmosphere, discovering its food that awakens your palate, sitting in the Malecón, smoking a Havana cigar, strolling through the historic centre. At night… dancing with “tumbaos” on every street corner, drinking a Santiago rum, witnessing the nightly cannon fire… in short soaking up the local colour and being inspired by the country’s cheerful people, who make this small island a truly extraordinary place…

Bands from Uruguay, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Costa Rica and Venezuela will be performing at the first “Patria Grande” Festival of Latin American Rock, to be held in Havana, Cienfuegos and Villa Clara from 14 to 18 November, and including a tribute to the Argentine musician Luis Alberto Spinetta. Over four days, Havana and other cities on the Caribbean island will be welcoming groups from the continent, such as the Uruguayan band “No te va a gustar”, the main guest at the event, and “Puya” from Puerto Rico, renowned for their heavy metal and salsa repertoire. Other bands performing include Ra La culebra from Colombia, Curva Sur from Venezuela and La Milixia from Costa Rica.

The National Ballet of Cuba has been celebrating its 66^th anniversary since 28 October, and theatres such as the Karl Marx, the National Theatre of Cuba and the Mella are about to burst into life with the arrival of the 24^th International Ballet Festival of Havana, continuing until 7 November. This year’s festival is dedicated to the English playwright William Shakespeare, enabling audiences to enjoy performances of some of his works, translated into the language of dance. The event will include stars from the American Ballet Theatre, the New York City Ballet, Ballet Hispánico from New York, the Linga company from Switzerland, and the Ballet Estable from the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to name a few.