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The 12th Havana Biennial Michelangelo Pistoletto at the 12th Havana Biennial Mabel Poblet’s Patria REVIEW & GUIDE TO THE 12TH HAVANA BIENNIAL

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“La esquina FRIA” by Ana Lorena

EDITORIAL Since May 22, the Havana Biennial has transformed the city with contemporary art. This year, it has flung open the doors of once-closed structures, from electric plants to defunct bicycle factories, injected cheeky and spirited installations into the city’s urban texture, and overwhelmed with too much art to possibly see, challenging visitors and locals alike to take in as much as they can before the show comes down on June 22. This year’s iteration both jumps beyond and continues in that vein. As the first biennial to take place in a different economic and regulatory climate than years prior—visitors to Havana will find new tourism infrastructure, and the promise of political change in the form of a fresh diplomatic and economic relationship with the United States—this year’s biennial is a debutante ball of sorts. An exuberant first-week program of ancillary exhibits complemented the formal offerings of the biennial: Cuban artists who had decamped to foreign countries years ago have returned, opening studios and informal galleries in Havana; an assortment of new spaces, eschewing the model of either commercial gallery or artist-run collective and instead creating their own rules, have opened in apartments and homes around the city. Open studios, inaugurations, and performances of the first week of the biennial took place at a dizzying pace. Elsewhere, hats off to the New York Cosmos who gave a deft display of finishing to polish off the Cuban national team 4:1 on a wet but still packed evening at the Pedro Marrero Stadium. The Cosmos are simply the latest in a wave of new visitors to Cuba who are coming to see for themselves the tropical magic that is Cuba. June 2015 Highlights (Havana, unless stated) May 22-June 22 The 12th Havana Biennial June 4-28 III Encuentro de Jóvenes Pianistas & Musicalia 2015 June 16-18 VIII Congreso Internacional de Diseño de La Habana, FORMA 2015 June 24-28: X Festival Internacional Danzón Habana 2015 June 16-July 1 Cucalambeana Country Fair (Las Tunas) Thanks to all of our contributors, sponsors, partners and readers. Do please keep providing us with your feedback, comments and suggestions. All enquiries should be directed to Sophia Beckman at [email protected]. All the best. Viva Cuba!

photo Alex Mene

JUNE 2015

ART:

THE 12TH HAVANA BIENNIAL

HAVANA LISTINGS OTHER FEATURED ARTICLES HAVANA GUIDE

The 12th Havana Biennial: an introduction p6 The 12th Biennial is on the move p8 The 12th Havana Biennial continues p10 Zona Franca: megashow of Cuban art p12 Casablanca in the 12th Havana Biennial p16 What lies beyond the wall p19 Mabel Poblet’s Patria p24 At the Wifredo Lam Center: art in the plural p27 Michelangelo Pistoletto p30 Wilfredo Prieto p32 Mauricio Abad p34

Visual Arts p37 — Photography p39 — Dance p40 —Music p41 — Theatre p47 The Cucalambeana Country Fair p51

Features - Restaurants - Bars & Clubs - Live Music Hotels - Private Accommodation p54

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Havana Biennial an introduction

An electricity plant constructed in 1915, closed since the late sixties, recently opened for tours, filled with multimedia presentations and work by Cuban sculptor Esterio Segura; the prison cells of the Morro-Cabaña complex across the bay from Old Havana, vaulted ceilings echoing the chatter of visitors who peruse work by 250 artists and collectives, from conceptual art by Reynier Leyva Novo and Ivan Capote to paintings by Luis Camejo; a segment of Havana’s waterfront Malecón, just two weeks ago a humdrum chunk of seawall, now converted into a sandy beach, complete with thatched-palm umbrellas, plastic loungers, and the occasional cooler of beer. Since May 22, the Havana Biennial has transformed the city with contemporary art. This year, it has flung open the doors of once-closed structures, from electric plants to defunct bicycle factories, injected cheeky and spirited installations into the city’s urban texture, and overwhelmed with too much art to possibly see, challenging visitors and locals alike to take in as much as they can before the show comes down on June 22. The Havana Biennial—which, in true Cuban fashion, takes place every third year in the early summer¬—has been a lauded institution in the city since 1984. As one of the first sweeping, artistically ambitious biennials to take place outside of the first world, it was intended to offer a platform to artists left out of subsidized European shows: it showcased artists not only from Cuba, but South America, Africa, and Asia. As such, the show shifted access to and expectations from global biennials, prioritizing offering Cubans from all walks of life first-class art.

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This year’s iteration both jumps beyond and continues in that vein. As the first biennial to take place in a different economic and regulatory climate than years prior—visitors to Havana will find new tourism infrastructure, and the promise of political change in the form of a fresh diplomatic and economic relationship with the United States—this year’s biennial is a debutante ball of sorts. An exuberant first-week program of ancillary exhibits complemented the formal offerings of the biennial: Cuban artists who had decamped to foreign countries years ago have returned, opening studios and informal galleries in Havana; an assortment of new spaces, eschewing the model of either commercial gallery or artistrun collective and instead creating their own rules, have opened in apartments and homes around the city. Open studios, inaugurations, and performances of the first week of the biennial took place at a dizzying pace.

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“La Perla negra” photo by Ana Lorena

Luckily for visitors who didn’t make it to Havana in May, the biennial continues through June. Participatory and diverse, its offerings include an encyclopedic, if overwhelming and slightly scattered exhibit of work by Cuban artists in the Morro-Cabaña. With work that includes the conceptual and the representative, by artists of the widest possible range of ages, the exhibit is a vigorous introduction to Cuban art. In Old Havana, the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes show, at the Cuban arts building, exhibits work by Cubans Alexandre Arrechea and Wilfredo Prieto, a survey of abstract drawings by Gustavo Pérez Monzón from the Ella Fontanals Cisneros collection. The museum of universal art has been taken over by an exhibit of work on loan from the Bronx Museum of the Arts, “Wild Noise,” representing the first half of the first art museum exchange in fifty years. Along the Malecón, a curated selection of outdoor sculptures ranging from an icy blue cube by Rachel Valdes to a spiky, innuendo-laden cake-like sculpture by the collective Stainless, including the popular new Malecón beach by Arlés del Río, encourage participation. Additional exhibits at the Casa de Africa, Wilfredo Lam Contemporary Art Center, Spanish Embassy, and much more ensure that even the most cursory walk through Old Havana will result in a visitor’s stumbling into an exhibit, whether large or small.

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Intervension en el MORO 12 Bienal de la Habana, Photo by Y. del Monte

The 12th Biennial is on the move by Ricardo Alberto Pérez The Havana Biennial is the kind of event that often surpasses public expectations. This twelfth edition has been characterized by its capacity for expansion, for the multiplicity of languages it uses, and especially for the ability to involve citizens in each of its processes, invading, if you will, our everyday lives and seeking to leave its enduring imprint on them. Those of us who plan to be present at the most important events in this grand festival of visual arts have to constantly travel all over the city. To enjoy the inauguration of one of the principal shows, many of us took the ferry across the bay where the town of Casablanca awaits us. It is the site of many different practices that started there, especially those based on making the most of the originality of its surroundings, its symbolism, its community projects and the only electric railway in Cuba. This too is where the prestigious French artist Daniel Buren has his exhibition.

Within the official program, I was especially interested in the exhibition organized at the Wifredo Lam Center for Contemporary Art. Performance and art-as-object concepts were alternated successfully. The show called Montañas con una esquina rota, curated by Wilfredo Prieto, chose an old bicycle factory as its venue. Here a significant group of international artists such as Richard Wentworth, Abraham Cruzvillegas, Román Signer, Helen Mirra, Navid Nuur and Roman Ondák were brought together along with Cuban artist Eduardo Ponjuán (recipient of the 2013 National Visual Arts Prize). Theatre-associated performances had the effect of enriching this exhibition environment. Daniel Buren en Casablanca12 Bienal de la Habana, Photo by Y. del Monte

As never before, I feel that this year there has been a positive connection between the official program and the collateral shows, both in terms of the artists’ themes and the languages and concepts utilized. Therefore these connections ended up being favorable ones, offering the public some concrete clues about where Cuban and world art is heading.

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Once again Pabellón Cuba is exhibiting one of the official shows: the group project called “Entre, Dentro, Fuera/Between, Inside, Outside” with the participation of artists such as Agnes Chavez, Pedro Lasch, Casey Neithtah, Stephanie Syjuco, Elizabeth Stevenson, Levente Sulyok, Susana Delahante Matienzo, Omar Estrada, Adonis Ferro, Denis Peralta and Maysabel Pintado, Glenda Salazar and Levi Orta. Performances also played a large part at this venue. Many painters have opened the doors to their studios for group shows. In some instances some daring curatorial efforts have been the result. “Open Studio” is the name of this artistic event that has allowed the public to approach different studios across the city belonging to artists Reynier Leyva Novo, Carlos Bustamante, Sandra Pérez, Iván Capote, Ernesto Rancaño and El Montalván Estudio. The Montalván Studio is exhibiting works by some of the most important Cuban printmakers today: Rafael Zarza, Octavio Irving, Osmeivy García, Marcel Molina and Liudmila López. A group of Brazilian artists have been cooking on a corner of a Centro Habana neighborhood both for its inhabitants and for those who visited the show. The work became an exercise in cooking Brazilian and Cuban food, thereby setting up a strong communicative bond. Also in the working-class district of Centro Habana, specifically in the Colón neighborhood, architecture has been present in a very significant manner by way of twelve different projects that aim at initiating improvements for the inhabitants. Ancient parts of Havana, neighborhoods where popular memory has been very visible, have

“Caldoza” 12 Bienal de la Habana, Photo by Y. del Monte waited Long Enough

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been re-dimensioned through video mapping and therefore have been subjected to new interpretations through this new way of decoding old surroundings. Both inhabitants and visitors have had the opportunity to see those places from different angles, leaving us with the healthy feeling that everything can have a wide variety of nuances. Scattered throughout the city, many performances are being put on, some of which tie into music and dance. Uruguayan artist Tamara Cubas’ “Multitud” is being put on the small stage at the University of the Arts, and “Thirteen Less Two” by Michelangelo Pistoletto, at the Iglesia de Paula Church) with the collaboration of the Ars Longa Early Music Ensemble and Teresa Paz, its director, based on a Luis Alberto Mariño composition. There is no doubt that the Biennial has decided to make an intervention on the city in an intensive way and to salvage the stellar moments and details of its past. Along these lines is the splendid Kadir López project called “Havana Lights.” It is an attempt at reanimating and also dialoguing ironically about things lost that can still be rescued. In this instance, Kadir’s target is the restoration of eleven neon advertising signs that have been placed in front of several movie theaters, which were their original locations. Having fallen into disuse, their visual connection was broken, so under this conception, the neon signs have been conceived as artworks in themselves. Touring around Havana these days gives you a true sense of how this year’s Biennial has given us new rhythms and new aspirations for a city that seeks to transform itself.

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National Museum of Fine Arts (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes), Photo by Y. del Monte

The 12th Havana Biennial Continues by Margaret Atkins The central courtyard of the National Museum of Fine Arts (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes) is usually a tranquil and silent spot. Not today. The Biennial has just gotten under way today and the museum is exhibiting the work of one of the most important conceptual artists from Cuba and Latin America: Wilfredo Prieto. The show is called Ping-Pong Cuadrícula, showing a group of art pieces scattered throughout the length of the courtyard, many of which have never before been shown in Cuba. The works are astonishingly simple. But any Cuban has to smile when looking at a perfect cube of watermelon that the artist has called Políticamente Correcto [Politically Correct] or when he dares to exhibit as if it were on an altar the popular Pan con Pan, something like “bread & bread sandwich.” Many have come to see the exhibition and are wandering about the courtyard. Some have maps in hand so that they will know where to find certain pieces. Others who are less prepared are set to discover the work as if it were part of a treasure hunt. Accompanying the work, you can hear conversations and encounters, laughter, thirst quenched with water or beer, stops along the Biennial route where every exhibition is a milestone. Those who have come tell stories about what they have seen and they invite other people to go. Upstairs in the temporary exhibits halls, Gustavo Pérez Monzón’s show puts the younger generations of Cubans in touch with a legendary artist about whom much has been said and very little has been seen in Cuba

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for a good many decades. Across the room, Tomás Sánchez’ lovely landscapes are hanging—they really speak to me because they touch on my own sensibilities. They are enormous paintings, full of details, exquisitely painted and with huge blank spaces that startle and at the same time calm me. But there isn’t enough time to spend in lengthy contemplations because I have to leave, practically fly to the Spanish Embassy where Estrictamente Personal [Strictly personal] is the collective project being shown. As I arrive, Cirenaica Moreira, curator of the show, is already bleeding over her dress while exercising on the treadmill. It’s some kind of macabre gym! This impressive performance is just the aperitif for what follows, where the artist will be kissing 60 volunteers, each for a minute at a time, through a protective latex layer (a condom). This Exercise in Polygamy is done with members of the audience that approach to be kissed by the artist, to be photographed doing it and to have these images subsequently exhibited. Men, women, young people and those who are not so young are participating in the event. Ascending the marble staircase crammed with sweaty bodies, you bump into an installation: a plastic shower fills with steam (luckily fake) a bathroom that you inevitably must walk through. Continuing our ascent to the next floor, Grethell Rasúa is drawing some of her own blood to write a prayer for pardon on a white table. A bit later, while Cirenaica is kissing the volunteers on the marble contents

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stairs of the Embassy, a room on the second floor witnesses yet another performance. Accompanied by Lázaro Saavedra, Grethell Rasúa extends a line from the white surface of a wall until infinity, going over railings, floors, steps… At the end of the room, Broselianda Hernández gives us her Soledad Pública [Public Solitude] in short videos that movie the viewer for the undeniable expressive capacity of the actress and because I’ve got a feeling that her solitude is genuine. When we leave, it is nighttime. I pause to watch Carlos Garaicoa’s intervention on the broad sidewalk surrounding part of the Dionisio Velasco Palace, which today houses the Spanish Embassy. There are still a lot of people in the streets. They make appointments and decide on itineraries. Some of them would like to be everywhere so that they don’t miss anything. Others are exhausted, thinking only about getting home soon. But the Biennial continues. “Expo Ping Pong” 12 Bienal de la Habana, Photo by Y. del Monte

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ZONA FRANCA megashow of Cuban art by Victoria Alcalá

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Spending the day in La Cabaña Fortress on the other side of Havana Bay means you are going to be losing the unique surprises awaiting you all over the city, such as the performance of René Francisco Rodríguez, winner of the National Visual Arts Prize, who walks up and down O’Reilly Street in the guise of President Barack Obama, even speaking in English. Quite a lot of people thought he was the real thing and they started taking his picture on their cell phones and texting the amazing news to their friends. There is also the energizing and exciting Michelangelo Pistoletto show in Cathedral Square. But it is definitely worth your while to get away from the hubbub of the city and escape to the peaceful setting of the ancient colonial fortress where you will also be in for a few surprises at the super-exhibition of Cuban art created in the last five years.

work, covering the widest range of esthetics, philosophies, techniques, dimensions and media.

Hyped as the largest Cuban art show of all time, Zona Franca takes over La Cabaña as it did at the 11th Biennial, but this time the curating is more thought-out and intentional. The organizers have announced several central themes: identity, memory, the building of history, territory, communication and thought on art history itself. There aree over 240 artists showing their

The conflictive relationship with history (both Cuban and world history) comes to the surface over and over again and again from Joel Jover’s series called Generación del Titanic [The Titanic Greneration] within a sort of “philosophy of disillusionment,” right up to David Velázquez’s Ensueños recurrentes [Recurrent Dreams] that has also been shot full of the mistrust and expectations

As René Francisco’s performance forecast, the prospects, doubts and questions opened up by the announcements made by Presidents Obama and Castro last December 17 to open up relations between Cuba and the US are translated into several artistic manifestations. Among them is Gilberto Frómeta’s A volar [Let’s Fly] although the artist insists that it’s an homage to children with their paper boats and planes, and Michel Mirabal’s Carrera de relevo [Relay Race] who has added to his usual subject matter of Cuban flags made from grains of rice, American flags, bullet shells and a significant request for help to a sculpture of Our lady of Charity—the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, the patroness of Cuba.

Fabelo, Photo Y. del Monte

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for the new era that appears to be opening up for Cuba. We see a man standing in front of the water with open arms full of buckets (Súplicas [Plea], 2015) and it makes us wonder what he is awaiting, what he is wants, what he is asking for. A different look at history, this time from a stance in the future, is the one portrayed by Luis Enrique Camejo who renounces the luminous quality of space, oil and acrylics and has created well-defined drawings of the ruins of today’s emblematic sites, like the National Library, the University of Havana or the Coppelia ice cream parlor) and he has fun with three-dimensional representations of objects discovered and explained by hypothetical archeologists based on those future ruins (Ruinas futuras). Alan Argüelles’ series called Atlas (costa norte de La Habana) [Atlas (Havana’s North Coast] is a dramatic remembrance of the lives lost at sea in attempts to reach the US coast. The oil on canvas appears to show the wave-tossed sea, but as light is shone on the surface, we can make out a long list of names that the invisible ink did not let us see at first glance. Meanwhile, Reynier Leyva Novo’s El peso de la Historia [The Weight of History] (inked rectangles on the wall, but actually an estimate of the weight of the ink and calculation of the surface it occupies, based on books and documents essential to world and Cuban history); Duvier del Dago’s Con la historia no se juega [There’s no Fooling Around with History] and La historia es de quien la cuenta {History Belongs to Those Who Tell It] all announce with their very titles the artists’ interest in the wrenching, contradictory and worrying events that eventually go to Academia crystallized as History. This concern goes beyond national elements in Agustín Hernández’s and Reynerio Tamayo’s installation The Drone Wars; in Frank Martínez’s startling Halloween, proof of how powerful suggestion can be; and in Andrés Serrano’s supportive approach to the summum of “people without history” of his excellent photographs of street-people called Residents of New York.

(permit included), and Munch’s powerful The Scream becomes the Creole “¡Alabao!” true stage productions that Cubanize Western art. In a similar vein, Zenén Vizcaíno inserts characters from The Anatomy Lesson or The Death of Marat into unexpected contexts in Ángeles caídos [Fallen Angels]. Other works that revolve around the subject of art itself include Octavio Irving Hernández Jiménez’s Dime con quién andas... [Birds of a feather…]; Tomás “Johnny” Núñez’s Renaissance; Jorge Luis Santos’ Work in Progress, installations of a painter’s studio or workshop in full activity; and another installation, El peso leve de todo lo creado [The Light Weight of All that Is Created] by José Manuel Fors, who reduces a large part of literary and artistic creation into bundles of recyclable paper. Many artists persist in their usual modes of creation, such as Flora Fong who proudly exhibits her work together with the efforts of her two sons; Mario García Portela and his interiorized landscapes A dos tiempos [Two-strole]; Eduardo Roca (Choco) and Santiago Rodríguez Olazábal, who veer away

Abstraction, a chapter in Cuban art that insists in demonstrating its vitality, is represented at the group shows Gritos del silencio {Shouts in Silence}, where several generations come together, and Quiero ser lo que puedas ver [I Want to Be What You Can See] (photography), and in solo shows by Pedro de Oraá (Abstractivos) and Rigoberto Mena (RAKA 200), just to mention two artists who possess completely different esthetics. Freely reinterpreting the “classics’ of art history is an amusing game and makes us think of Babel, “medieval” tableaus by Rubén Alpízar. It is composed of two- and three-dimensional pieces in which Mondrian is inserted onto a zebra, Jesus performs miracles as a self-employed businessman

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from the folksy flavored and superficial view of the African presence in the Cuban identity; Kcho with his monumental Pensador [The Thinker} taken outside,; Roberto Fabelo, the erotic creations of Cuty; Abel Barroso’s splendid wood prints; Eduardo Ponjuán’s lighthearted Gone to Beach, and the always striking photographs of René Peña. Meanwhile a group of enfants terribles warns us: No temas a los colores estridentes [Have no fear of strident colors].

Contemporary media and strategies for communication grab our attention, for example, those by Jacqueline Brito, who engages in a play on the meanings of the word “navigate” in her show called Redes sociales [Social Networks], Guillermo Rodríguez Malberti’s lovely piece Colonial Windows, and Enrique Báster’s abstract work Overwhelm in which exclusion and censorship rear a hairy ear in his ingenious Esquema del criterio suprimido [Scheme of Suppressed Opinion].

Other artists present us with some surprises, like Arturo Montoto who, in his Jardines invisibles [Invisible Gardens], encloses landscapes behind disquieting fences, or Carlos Guzmán, who mixes video art, painting and installation in his Toda tristeza es una demolición [All Sadness is a Demolition], whose combination of a dentist’s chair and a ship’s propeller in an authentic beautiful wooded landscape, reminds us of the chance encounter of an umbrella and a sewing machine placed on a dissection table in the Surrealist Lautréamont’s Les Chants de Maldoror. Meanwhile, Ernesto García Peña seems to hint at Carlos Enriquez’s Eva saliendo del baño [Eve Coming Out of the Bathroom] in his paintings on doors.

The early closing of a few of the exhibition halls prevented me from doing all the rounds and not having a remote control to activate the video left me without taking part in Mabel Poblet’s mirror game (almost as soon as I had arrived I had “missed” that opportunity with Rachel Valdés). As a farewell bonus, I was rewarded with an extensive show al fresco: the slide by Stainless, ingenuous fountains, figurative, abstract, playful and charming works… Described as “collateral” to the Biennial because it doesn’t share the “street” spirit of the event’s curatorial plan, Zona Franca is an important representation of the most recent Cuban art production. It leaves one’s soul ready (even if the body is exhausted) for the next art marathon. That will be another story.

Performance “La Perla negra“, photo Alex Mene

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“Conga” - Casa Blanca, photo by Ana Lorena

Casablanca in the 12th Havana Biennial by Margaret Atkins I’m out walking along the Avenida del Puerto after a long day at work. The ever-present tourists are strolling slowly along the sidewalk. Pigeons frightened by the chiming bells of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral are frantically flapping in unison and starting their circular flight through the skies over San Francisco Square. I am remembering that today, May 22, is Saint Rita of Cascia’s feast day. Her sculpted image stands guard at one of the side entrances of the convent that has given its name to the square. It’s nothing strange that my mind starts to perambulate at this very moment towards the world of icons and images. I’m on my way to Casablanca, one of the venues for the Havana Biennial, the most important event in Cuba for contemporary art.

dares to sit on them either because the sun is still unforgiving or because accustomed as we are to the traditional viewer/artwork relationship, this seems sacrosanct to us. Once the initial surprise is over, the more irreverent among us decides to flop down, glasses ready, and get a picture taken. And when nighttime takes over the afternoon, foot-weary visitors start fighting over the chairs to sit down. This is the first stoop of what was to become an adventurous couple of hours walking all over the town that has been transformed into an art gallery.

I cross the bay in a ferry, the regular mode of transportation from one side of the great pocket of ocean water to the other. They say that its depths shelter treasure from colonial times. Today the ferry seems unusually slow, carrying more than its usual load of local passengers. I see French and Austrians, Latin Americans, and Cubans, of course. There are many cameras documenting the brief crossing. We are met by an esplanade when we land and it’s covered by 72 folding wooden and canvas chairs imprinted with lovely designs, the work of Chilean artist Guisela Munita. For a long time nobody

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72 folding wooden and canvas chairs imprinted with lovely designs, the work of Chilean artist Guisela Munita, photo by Y. del Monte

At first glance, the most remarkable sight is the ancient Hershey train car, part of the electric train that, for better or worse, is part of Casablanca tradition. When we arrive it still hasn’t been opened for the public and so I decide to explore the recently painted train station, which on this sweltering afternoon, is providing shade not for passengers en route to Matanzas but instead for a mixed bag of artists, townsfolk and gawkers who want to know who the short man dressed in a white shirt and black jacket is. He is surrounded by reporters. As I watch and listen I find out he is Daniel Buren, a famous French conceptual artist who wanted to leave his mark on this side of Havana Bay. He has left us a restored railroad station as a souvenir of his visit to Cuba.

Hershey train , photo by Y. del Monte

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newspaper La Voz de Casablanca is being hawked on the street, like hotcakes. It has been reborn after a silence lasting 70 years. Exhausted, I sit down to read it and to take a drink of water inside the old Hershey train car which by now has been opened as part of the AI&P (Art, Industry and Landscape) cultural project. I love the newspaper’s lovely photos.

Daniel Buren, Jorge Ferandez, Michelangelo Pisoleto 12 Bienal de la Habana, photo by Y. del Monte

In front of the station there is a small park and there, using a portable printing press, young Mexicans representing the graphic arts workshop La curtiduría are producing small engravings on paper and distributing them free of charge. It is a successful enterprise. Adults bring T-shirts to be printed with souvenirs of the Biennial. They are told they will take a few days to dry and that this isn’t the best way to be doing it, but they insist and the Mexicans give in, much to the T-shirt owner’ satisfaction. Likewise some kids who aren’t wearing shirts because of the heat get them to print images on their skin. They exhibit these like trophies in the town’s central park, which is up the hill dominated by Mauricio Abad’s installation. We stop to chat with this young Cuban artist. His work is called Gamers OK, and it shows in real time the casualties suffered by the Gamers de Cuba community, a group of around 15,000 avid Cuban videogame players.

As I write this report, my head is still reverberating with the echoes of the genuine Conga, whose drums heralded the start of the Havana Biennial, and which took place in the seaside town of Casablanca. Joining the Conga, I had the sensation of being swept up in something that is really genuine and spontaneous. It’s really remarkable how this popular manifestation worked to bring people together. Neighbors sat by their front doors or hung over their balconies, constantly interacting. Everyone admired the leader who never for one single moment let the energy of the percussion wane. The audience enjoying this spectacle included all ages and walks of life. I travel back across the Bay, much like someone crossing the ocean. Christ watches me from the Casablanca hill. Until June 22, the Havana Biennial lies at His feet.

The din of the comparsa interrupts our conversation with Mauricio. This is being prepared before our eyes with dancers and musicians, young people disguised with giant papier-mâché heads of black women, carrying signs identifying them as Los componedores de la Batea.” The comparsa is being followed by townsfolk and visitors, dancing and laughing their way through Casablanca streets. Later, the official inauguration takes place with speeches and thanks, but I don’t get to see it because I am climbing the stairs that leads to the Christ of Havana, searching for more art and artists. The stairs wind their way among houses, almost as if they were a part of them, and from above you can see Casablanca residents sitting on their rooftops, enjoying the unusual spectacle of hundreds of visitors wandering around, and the lovely sunset over Havana Bay. Twenty-five art projects make up this section of the Havana Biennial in Casablanca: Cuban and foreign artists with their installations, interventions, murals, audiovisuals, performances, sculptures, community projects. The pilot edition of the local photo by Y. del Monte

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What lies beyond

wALL? the

12TH HAVANA BIENNIAL by Margaret Atkins

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PRODUCED “Resaca”, BY by Arlés del Río , photo .COM by Alex Mene

photo by Ana Lorena

This seems to be the question that many visitors from the US (who are already starting to fill Havana streets) are asking themselves, discovering, in situ, that “the devil is not so black as he is painted.” One of the many answers to that query is the great al fresco exhibition that Juan Delgado Calzadilla (Juanito) has organized for the second time in a Biennial, aided and abetted by Cuban and international artists. Detrás del muro, or Behind the Wall, there is a vigorous and audacious artistic movement as well as well-versed and open-minded audiences who are capable of interacting with art in an inquisitive, self-assured and natural manner. Touring the Malecón, from La Punta to Maceo Park on inaugural Sunday. May 24, 2015, was a bona fide festivity. People were out to “enjoy” the Biennial, to see, to ask, to smell, to touch and, in short, to take part in and be a part of this art, which under a clear-sighted curatorial principle, has overrun the streets of the city. So it was nothing unusual to see entire families, grandparents with their grandkids, couples hand-in-hand, everyone sharing the space with artists, winners of the National Literature Prize, such as Nancy Morejón and Reynaldo González, critic Gerardo Mosquera who had a hand in legitimizing young art in the 1980s, musicologist Miriam Escudero or Deputy Minister of Culture Fernando Rojas who was going up and down, smiling broadly and with his cell phone glued to his ear, to all intents and purposes like someone in one of the performance pieces. “Ocidente con esteroides” by Stainless, photo by Ana Lorena

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“cubo azul” by Rachel Valdés , photo by Alex Mene

Turning off the Prado onto the Malecón, I had my first surprise. Was that light post always there? A group of nosey parkers confirmed my suspicions that this was “an artwork in the Biennial.” That’s how I found Rafael Villares’ Árbol de luz [Tree of Light] made up of lights from 15 different countries listed at the foot of the “tree,” and which passersby identified at will. Accompanied by his parents, wife and even his baby daughter, the artist was answering questions and slyly assuring people that not marrying lampposts with countries had been intentional and he was leaving this to the public’s imagination. photo by Ana Lorena

Close by, in the small La Punta Park, for his work called Stella, Florencio Gelabert implanted 60 cut and burned tree trunks on mirrors seeking to remove established esthetic patterns and shake our automatism. Across the street as we endlessly zigzagged our way along, Glexis Novoa has filled the surviving columns of a ruin with exquisite miniature drawings in El vacio (La Habana) [Emptiness (Havana)]. Spectators have a good time finding and deciphering them while a performer dances passages from the adagio of the second act of Swan Lake. Some works have not been identified but this fact only seems to add to our pleasure. The bronze studded with shells has Manuel Mendive written all over it, but other pieces are not so identifiable, like the strange marine forms made out of orange gloves; or the piece of cloth held up by blue ribbons being woven precariously by two young people inside a metallic structure; or the delicate white forms “planted” on a shiny surface; or the set of Chinese chopsticks with the symbols of Cuba and the US. There is a tall lookout, like a lifeguard station, which anyone brave enough can climb and gaze out over the horizon like an ancient mariner in his crow’s nest. And a huge secretaire full of drawers that are most difficult to open hold secrets that are impossible to reveal. A giant woman’s high-heeled open-toed shoe serves as a slide for the kids’ enjoyment.

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by Roberto Fabelo, photo by Ana Lorena

Roberto Fabelo gives us Delicatessen, a huge pot that has its surface pierced by a gazillion forks until the whole thing looks like a repulsive porcupine. But after this first impression, passersby get up close, touch it and try to look into the interior of the recipient through all the holes. Judging by the blank spaces visible in a few spots, a few audacious souls have even tried to take home a fork or two as souvenirs. Arlés del Río’s Resaca fits in so well where it is located that at first you don’t notice how odd it is to see a beach with sand, parasols, tables and loungers on a section of the Malecón seawall. Even better is the fact that some people come and rest in the loungers while others install themselves on chairs and tables with beer, hi-fi equipment, sun hats, just as if this was Varadero, in the secret desire that the installation never gets taken down, ever. And Inti Hernández’s Balance cubano also invites spectators to take a break and chat while comfortably settled in rocking chairs. “resaca” by Arlés del Río’s, photo by Ana Lorena

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Another work that is drawing a lot of attention is Rachel Valdés Camejo’s Cubo azul. Inside the blue cube, the play of color, the transparency and the mirrors give a totally different view of the city and the ocean. Going inside and coming out again is like some fantastic journey that everyone would like to take. Maybe that’s why such long queues have formed. Both adults and children await their turns to enter this strange blue paradise. Further on, I join some gawkers who are bobbing their heads from one side to another discovering the double image in Goteo, Ernesto and Javier Fernández’s ingenious piece of lenticular photographs. “Lady, look closer. There’s a trick here.” That’s the advice given me by a young man in shorts, flip-flops and beer in hand. I wonder if he has already written his message on Manuel Hernández Cardona’s Love Is Calling You, a great opportunity to put graffiti out there for all to see. Kids have a great time climbing, sliding and running without hearing the well-known maternal admonishment of “Don’t touch that!” They’re going crazy with the ice-skating rink installed by Duke Riley on The Cold Corner, as it is called, of Malecón and Belascoaín. At first they’re shy, maybe even a bit fearful, but in no time they’re sliding, slipping, tumbling and laughing. It’s happiness wearing the face of a child!

On the sidewalk by the sea, lookouts, towers, and even a telescope invite you to survey the horizon. I wonder what lies beyond the wall. On the street, a transvestite resembling a Tropicana cabaret dancer moves around among the passersby. Over there, an asexual figure in red remains motionless, letting itself be observed. Further on, a man is embroidering hankies. I thought this was a spontaneous action and then someone told me this was Ricardo Rodríguez who used to embroider handkerchiefs with his hair (that he let grow for 30 years), and then gave the hankies away. But by then I was too tired to backtrack. A colorful stall attracts the attention of every pedestrian who are trying to find out what’s inside. A little girl, her face full of sunshine, whispers that when it’s open, they give away toys. Facing Maceo Park, at the end (or the beginning, depending on which direction you choose to take) of “Juanito’s Wall,” there is an impressive piece: two bows with converging arrows, but you can’t see their points, only the shafts and feathers. An elderly gentleman, probably an editor or a designer, commented to his companion: “That should be the cover of whatever book is written about future Cuba-US relations.” Opuestos by Kadir López and Enrique Valdés, with its infinite suggestions, is a splendid start or finish to venture into this exhibition that is in front of, on and beyond the wall. ““detras del muro”, photo by Ana Lorena

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MABEL POBLET’S PATRIA at the 12th Biennial by Ricardo Alberto Pérez Mabel Poblet (Cienfuegos, 1986) has plunged herself into a terrain where others may go and get involved, thereby turning them into her accomplices. She fragments and she mirrors. Everything she shows us looks like it originated in a dream, still warm from the high temperatures that seem to occur in the dream-state. This is an artist who zeros in on disturbing elements and transforms them into images and visible objects. Those of us who have been following Mabel Poblet’s artistic trajectory from the beginning know she is talented and daring enough to constantly surpass our expectations. This why whenever I go to her shows, I feel something of a secret emotion making the artist-spectator encounter something truly special. On this occasion, when she is opening her exhibition called Ciudad: Patria [City: Homeland] at UNEAC’s Villa Manuela Gallery for the 12th Havana Biennial, my emotions have multiplied. The artist has decided to be truly radical and with the accumulated energy that is the result of the creative path she has been following, she has created a seductive tension that reigns on the space she has made an intervention on, providing a mysterious dynamic that accompanies the viewer from start to finish.

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From the moment I walk through the gallery’s doors, I become exposed to these sensations. Marea alta [High Tide] catches me unawares and I have only two options: to desist or to cross the verticality of the waters in which, today, sodium and other minerals have been replaced by symbolic elements. Far from diminishing in intensity, they are strengthened. At first, you feel kind of disoriented. You don’t know what to do. As your trust grows, moods undergo rapid changes until you reach a level of comfort, feeling relief and a sense of freshness. I have mentioned sea and water because this is what this piece composed of small squares imitating photos or little mirrors, which are never short on producing reflections and hang from the ceiling to the floor by strings that form a dense, pliant curtain. The first thing I interpreted from the show is what it told me: “If you want to know my real homeland, you have to cross this collective issue, this pain without which we can no longer conceive ourselves as a group. On the far shore, you will have new imprints on your skin, your heart slightly sad and your senses will be infinitely awakened.” The murmur that is created throughout the voyage spoke to me of a fractured body whose halves are yearning constantly for the reunion. contents

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This brought me to the most conceptual part of the show—painted texts that have been imprinted on thick, transparent sheets. In front of those texts are twin artifacts, two structures speaking to us of nostalgia and the reunion, which is identified as blood-ties, race or identity. All of this is transgressed, recovered in an unstable, aqueous state. And there is the sea once more, the blue that cannot be put aside, a far-off, yet very clear point, which is separated from us by a circular form that implants a distance between us and what wants to be touched.

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Completing this account is the current state of our homeland that is emerging with its defects and a considerable modicum of pride. Here, the US Capitol and the Capitolio in Havana are sharing the same space. This work uses different media, including sculpture, video and photography, granting spectacular animation to this sober and covert dialogue. One of the most striking things about this show is that these pieces are beautiful. They feature a complex beauty that is not communicated easily; rather it is the result of the crispness and forthrightness of the process with which it has been delivered. Mabel Poblet’s manner of communicating with us rests in her skill at probing into matters that are common ground for all human beings. Sometimes they are quite minimal; other times they are transcendental. She fabricates metaphors that often project themselves from some of the more active parts of our bodies like the hands and the eyes. Her metaphors never sleep. They flow like our life’s blood, carrying a huge amount of information.

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Inaguration day , photo Y. del Monte

At the Wifredo Lam Center: art in the plural by Ricardo Alberto Pérez The show at the Wifredo Lam Center for Contemporary Art more than ever on the occasion of this Twelfth Havana Biennial sings the praises of this great artist’s pictorial and sociological thinking. The name of Lam identifies and motivates this institution’s work. Curatorship has focused on the concept of plurality and its inclusive tone has the exhibition remembering the potential of the city’s suburban areas. It is also opening up specific areas in order to indicate phenomena that express the maturity of artistic processes in the face of the violence generated by the growth of our societies.

of resistance, no holds barred. Son de señas is a genuine exhortation, a hymn to will that alerts us to the possibility of transformation without turning our backs on reality. The performance showed that it had been rigorously put together and it especially showed admirable humility on the part of the collaborating social group (sponsored by ANSOC, the National Association for the Deaf in Cuba) as well as the artist herself.

On May 22, 2015, the Center was bursting at the seams. A great number of those present were Cuban and international artists, always available to uncover their critical sense, gearing it towards the event about to occur. After the usual inaugural speech, the group performance Son en Señas, organized by artist Francisca Benítez, took place. It was an immediate and concrete example of the aforementioned inclusive spirit. That undoubtedly moving event aimed to reflect upon human nature’s capacity for adaptation and everything positive that may be extracted from it as long as it is done with an uplifting frame of mind. It is ready to demonstrate the real value AFLUENTE (2009)

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Performance “Son de señas” , photo Alex Mene

After the performance, the mass of spectators quickly went up to the second floor. The feeling on ground level was that something extremely dynamic was about to happen, like a sort of ritual somewhere between frenetic sound and the need for bodies to launch their energies outwards. The work revolved around a piece by Nigerian artist Victor Ekpuk. It was a profound and moving tale arising from every printed symbol, speaking to us about a grand ceremony when considered as a whole. The main strength of Ekpuk’s work, Abakuas, lies in the simplicity from which it is born, from the very contrast provided by the selected materials (white chalk on a black background), from the infinite spiritual universe he carries and is able to materialize at each place he goes. In just a few square meters, the artist installed his Yoruba kingdom, made it possible for a group of Cuban Santeria practitioners to enter it so that the contents of the ritual and the speculative nature of the art could fuse and produce moments of remarkable emotion. Music, dance and a variety of symbols became for a few minutes the starring nucleus of the entire exhibition.

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The participation of another group of international artists also enriched the decentralizing nature of the substantial visual encounter at the Wifredo Lam Center. I was particularly impressed by the work of Gilberto Esparza, Jean Mukendi, Henri Tauliaut, Josuhe Paglieri, Axel Stock Burger, Ebony Patterson and Tino Sehgal. In the specific case of Tino Sehgal, I think that he has become a reference point in the world for the most advanced, serious and utilitarian positions taken by performance art as a language. His themes have been taken over by his obsession to communicate with spectators, constantly prioritizing exchanges between the art and the viewers. The powerful creative force of Lázaro Saavedra (2014 National Visual Arts Prizewinner) once again stands out among Cuban artists. In my opinion he belongs among the great artists who, regardless of their media, solely respond to the impulses of their own energy to work towards demystification. He named his piece Pez Peo [Fart fish] and I interpret it as a true hymn to immaterialism. It is terrain charged with spectacular ironies, where we gaze upon an apparently empty fishbowl and we are given a plastic bag filled with water where supposedly we are going to take the enigmatic Fart Fish home with us. contents

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Performance by Víctor Ekpuk (Abakuas), photo Y. del Monte

“E 14 ”, Candelario, photo, Y. del Monte

Before we conclude our tour of the Wifredo Lam Center during this 12th Biennial, I’d like to mention the work of another Cuban, Ariel Candelario Luaces. This is a sculpture that is also a perfectly inhabitable building constructed in the back courtyard of the Center. At the opening, the various rooms in the building were being animated by charismatic living statues. The rooms manage to communicate the idea of habitat, something we are also a part of. The top floors will serve as exhibition space for young artists who have no place to show their art. The building will remain at the Center for one year. Candelario has participated in other Biennials as part of his MACSAN (Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de San Agustín) Project. This time he did it as an individual but at the same time he represents the spirit of the place with which he is inextricably associated.

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MICHELANGELO PISTOLETTO

at the 12th Havana Biennial by Ricardo Alberto Pérez

photos Y. del Monte

Finally. That indisputably mythical figure of the visual arts in the second half of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century, Michelangelo Pistoletto, has arrived in Havana. As soon as I learned of his imminent presence in Cuba, the first thing that came to mind was something he said that has always greatly impressed me. In fact it has helped me to understand various phenomena in contemporary art. A “thing” is not art: but the idea expressed by the same “thing” may be. In those few words, we can summarize the clarity of this man’s vision of a future full of processes that are as complex and changeable as art.

I believe that his arrival in Cuba coincides with times that are undergoing sensitive transformations. Therefore his presence here and the strength of his idea, which carries the spirit and the wish to change things, can be interpreted as a very good omen. People who were at his performance on May 23 in Cathedral Square in Havana commented that they were left with a feeling of having been renewed, as if somehow hope had grown.

Pistoletto has reached us with a phase of his work that has been in progress since 2003, The Third Paradise, which is based on a symbol he created and called the “New Infinity Sign” that is represented by a reconfiguration of the mathematical infinity sign. With this, the artist proposes a responsible social transformation concept, a grand proposition coalescing art, science, economy, spirituality and politics into one single idea. In this regard, the artist has stated: “I do not wish to prophesy a future impregnated with metaphysical hopes, but a transformation that involves all the spheres of life.”

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But these actions by the Italian artist from Turin do not only impress for the content of the extraordinary messages being transmitted; they also impress because of the expansion of forms, for the beauty they generate in terms of colors and structures, and also for the intensity brought to them by the people. For this project, the choice of location seems to be one of the basic concerns. It becomes a kind of essential mirror reflecting every single intention. For me, the thing that has the most impact on me is that this infinity symbol, which in every presentation becomes the protagonist in the performance, has the ability to adapt to the substances or objects that have been chosen to represent it. Its new face is incarnated in extraordinary equilibrium, leaving the gift of images having great visual power. Interestingly, at the end of 2014, Pistoletto’s work had an important connection with Cuba, although without the presence of the artist. The date was December 16, the day prior to the announcement of Cuba-US renewal of diplomatic relations. For the first time in Cuba, off Havana’s coast, the Third Paradise symbol made its appearance, recreated with small and medium-sized boats constantly moving in the sea, reaching unprecedented proportions. I have always thought that the existence of good documentation preparing the viewer prior to

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having to deal with the unknown territory of a performance can become an element to be considered for its subsequent success. In this regard, Pistoletto’s performance in Havana had this desired documentation, which was made available to the public at the Fototeca de Cuba in Plaza Vieja. On the top floor of the institution, an exhibition was set up with posters documenting the project’s trajectory all over the world and through the regions of Italy. A model of the symbol was on display, made up of the various cymbals used by children in different performances. In this way, witnessing the execution of the piece turned into immediate nostalgia. The cobblestones of Cathedral Square were certainly reverberating with energy, with an intangible force that doesn’t resign itself to being still and goes on to found intentions and insert them where they become vital. The Third Paradise sign was again formed with cymbals and this time they were played by musicians, populating its structure with sound. The following day, Pistoletto made a presentation at the Iglesia de Paula Church with the performance of “Thirteen Less Two” in collaboration with the Arc Longa Early Music Ensemble, based on a composition by Luis Alberto Mariño. At the end of the musical performance, the artist began to smash a number of large mirrors with a club, leaving a stunned Cuban audience. contents

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Photos by Ana Lorena

Wilfredo Prieto at the 12th Biennial by Ricardo Alberto Pérez It is always a real privilege to view the work of an artist who is constantly been communicating the fact that he is deeply convinced about his own work. A case in point is Cuban artist Wilfredo Prieto, (Sancti Spíritus, 1978). His journey down the path of art has been consolidated on the basis of that conviction. Every one of his artworks achieves a sense of spontaneity that might be mistaken for delirium, but manages to carry along with it a dose of rationality that is able to contain and allow it to function among the other elements. At this year’s Twelfth Havana Biennial, Prieto has taken a remarkably leading role. Not only is his show in one of the most important and visited venues of the event (the exterior and entire ground floor level of the Cuban Art Building of the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes) but he has also curated one of the most talked about and attractive Biennial exhibitions, Montañas con una esquina rota. For this show, he took over what I consider to be the signature piece of the event, a former bicycle factory that today is in ruins. His exhibition called Ping-Pong Cuadrícula at Bellas Artes is a reasonable apprenticeship route which with a little good will and freeing themselves of prejudices has viewers following and receiving some notable benefits from the journey. We think that this is a sort of global tale which very subtly

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tells us the story of how any object can become art, as long as between art and reality there is a mind ready to make this operation possible. Ping-Pong Cuadrícula draws together multiple metaphors that are moving in various directions. One of its strongest virtues is that one metaphor does not allow itself to get trapped by another and slightest trace of rhetoric. The hooks are practically invisible and follow dynamics very rarely attained. The artist’s abundant ingenuity is no drawback since the actions have been supported by the undeniable weight of experience. Wilfredo manages to go from a large freight truck to fragments of scattered glass without anything getting fractured on the way, pulling on the imaginary thread that tautens spaces and charging them with emotion. Montaña con río, Sí/No, Dos zapatos y dos medias, Matrioska, Una de cal otra de arena, and Pan con Pan are some of his pieces that lead us along the channels set up by the artist, who as the perfect manipulator, will be seated quietly awaiting at the end of the road. These moments that are captured with precision, form a retrospective glance at the trajectory that has described his thinking. It is worth pointing out that these works have also been chosen keeping in mind that their practical insertion into a space with some limitations. contents

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Some of his work is closely associated with sculpture, while other areas are much closer to performance and installations art given their expansive nature. At any rate, those of us who have had the pleasure many times of throwing a stone into the water know what is unleashed upon impact with the surface. Similarly, his objects seem to achieve those effects on the viewers’ subjectivity. Returning to his work as curator for Montañas con una esquina rota, when you take in this very original exhibition that relies heavily on the actual nature of the location he selected (ruins), behind the indisputable value of the pieces created by renowned artists from all over the world and brought together here for the occasion, the vigorous visual brand of Wilfredo Prieto emerges as if, when all is said and done, this ends up being necessary and unyielding.

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MAURICIO ABAD at the12th Havana Biennial

Photos by Ana Lorena

by Ricardo Alberto Pérez One Cuban artist invited to show at the official exhibition during this year’s Twelfth Havana Biennial is Mauricio Abad (Havana, 1985). In recent years, he has explored new technologies in order to insert them again and again into the creative ambience of Cuba. We have seen him creating video art and using other expressions and languages integrated consistently into other art forms such as music, dance and architecture. Another creative alternative project by Mauricio is the irony-tinged aBADtv. Abad was one of the leading artists at the inauguration of the Biennial on the morning of May 22, 2015 at the unique setting provided by the picturesque town of Casablanca, on the other side of Havana Bay, whose hill is the location of the gigantic statue of Christ. He shared center stage with other talented young Cuban artists, such as Elizabeth Cerviño and José Eduardo Yaque, and prestigious figures from other countries such as Ewan Atkinson, Marte Johnslien and Daniel Buren who presented his performance at the town’s railroad station. The electric train, a veritable relic and one of the oldest in the Americas, is still working.

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Mauricio Abad’s artwork on this occasion is very tied in to his principal obsessions, but I believe that he has developed them with more complexity, especially in terms of their social impact and the considerable number of people involved. The installation is called Gamers O.K. A LED screen displays the phrase “Muertos por tiros de balas” (Killed by gun shots) while these dead are being tallied on the screen. These casualties come from video games being executed on an underground network connecting fifteen thousand users who are being monitored by that same LED screen.

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The main contribution of Gamers O.K. is the artist’s capacity for commenting from a metaphorical position on some of those hidden processes occurring today in Cuba. As yet, these processes are not perceptible to most of the population. It is interesting to see how the visual impact that the piece generates mutates into a solid reflection. The artist’s participation in the Biennial not only extends to other locations but to different languages and expressive means. This demonstrates that he is sensitive enough and well-versed in communicating through a variety of channels. At another show he exhibits Para lucir hay que sufrir, which was put together at Carlos Bustamante’s studio at Calle 1ra No. 15603 entre 156 y 156A in Reparto Náutico. He shares the exhibition with Bustamante as well as with Lilian Broche, Yaima Pardo and Denis Izquierdo. One of Abad’s pieces in Para lucir hay que sufrir [To Look Good You Have to Suffer] is “Al lado este del azul” [On the east side of the Blue]. The work is composed of 150 photographs placed in a black box. They were taken on the street that separates the Los Angeles International Airport and the coast. Close to the airport is a Butterfly Habitat Preserve, opened in 1973, specifically to protect the federally designated endangered species of El Segundo Blue Butterfly. The preserve is well closed-off but it is odd that nobody seems to have ever spotted the butterflies. This all goes to prove that the myth is often stronger than reality.

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The other Abad piece that caught my interest was Mi Nube [My Cloud], composed of a series of portraits painted from photos he received from some of the 15,000 users involved in Gamers O.K., the work he has presented in Casablanca. A firm connection is established between two artworks and the secret becomes public, while the subjective becomes objective. In a third show, Abad participates with Arsenal located in a four-story building which houses Sandra Pérez Lozano’s studio in the heart of Centro Habana at Calle Cárdenas # 51, esquina Corrales. Other important Cuban artists also take part: Javier Castro, Susana Pilar, Michel Pou, Álvaro José Brunet, Sandra Ramos, Adonis Flores and Reinier Leyva Novo. The work is called Rapunzel. It is a rag doll, four meters tall, with seven-meter long braids woven in seven different colors and that are thrown over the balcony to the ground outside. Abad and the other artists showing here have focused on the central theme of violence. Mauricio says that his work also talks about relationships between artists at the Biennial. This Rapunzel is transformed into a kind of African deity (Oya) who bears the load of the consequences of violence. She is a giant replica of the dolls that are commonly used in Santeria rituals. Mauricio Abad’s work has clearly enriched the Biennial this year and there is no doubt that he invites us to reflect on our ties with the important element of memory and how it transfers to individuals and groups.

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VISUAL ARTS Arte-Facto

Centro Cultural Cinematográfico Icaic

THROUGH JUNE 23

Bifurcaciones. Group exhibition bringing together three representative contemporary industrial design groups. Recognized visual artists work on a project that would like to reprise, once more, the fuzzy line between design and art.

Makuri Hirogeru, Exhibition and Performance (live-painting) by four young Japanese avant-garde artists who absorb the essence of Cuba, combining works of renowned designer Kiyoshi Awazu (1929-2009) with their own. Saturday June 6 & 20, 1pm, Casa de Asia Workshop: Saturday June 6, 3:30-5pm, Calle de Madera, Plaza de Armas Concert and Performance: Sunday, June 14, 5pm, Casa del ALBA Cultural Concert by guitarist Shin Sasakubo

Lo uno y lo múltiple, group exhibitiion curated by Onedys Calvo and Susana García Pino. Artists: Alejandro Sainz, Daniel Rodríguez, Eduardo Leyva Herrera, Hanoi Pérez, Jesús Hernández (Güero), Julio César Peña, Marcel Molina, Orlando Montalbán, Osmeivy Ortega, Randy Moreno Limonta, Salomé García Bacallao, Simone García Bacallao, Yillian Marie Torres Gómez, Leo Canosa, Mauro Coca and La Marca StudioGallery.

THROUGH JUNE 23

THROUGH JUNE 23

THROUGH JUNE 23

Edificio de Arte Universal (exteriores) y vestíbulo del Centro de Información Antonio Rodríguez Morey Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes

Arquitectura sin arquitectos, by artist artista Sandra Calvo, reveals serious research on life in the “solares” or Havana tenement buildings.

Territorios. Group show of 20 young artists.

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Ruidos salvajes, show with over 90 pieces (from 1960-2015) from the permanent collection of The Bronx Museum, which focus on identity, city life and community. Los ardientes by Sergio Hernández, one of the most important visual artists in Mexico, reveals his mastery of painting and the graphic arts, manifestations he shares with sculpture, printmaking, ceramics and drawing, and his taste for intense colors.

Galería Galiano THROUGH JUNE 23

Zona Franca is the largest Cuban art exhibition ever, displaying the recent work of over 200 Cuban artists from different generations, espousing a variety of esthetics and in a wide range of media.

Edificio de Arte Universal. Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes

THROUGH JUNE 23

Casa de la Obra Pía

Mover la escena revolves around the topic of fashion associating it with the contemporary issues governing society by providing a space for dialogue.

Complejo Morro- Cabaña

Casa del Benemérito de las Américas Benito Juárez THROUGH JUNE 23

La primera colá, for the first time at a Havana Biennale and in the same show, will allow us to view the work of recipients of National Visual Arts of Cuba awards.

Centro Provincial de Artes Plásticas y Diseño THROUGH JUNE 23

Biblioteca Pública Rubén Martínez Villena OPENS JUNE 4, 4PM

THROUGH JUNE 23

Los síntomas del engaño by Luis Enrique López shows us 10 poisonous compounds that were scientifically created from toxic Cuban plants, directed towards 10 contemporary Cuban artists. Posters and video documentation of the process used to create them are part of the ads for the products. With friends like these, who needs enemies?

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Edificio de Arte Cubano. Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes THROUGH JUNE 23

Embajada de España

Pintura is the Tomás Sánchez show including 12 never-before shown canvases, mainly in large formats, where he combines natural landscapes with garbage dumps. This is a significant direction taken by this Cuban painter who has not had a show in 30 years at Bellas Artes. Tramas by Gustavo Pérez Monzón who showed at the historic Volumen I which marked a milestone in Cuban art of the 1980s, reveals 76 impressive drawings and installations. El mapa del silencio a show by the former Carpintero Alexandre Arrechea was especially planned for being shown at Bellas Artes; it includes two large format watercolors, video-projection, a wall-hanging and a mural measuring 25 meters on the wall of the gallery. Curator Corina Matamoros tells us that it states what hasn’t yet been said, even though it is obvious. Ping-pong cuadrícula, Wilfredo Prieto’s show has both large and small format works where the artista insists on using day-to-day objects in order to communicate new meanings. Poesía pasajera by Raúl Cordero, video art and video installation pioneer in Cuba, shows us a series of his paintings that were begun in 2011 and which he is still working on.

Malecón, desde Prado hasta el parque Maceo THROUGH JUNE 23

THROUGH JUNE 23

Estrictamente personal. Curated by Cirenaica Moreira, this group project includes photography, video art, installations and performances by artists Consuelo Castañeda, Marta María Pérez, Sandra Ceballos, Broselianda Hernández, Cirenaica Moreira, Glenda León, Grethell Rasúa, Susana Pilar Delahante and Mabel Poblet.

Factoría Habana THROUGHOUT Entropía, by JUNIO Rodríguez.

René

Francisco

The Mission, by Rocío García. Deconstrucción del horizonte, by Carlos Montes de Oca. Galería Artis THROUGH JUNE 23

Persistencia, works by Roberto Fabelo.

Galería Habana THROUGH JUNE 20

Crack. Group show with works by Tonel, Ariamna Contino y Alex Hernández, Felipe Dulzaides, Iván Capote, Carlos Garaicoa, Roberto Fabelo, Yunier Hernández, Enrique Báster, Glenda León and Los Carpinteros.

Hotel Nacional. Sala Taganana THROUGH JUNE 23

AB+C, show with works by artists from the generation of the 1970s, including Pedro Pablo Oliva, Arturo Montoto, Nelson Domínguez and Flora Fong, entre otros.

La Marca

Detrás del muro. Wprks by over 40 artists from Cuba, Germany, Spain-Gran Canaria, the US, Ireland, Colombia, Panama, Norway, Morocco, Mexico, Bolivia and Dominican Republic, in direct dialogue with the spectators.

THROUGH JUNE 23

Dulce dolor. Carteles tatuados includes original posters by Cuban designers, their “flash-card” versions for tattoos and the final resulting tattoos done by the La Marca artists.

Pabexpo. Sala D THROUGH JUNE 23

HB is a successful project including drawing, photography, painting, sculpture, performance and installations by 58 artists who are both novices and veterans and who appeal to both traditional and experimental concepts: Roberto Fabelo, Manuel Mendive, René Francisco Rodríguez, Lázaro Saavedra, Los Carpinteros, Carlos Garaicoa, Kcho, Glenda León, Yoan Capote, Felipe Dulzaides, just to name a few.

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PHOTOGRAPHY

Salón Del Monte. Hotel Ambos Mundos THROUGH JUNE 23

Proyecto Quinqué. Group show focusing on portrait photography with César Vilá, Carlos Vilá, Harold Ferrer, Benny López, Yailín Alfaro, Alejandro Vázquez, Beatriz Verde Limón and Ángel Vázquez. Expocuba. Pabellón de la Cultura THROUGH SEPTEMBER 1

Miradas reveladoras. An approach to different moments of the Cuban Revolution through the work carried out by a group of excellent photographers that captured those moments: Alberto Díaz Gutiérrez (Korda), Raúl Corrales, Osvaldo and Roberto Salas, Liborio Noval, Ernesto Fernández, José Agraz, Perfecto Romero and Luis Pierce.

Sociedad Comunidad, Patrimonio y Medio Ambiente THROUGH JUNE 23

Cita con la niebla, by Rafael Omar Pérez.

Palacio de Lombillo THROUGH JUNE 23

Estigmas, by Juan Suárez. Mapa de las formas inconclusas, by María Cienfuegos Leiseca. La llegada al fracaso by Antonio Margolles and Sombras encontradas by Néstor Martí.

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DANCE

Les Sylphides, Celeste & Carmen Sala Avellaneda. Teatro Nacional June 20, 26 & 27, 8:30pm; June 21 & 28, 5pm The Ballet Nacional de Cuba presents: Les Sylphides, choreography by Alicia Alonso based on Mijaíl Fokín’s original, music by Chopin; Celeste, choreography by Annabelle López Ochoa, music by Tchaikovsky, and Carmen, choreography and libretto by Alberto Alonso, based on a novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, and libretto by Henry Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy for Georges Bizet’s opera; symphonic suite composed by Rodion Schedrin, to the Georges Bizet music.

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MUSIC

CONTEMPORARY FUSION

Club Habana Party Photo Alex Mene

The contemporary fusion and electronic music scene has expanded recently as new bars and clubs have opened party promoters have organized events in parks and public spaces. Good live music venues include Bertolt Brecht (Wed: Interactivo, Sunday: Déjá-vu) and El Sauce (check out the Sunday afternoon Máquina de la Melancolía) as well as the newly opened Fábrica de Arte Cubano which has concerts most nights Thursday through Sunday as well as impromptu smaller performances inside.

In Havana’s burgeoning entertainment district along First Avenue from the Karl Marx theatre to the aquarium you are spoilt for choice with the always popular Don Cangreco featuring good live music (Kelvis Ochoas and David Torrens alternate Fridays), Las Piedras (insanely busy from 3am) and El Palio and Melem bar—both featuring different singers and acts in smaller more intimate venues.

Barbaram Pepito’s Bar

Club Turf

SUNDAYS

Discoteca Onda Retro

Djoy

JUEVES

5 pm

8 pm Casa Victor Hugo

Café Cantante, Teatro Nacional TUESDAYS

Raúl Paz

Djoy

JUNE 20

10 pm

5pm WEDNESDAYS Qva Libre

Centro Hispano Americano de Cultura

5pm

Tesis de Menta

JUNE 20

6 pm

Café Concert El Sauce SUNDAYS

5 pm

La Máquina de la Melancolía, with Frank Delgado and Luis Alberto García

SATURDAYS

Gens

11 pm

Café Corner THURSDAYS

Diablo Tun Tun

Tesis de Menta

10:30 pm

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Fresa y Chocolate THURSDAYS

Electronic music

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Photo by Alex Mene

SALSA / TIMBA Casa de la Música Habana

Casa de la Música de Miramar

MONDAYS

11 pm Sur Caribe

MONDAYS

WEDNESDAYS

11 pm Adalberto Álvarez y su Son

WEDNESDAYS

11 pm Sur Caribe 11 pm Adalberto Álvarez y su Son

FRIDAYS

5 pm El Niño y La Verdad 11 pm NG La Banda

THURSDAYS

5 pm Manolito Simonet

FRIDAYS

5 pm El Niño y La Verdad 11 pm NG La Banda

SUNDAYS

5 pm Bamboleo

SUNDAYS

5 pm Bamboleo

Piano Bar Tun Tun THURSDAYS

11 pm NG La Banda

SATURDAYS

11 pm Manana Club

SUNDAYS

11 pm Nesty y Presencia Light

Jardines del 1830 Azúcar Negra

FRIDAYS

10 pm Tercera y 8 WEDNESDAYS Alain Daniel

Le Select Grupo Moncada and their project Rueda de Casino

FRIDAYS

5 pm

Salón Rojo del Hotel Capri SUNDAYS

Juan Guillermo

11 pm Piano Bar Habaneciendo WEDNESDAYS THURSDAYS FRIDAYS

11 pm

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MUSIC JAZZ

Jazz Café

Calle 88A No. 306 e/ 3ra y 3ra A, Miramar. +53 (07) 209-2719

Shows: 10:30pm - 2am

Mellow, sophisticated and freezing due to extreme air conditioning, the Jazz Café is not only an excellent place to hear some of Cuba’s top jazz musicians, but the open-plan design also provides for a good bar atmosphere if you want to chat. Less intimate than La Zorra y el Cuervo – located opposite Melia Cohiba Hotel.

Café Jazz Miramar Shows: 11 pm - 2am

This new jazz club has quickly established itself as one of the very best places to hear some of Cuba’s best musicians jamming. Forget about smoke filled lounges, this is clean, bright—take the fags outside. While it is difficult to get the exact schedule and in any case expect a high level of improvisation when it is good it is very good. A full house is something of a mixed house since on occasion you will feel like holding up your own silence please sign! Nonetheless it gets the thumbs up from us.

Asociación Cubana de Derechos de Autor Musical JUNE 18

6 pm

Alexis Bosch (pianist) and Proyecto Jazz Cubano.

Jardines del teatro Mella JUNE 30

5pm

Zule Guerra (singer & composer) and Blues D´Havana

UNEAC JUNE 11

5 pm

Peña La Esquina del Jazz hosted by showman Bobby Carcassés.

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MUSIC BOLERO, FOLKLORE, SON & TROVA Asociación Yoruba de Cuba SUNDAYS

El Jelengue de Areíto

Los Ibellis (Folkloric group)

MONDAYS

4 pm

Son del Nene

5 pm

Café Cantante, Teatro Nacional THURSDAYS

TUESDAYS

Conjunto Chappottín

5 pm

Elaín Morales

WEDNESDAYS Trovando, a meeting with good

5pm SATURDAYS

Waldo Mendoza

5pm

5 pm

trova.

FRIDAYS

Rumberos de Cuba

5 pm

Café Concert El Sauce JUNE 2, 9, 16, 23, 30

Hotel Telégrafo

Charly Salgado and guest

8 pm

Ivette Cepeda.

FRIDAYS

9:30 pm

Café Teatro Bertolt Brecht

Hurón Azul, UNEAC

Rafael Espín and guests

JUNE 27

SATURDAYS

4 pm

Bolero Night

9 pm

Casa del Alba

Pabellón Cuba

Trovador Gerardo Alfonso

JUNE 19

Peña Tres Tazas with trovador Silvio Alejandro

FRIDAYS

5 pm

4 pm Peña El Canto de Todos, with Vicente Feliú

JUNE 18

6 pm

SATURDAY

4 pm

Casa de la Cultura Comunitaria Mirta Aguirre

Barbaram Pepito’s Bar

Get-together with trovador Ireno García.

JUNE 28

5 pm

Peña Participo with trovador Juan Carlos Pérez

SATURDAYS

Yaima Sáez

10pm

Casa de la Cultura de Plaza Fresa y Chocolate

Peña with Marta Campos.

JUNE 13

TUESDAYS

7 pm

5pm

Trova hosted by Richard Luis and Eric Méndez

Centro Cultural Habaneciendo SUNDAYS

Filin with Fausto Durán and guests

3pm

5 pm

Peña La Juntamenta, with trovador Ángel Quintero.

Casa de la Música Habana SUNDAYS

Fernando Becquer

10:30pm Centro Iberoamericano de la Décima

Casa Memorial Salvador Allende JUNE 26

THURSDAYS

JUNE 6

Duo Ad Libitum

3 pm JUNE 28

5 pm

El Jardín de la Gorda with trovadors from every generation.

Yoruba Andabo

5 pm

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CLASSICAL MUSIC

Iglesia de Paula Organ concert conducted by Moisés Santiesteban, playing works by Antonio de Cabezón, Claudio Merulo, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck and Andrea Gabriela, among other composers.

JUNE 5

7pm JUNE 26

7pm

La cara femenina de la música, with the Ensemble Vocal Luna, conducted by Wilmia Verrier Quiñones, with guest musicians harpist Maite Rodríguez and cellist Alejandro Martínez.

Biblioteca Nacional José Martí SATURDAYS

Concerts by chamber soloists and ensembles.

4 pm Casa del ALBA Cultural En Confluencia, conducted by guitarists Eduardo and Galy Martín.

MAY 10

5 pm Tarde de Concierto, conducted by soprano Lucy Provedo.

MAY 17

5 pm Seis por Derecho, dedicated to guitar.

MAY 24

5 pm Casa Victor Hugo JUNE 13

Concert by guitarist Mabel González.

5 pm JUNE 27

Concert by Vocal ELE.

5 pm

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Centro Hispano Americano de Cultura The Camerata Vocale Sine Nomine, conducted by Leonor Suárez Dulzaides, will play works from the Renaissance to the present day.

JUNE 4

7 pm

Concert Opera aperta: transdisciplinary concert with the performances of musicians, dancers and visual artists.

JUNE 13

5 pm

Sala Gonzalo Roig. Palacio del Teatro Lírico Nacional Cuerda Dominical, with guitarist Luis Manuel Molina.

JUNE 28

5 pm Teatro Martí JUNE 18

6 pm

Concert dedicated to the French Revolution. The concert will be presented by Eusebio leal, Historian of the City of Havana.

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THEATRE

Decamerón

Teatro El Público / Production: Carlos Díaz Fri & Sat 8:30pm; Sun 5pm Teatro Trianón Several stories from Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron are put onstage with more than a hint at Cuba today. Those who expect nudity galore from Carlos Díaz are in for a surprise.

Mecánica

Macbeth

Argos Teatro / Production: Carlos Celdrán Fri & Sat 8:30pm; Sun 5pm, Argos Teatro

Compañía Nelson Dorr / Production Nelson Dorr, Through June 14. Fri & Sat, 8:30pm; Play written by award-winning Abel González Sun, 5pm. Teatro Mella Melo.

The experienced playwright Nelson Dorr continues to revisit the classics respecting the texts but in constant dialogue with the prsent.

Muertecita de miedo

Through June 18. Tues, Wed, & Thurs, 8:30pm Sala Adolfo Llauradó One-man show with Ernesto González Umpierre (El Flacomímico).

Juicio y condena pública de Charlotte Corday

Teatro del Silencio / Production: Rubén Sicilia Fri & Sat, 8:30pm; Sun, 5pm Teatro El Sótano This multi-prized one-woman show suggests a reinterpretation of the events surrounding the assassination of the French revolutionary Jean Paul Marat in 1793, from a contemporary perspective.

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Las heridas del viento Compañía teatral Hubert de Blanck / Production: Orietta Medina Fri & Sat, 8:30pm; Sun, 5pm Sala Hubert de Blanck

As in Litoral, in this dramatic comedy by Juan Carlos Rubio, the death of a father reveals an unknown past to his son. From laughter to emotions, from joy to pain, the author asks himself if he truly makes his own decisions or is he a marionette of fate.

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III Encuentro de Jóvenes Pianistas y al Concurso y Festival Internacional de Piano Musicalia 2015

June 4-28 Basílica de San Francisco de Asís, Sala Ignacio Cervantes, Teatro Martí y Oratorio San Felipe Neri, La Habana Vieja

Teatro Martí Inaugural Gala. Adam Kent (US); Alexandre Moutouzkine (Russia); Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Cuba, conducted by Enrique Pérez Mesa

JUNE 4

6 pm

The Third Encounter of Young Pianists directed by pianist and professor Salomón Gadles Mikowsky has scheduled 20 concerts for 24 pianists with an attractive and varied repertoire of Cuban and international music. Musicalia 2015 which will be held at the Oratorio San Felipe Neri will have a jury chaired by pianist Ulises Hernández and made up Salomón Gadles Mikowsky, Ninowska FernándezBrito, Antonio Carbonell, Adonis González and Mauricio Vallina. Besides the competitors’ presentations, master clases, concerts and the presentation of the books Ignacio Cervantes y la danza en Cuba by Salomón Gadles Mikowsky and El legado pianístico pedagógico de Salomón Gadles Mikowsky by Kookhee Hong are also scheduled. Sala Ignacio Cervantes Fidel Leal (Cuba)

JUNE 12

6 pm

Sala Ignacio Cervantes Basílica Menor del Convento de San Francisco de Asís

Ian Yungwook Yoo (South Korea)

JUNE 5

6 pm

Ruiqi Fang (China)

JUNE 13

6 pm

Basílica Menor del Convento de San Francisco de Asís

Oratorio San Felipe Neri

Adam Kent (US)

JUNE 6

Festival y Concurso de Piano Musicalia 2015 Drawing of lots, presentation of the Jury and piano audition for contestants

JUNE 7

6 pm

11 am

Sala Ignacio Cervantes Lianne Vega Rivero (Cuba)

JUNE 7

11 am

(Cuba);

Katerina Teatro Martí

Teatro Martí

JUNE 14

Ian Yungwook Yoo (South Korea); Aldo López-Gavilán (Cuba); Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Cuba, conducted by Enrique Pérez Mesa

JUNE 7

6 pm

Teatro Martí JUNE 11

6 pm

6 pm

Oratorio San Felipe Neri JUNE 15

Jordi López-Roig (Spain); José Ramón Méndez (Spain); Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Cuba, conducted by Enrique Pérez Mesa

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Madarys Morgan (Cuba); Ruiqi Fang (China); Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Cuba, conducted by Enrique Pérez Mesa

Piano competition

9 am

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Oratorio San Felipe Neri

Lyceum Mozartiano de la Habana Master classes by Ninowska Fernández-Britto and Antonio Carbonell Mauricio Vallina (Cuba)

JUNE 15

2 pm 6 pm

Oratorio San Felipe Neri

4 pm

Basílica Menor del Convento de San Francisco de Asís Wenqiao Jiang (China)

JUNE 20

6 pm

Piano competition

JUNE 16

Awards ceremony. Performances by Darío Martín (Cuba); Edmundo González (Mexico)

JUNE 20

9 am

Sala Ignacio Cervantes

Lyceum Mozartiano de la Habana JUNE 16

2 pm

Oratorio San Felipe Neri

11 am Teatro Martí

Tatiana Tessman (Russia); Khowoon Kim (South Korea); Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Cuba, conducted by Enrique Pérez Mesa

JUNE 21

6 pm

Piano competition

JUNE 17

Estefanía Núñez (Cuba); Harold Meriño (Cuba)

JUNE 21

Master classes by Ninowska Fernández-Britto and Mauricio Vallina

9 am Lyceum Mozartiano de la Habana Master classes by Ninowska Fernández-Britto and Antonio Carbonell. Adonis González (Cuba)

JUNE 17

2 pm 6 pm

Master classes by Ninowska Fernández-Britto y Adonis González Book launchings: Ignacio Cervantes y la danza en Cuba by Salomón Gadles Mikowsky; El legado pianístico pedagógico de Salomón Gadles Mikowsky by Kookhee Hong. Opus Habana magazine Vol. XVI/No. 1 Jun-Dec 2014 (includes an interview with Salomón Mikowsky).

9 am 2 pm

Teatro Martí JUNE 18

6 pm

9 am 2 pm

Wenqiao Jiang (China); Jie Yuan (China); Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Cuba, conducted by Enrique Pérez Mesa

Master classes by Mauricio Vallina y Adonis González Master classes by Ninowska Fernández-Britto and Antonio Carbonell

Sala Ignacio Cervantes JUNE 19

6 pm

Gabriel Urgell (Cuba); Edward Neeman (US); Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Cuba, conducted by Enrique Pérez Mesa

JUNE 25

6 pm

Sala Ignacio Cervantes Misha Namirovsky (Russia)

JUNE 26

11 am Basílica Menor del Convento de San Francisco de Asís Misha Namirovsky (Russia); Simone Dinnerstein (US); Orquesta Sinfónica del ISA, attached to the Lyceum Mozartiano de La Habana, conducted by José Antonio Méndez

JUNE 27

Lyceum Mozartiano de la Habana JUNE 19

Mauricio Vallina (Cuba)

JUNE 24

Teatro Martí

Lyceum Mozartiano de la Habana JUNE 18

Basílica Menor del Convento de San Francisco de Asís

6 pm

Sala Ignacio Cervantes Leonardo Gell Santiago (Cuba)

JUNE 28

11 am

(Cuba);

Francis

Teatro Martí JUNE 28

6pm

Víctor Díaz (Cuba)

Po-Wei Ger (Taiwan); Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Cuba, conducted by Enrique Pérez Mesa

6 pm

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EVENTS IN HAVANA

June 16-18, Palacio de Convenciones, Havana Under the motto of “DESIGN with MEANING” the International Design Congress of Havana will be organized in different events that will be dealing with central themes of the relationship between design and industry, cultural and social identity, innovation, sustainable development and training professionals. The parallel exhibition will be a good opportunity for companies, design studios, advertising agencies, designers and creators to showcase their professional work, projects, design solutions as well as to advertise products and offer services.

Coloquio Internacional Ernest Hemingway June 18-21 Ambos Mundos Hotel, Havana The International Ernest Hemingway Colloquium is dedicated to the study of the work of the great writer who lived for 21 years at the Finca Vigía on the outskirts of Havana. It will be headquartered at the hotel which still conserves the room where he often stayed. Presented papers eill deal with the United States in Ernest Hemingway’s trajectory, his childhood and teen years, relations with publishers and publishing houses, writers and artists, his life and work, museology and conservation of the collections dedicated to the author.

X Festival Internacional Danzón Habana 2015 June 24-28, Mella and América Theaters, Asociación Caribeña de Cuba and Centro Hispano Americano de Cultura The event’s central theme will be :Bolero within Danzón” paying homage to Cubans Ernesto Lecuona, Rita Montaner, Gonzalo Roig, María Teresa Vera, Manuel Corona, Rosendo Ruiz Suárez, Pedro Junco, Tania Castellanos and Adolfo Guzmán and to Mexicans Agustín Lara, Miguel Aceves Mejía and Armando Manzanero as well as to Alfredo Sadel from Venezuela, Danny Rivera from Puerto Rico and Leo Marini from Argentina. At the same time the International Danzón Dancing Competition and the International Bolero Interpretation Competition will be held. Shows, concerts and galas will take place in the Mella and América Theaters, dance activities will be at the Asociación Caribeña de Cuba ballroom, with famous Cuban orchestras and performers from other visiting countries, and the Havana 2015 International Danzón Colloquium at the Centro Hispano Americano de Cultura, with presentations of papers, master lectures and panel composed of personalities specialized in music research along with the presentation of CDs, books, journals and audiovisual materials.

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AROUND CUBA

Cucalambeana Country Fair

48 Jornada Cucalambeana, June 26 to July 1, 2015, El Cornito, Las Tunas Every year, the capital of the northeastern province of Las Tunas becomes the venue for the Jornada Cucalambeana in memory of Las Tunasborn poet Juan Cristóbal Nápoles Fajardo (aka El Cucalambé), the most important Cuban decimista, country ballad poet, in nineteenth-century Cuba. A trip to the Cucalambeana Country Fair takes you a long way off of the regular tourist trail, but it gives you a unique opportunity to see real Cuban country folk. Whether you like the cockfighting or not, you have to admit that it plays an undeniable role in countryside culture and history of Cuba. And that is what the festival is all about: keeping alive the music and traditions of the Cuban countryside. The event lasts sx days, beginning in late June to incorporate July 1, the birthdate of El Cucalambé. It is always held in El Cornito, the home of the poet that now serves as a hotel on the outskirts of Las Tunas. A scenic area, there are several sculptures dedicated to El Cucalambé, an open area for horseback riding, children’s playgrounds, and several small plazas.

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The Cucalambeana Fair includes the recital and singing of décimas, a Spanish stanza of ten octosyllabic lines created in early-modern Spain and adopted by the country folk of the Americas. Repentistas, or improvisers, come from all over the country to show their talent at this difficult art at the Justo Vega Competition while children showcase their talent at the Colorín. There are also traditional country dances, which takes place at El Cornito’s plazas. These dances have a twist—they are competitions between two teams: the Blue team and the Red team. In fact, all of the activities held during the festival are competitions between the Red and Blue teams, so don’t be surprised to see competitors wearing costumes, hats and kerchiefs in one of these two colors. If cock-fighting and dancing aren’t enough for you, why not join the audience at the popular improvisation event where you can contribute to the poets’ décimas by giving them pie forzados, phrases prompted by anyone present that the poets must follow in order to create their poem. contents

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Experts agree that repentismo, or the improvisation of décimas, requires great talent and quick thinking nurtured from the cradle. And don’t forget the beauty pageant. Every year, a girl is chosen girl who best exemplifies the beauty of a typical country woman (tall, long black hair and olive-skinned). The winner is declared La Flor de Birama, or The Flower of Birama, and all the other girls are her Petals. During the festival, in their roles as the Flower and the Petals, the girls attend all of the events wearing the Cuban national dress, inspiring the poets and composers with their beauty. For 46 years, the Cucalambeana has celebrated peasant traditions and honored the rich culture of the Cuban countryside. El Cornito may not be near the top of many tourist agendas, but a visit to the Cucalambeana is a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience the traditional culture of the Cuban countryside in all its glory. To read complete article see http://www.cubaabsolutely.com/Travel/article_general. php?id=Cucalambeana-country-fair-at-El-Cornito

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AROUND CUBA

Fiestas Sanjuaneras Through June 6, Trinidad A local festival where rum-fueled horsemen gallop through the streets. Held from May 28 to July 6, the San Juan Festival brings back old traditions of this region, like the Matanza de la Culebra (Killing the Snake) on June 13; the San Juan Trinitario Carnival on June 24 with the usual comparsas, floats, dancing, games and costume competition; or the San Pedro Carnival on June 29, also with comparsas, floats and dancing. The festival closes on July 6 with the Baile de la Galleta (Cookie Ball), a dance of traditional music in formal attire and the exhibition of delicious cookies of different sizes.

Encuentro de Fotografía Subacuática IMASUB 2015 June 8-15, Parque Nacional Guanahacabibes, Pinar del Río The incredibly beautiful underwater landscapes of the Guanahacabibes National Park abound in a rich assortment of flora and fauna (barracudas, parrot fish, lobsters, Moray eels, angel fish, snappers and crabs) and are the ideal location for the art of underwater photography because of the transparency of the waters. The vegetation features a rich variety of gorgonians, as well as vast and beautiful colonies of black coral which cover the cliffs. The seabed offers sharp contrasts that are ideal for underwater photography thanks to the crystal-clear waters, which allow a visibility of up to 30 meters at depths of 25 to 30 meters. All of this makes it the perfect setting for the IMASUB 2015 photography competition. open to underwater photographers from around the world; the only requirement is that the regulations are followed and that photos fall into the categories of fauna, macro, landscape and landscape-withmodel. Three prizes will awarded in each category plus the Grand Prix for the photographer who accumulates the greatest amount of points. The overall winner will be awarded a trophy and a three-night stay for two people at Maria la Gorda at half board and five dives per person. w w w. g a v i o t a - g r u p o . c o m/ . . . / v - e n c u e n t ro internacional-de-fotografia-suacuatica-del-8-al15-de-junio-del-2015

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Havana’s best places to eat

La Guarida

El Atelier

CA

5

Bella Ciao

CA 4+

Café Bohemia

CA

5

Café Laurent

CA 4+

EXPERIMENTAL FUSION

HOMELY ITALIAN

CAFÉ

SPANISH/MEDITERRANEAN

Interesting décor, interesting menu.

Great service, good prices. A real home from home.

Bohemian feel. Great sandwiches, salads & juices

Attractive penthouse restaurant with breezy terrace.

Calle 5 e/ Paseo y 2, Vedado (+53) 7-836-2025

Calle 19 y 72, Playa (+53) 7-206-1406

Calle San Ignacio #364, Habana Vieja

Calle M #257, e/ 19 y 21, Vedado (+53) 7-831-2090

La California

La Casa

Casa Miglis

El Chanchullero CA

CA 5

CA 5

CA

5

5

CUBAN-CREOLE/INTERNATIONAL

CONTEMPORARY FUSION

SWEDISH-CUBAN FUSION

SPANISH/MEDITERRANEAN

Beautiful C19 colonial building. Great fresh pastas.

VIP service. The Robaina family place. Thurs Sushi night.

Oasis of good food & taste in Centro Habana

Fabulous value hole in the wall tapas. Trendy.

Calle Crespo #55 e/ San Lázaro y Refugio, Centro Habana (+53) 7-863 7510

Calle 30 #865 e/ 26 y 41, Nuevo Vedado (+53) 7-881-7000

Lealtad #120 e/ Ánimas y Lagunas, Centro Habana (+53) 7-864-1486

Teniente Rey #457 bajos, Plaza del Cristo, Habana Vieja (+53) 7-872-8227

Le Chansonnier CA

El Cocinero

Corte Príncipe CA

4

CA 5

5+

Il Divino

CA 4+

CONTEMPORARY FUSION

INTERNATIONAL

ITALIAN

INTERNATIONAL

Stylish & contemporary with good food. Expensive.

Industrial chic alfresco rooftop with a buzzing atmosphere

Sergio’s place. Simple décor, spectacular food.

Set in huge gardens outside town. Great for the kids.

Calle J #257 e/ Línea y 15, Vedado (+53) 7-832-1576

Calle 26, e/ 11 y 13, Vedado. (+53) 7-832-2355

Calle 9na esq. a 74, Miramar (+53) 5-255-9091

Calle Raquel, #50 e/ Esperanza y Lindero, Arroyo Naranjo (+53) 7-643-7734

D. Eutimia

Esperanza

La Fontana

La Guarida

CA 5+

CA 4+

CA 4

CA 5+

CUBAN/CREOLE

CUBAN FUSION

INTERNATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL

Absolutely charming. Excellent Cuban/creole food.

Intimate, idiosyncratic & charming (not cheap).

Consistently good food, attentive service. Old school.

Justifiably famous. Follow in the footsteps of Queen of Spain

Callejón del Chorro #60C, Plaza de la Catedral, Habana Vieja (+53) 7 861 1332

Calle 16 #105 e/ 1ra y 3ra, Miramar (+53) 7-202-4361

Calle 46 #305 esq. a 3ra, Miramar (+53) 7-202-8337

Concordia #418 e/ Gervasio y Escobar, Centro Habana (+53) 7-866-9047

Habana Mia 7

Iván Chef

El Litoral

Nautilus

CA 5

CA 5+

CA 5+

CA 5

INTERNATIONAL GOURMET

SPANISH

INTERNATIONAL

FRENCH/MEDITERRANEAN

Endless summer nights. Excellent food and service.

Brilliantly creative and rich food.

Watch the world go by at the Malecón’s best restaurant.

Imaginative, tasty and innovative menu.

Paseo #7 altos e/ 1ra y 3ra. Vedado (+53) 7-830-2287

Aguacate #9 esq. a Chacón, Habana Vieja (+53) 7-863-9697

Malecón #161 e/ K y L, Vedado (+53) 7-830-2201

Calle 84 #1116 e/ 11 y 13. Playa (+53) 5-237-3894

Nazdarovie

Opera

Otra Manera

Río Mar

CA 5+

CA 5

CA 5

CA 5

SOVIET

INTERNATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL

Well designed Soviet décor, excellent food & good service.

Homely & intimate environment. Quality food. By reservation.

Beautiful modern decor. Interesting menu and good service.

Contemporary décor. Great sea-view. Good food.

Calle 5ta #204 e/ E y F, Vedado (+53) 5-263-1632 (+53) 8-31-2255

Calle #35 e/ 20 y 41, Playa. (+53) 7-203-8315

Ave. 3raA y Final #11, La Puntilla, Miramar (+53) 7-209-4838

Santy

Starbien

VIP Havana

Malecon #25, 3rd floor e Prado y Carcel, Centro Habana (+53) 7-860-2947

San Cristóbal

CA 5

CA 5+

CA 5+

CA 5

CUBAN/CREOLE

SUSHI/ORIENTAL

SPANISH/MEDITERRANEAN

SPANISH

Deservedly popular.Consistently great food. Kitsch décor.

Authentic fisherman’s shack servicing world-class sushi.

Fabulous food and great service in the heart of Vedado.

Jordi’s place. Fabulous modern open-plan space.

San Rafael #469 e/ Lealtad y Campanario, Centro Habana (+53) 7-860-9109

Calle 240A #3023 esq. a 3ra C, Jaimanitas (+53) 5-286-7039

Calle 29 #205 e/ B y C, Vedado (+53) 7-830-0711

Calle 9na #454 e/ E y F, Vedado (+53) 7-832-0178

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La Guarida

CA 5+

CA TOP PICK

Style of food

Contemporary fusion

Cost Expensive

www.laguarida.com

Type of place Private (Paladar) Food Ambience Service Value Best for Authentic, charming and intimate atmosphere in Cuba’s best known restaurant. Great food, professional. Classy. Don’t Miss Uma Thurman, Beyoncé or the Queen of Spain if they happen to be dining next to you. Concordia #418 e/ Gervasio y Escobar, Centro Habana. (+53) 7-866-9047

El Litoral

CA 5+

CA TOP PICK

Style of food

International

Cost Expensive Type of place Private (Paladar) Food Ambience Service Value Best for Quality décor, good service and great food. Best new place recently opened. Don’t Miss Drinking a cocktail at sunset watching the world go by on the Malecón Malecón #161 e/ K y L, Vedado. (+53) 7-830-2201

Nazdarovie

CA 5+

CA TOP PICK

Style of food

Soviet

Cost Moderate Type of place Private (Paladar) Food Ambience Service Value Best for Getting a flavor of Cuban-Soviet history along with babuska’s traditional dishes in a classy locale. Don’t miss Vodka sundowners on the gorgeous terrace overlooking the malecon. Malecon #25 3rd floor e/ Prado y Carcel, Centro Habana (+53) 7-860-2947

Iván Chef Justo

CA 5+

CA TOP PICK

Style of food

Spanish

Cost Expensive Type of place Private (Paladar) Food Ambience Service Value Best for Spectacular innovative food. Light and airy place where it always seems to feel like Springtime. Don’t Miss The lightly spiced grilled mahimahi served with organic tomato relish. Try the suckling pig and stay for the cuatro leches. Aguacate #9, Esq. Chacón, Habana Vieja. (+53) 7-863-9697 / (+53) 5-343-8540

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La California

CA 5

CA TOP PICK

Style of food

Cuban-Creole/International

Cost Moderate Type of place Private (Paladar) Food Ambience Service Value Best for Beautiful C19 colonial building. Popular place with quality food and great service. Love the fresh pastas. Dont’t Miss The interesting history of the neighbourhood, where Chano Pozo (legendary Afro-Cuban jazz percussionist) hung out. Calle Crespo #55 e/ San Lázaro y Refugio, Centro Habana (+53) 7-863-7510

Casa Miglis

CA 5

CA TOP PICK

Style of food

Swedish-Cuban fusion

Cost Expensive Type of place Private (Paladar) Food Ambience Service Value Best for The beautifully designed interior, warm ambience and Miglis’s personality create the feeling of an oasis in Central Havana. Don’t Miss Chatting with Mr Miglis. The Skaargan prawns, beef Chilli and lingonberries. Lealtad #120 e/ Ánimas y Lagunas, Centro Habana (+53) 7-864-1486

www.casamiglis.com

Habana Mía 7

CA 5

CA TOP PICK

Style of food

International gourmet

Cost Moderate Type of place Private (Paladar) Food Ambience Service Value Best for Stylish and fresh décor give a Mediterranean feel for long endless summer nights. Excellent food and service. Don’t miss Watching the world go by on the lovely terrace overlooking the ocean. Paseo #7 altos e/ 1ra y 3ra, Vedado (+53) 7-830-2287

www.habanamia7.com

Santy

CA 5

CA TOP PICK

Style of food

Sushi

Cost Moderate Type of place Private (Paladar) Food Ambience Service Value Best for Fabulous sushi, wonderful ambience overlooking fishing boats heading out to sea. World class. Don’t miss Getting a reservation here. Calle 240A #3023 esq. 3raC, Jaimanitas (+53) 5-286-7039

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Atelier

CA 5

CA TOP PICK

Style of food

Experimental fusion

Cost Expensive Type of place Private (Paladar) Food Ambience Service Value Best for Interesting menu, beautiful building with great décor and service. Don’t miss Dinner on the breezy terrace during summer. Calle 5ta e/ Paseo y 2, Vedado (+53) 7-836-2025

[email protected]

La Casa

CA 5

CA TOP PICK

Style of food

International/sushi

Cost Expensive Type of place Private (Paladar) Food Ambience Service Value Best for Warm hospitality and openness from the four generations of the Robaina family. Quality food. Don’t miss Thursday night sushi night. The Piña Colada. Calle 30 #865 e/ 26 y 41, Nuevo Vedado. (+53) 7-881-7000

[email protected]

Otramanera

CA 5

CA TOP PICK

Style of food

International

Cost Moderate Type of place Private (Paladar) Food Ambience Service Value Best for Beautiful modern décor and good food. Don’t miss Pork rack of ribs in honey. Sweet & sour sauce and grilled pineapple Calle 35 #1810 e/ 20 y 41, Playa (+53) 7-203-8315 [email protected] [email protected]

Opera

CA 5

CA TOP PICK

Style of food

International

Cost Moderate Type of place Private (Paladar) Food Ambience Service Value Best for Best for Homely & Intimate enviroment Quality food in a beautiful setting. Don’t miss Fresh pasta, vegetarian dishes and quail. Calle 5ta #204 e/ E y F, Vedado (+53) 5-263-1632 / (+53) 8-31-2255

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Sloppy Joe’s

Havana’s best Bars & Clubs Traditional Bars El Floridita

CA 4+

Hemingway’s daiquiri bar. Touristy but always full of life. Great cocktails. Obispo #557 esq. a Monserrate, Habana Vieja

(+53) 7-867-1299

Factoría Plaza Vieja

CA 5

Sloppy Joe’s Bar

CA 4+

Recently (beautifully) renovated. Full of history. Popular. Lacks a little ‘grime’.

Microbrewery. Serves ice chilled bong of light locally brewed beer. San Ignacio esq. a Muralla, Plaza Vieja, Habana Vieja (+53) 7-866-4453

Ánimas esq. a Zulueta, Habana Vieja (+53) 7-866-7157

Espacios

TaBARish

Cervecería

CA 5+

ANTIGUO ALMACÉN MADERA Y EL TABACO

DE

LA

Microbrewery located overlooking the restored docks Simply brilliant. Avenida del Puerto y San Ignacio, La Habana Vieja

Contemporary Bars El Cocinero

CA 5+

Fabulous rooftop setting, great service, cool vibe. Calle 26 e/ 11 y 13, Vedado (+53) 7-832-2355

CA 5-

Laid back contemporary bar with a real buzz in the back beer-garden.

CA 5

A comfortable place to chat / hang out with your friends. Great service.

Calle 10 #510, e/ 5ta y 31, Miramar

Calle 20 #503, e/ 5ta y 7ma.

Contemporary bars/clubs Don Cangrejo CA

4+

Love it/hate it—this is the oldest Friday night party place and is still going strong. Outdoor by the sea.

CA 4

Über modern and stylish indoor bar/club. Miami style crowd and attitude. Calle 94 #110 e/ 1ra y 3ra, Miramar (+53) 7-206-4167

Ave. 1ra e/ 16 & 18, Miramar (+53) 7-204-3837

Other

Meliá Sports Bar CA

Kpricho

4

Big-screen sports-bar in modern outdoor terrace. Good for sports and live music. Meliá Habana Hotel Ave. 3ra e/ 76 y 80, Miramar (+53) 7-204-8500

Up & Down

CA 5

From the team that brought you Sangri-La. Attracting a young party crowd, very popular. Take a coat. Calle 3ra y B, Vedado

El Gato Tuerto CA

4+

Late night place to hear fabulous bolero singers. Can get smoky.

El Tocororo

CA 5+

X Alfonso’s new cultural center. Great concerts, funky young scene. Calle 26 e/ 11 y 13, Vedado (next to the Puente de Hierro) (+53) 5-329-6325 www.facebook.com/fabrica. deartecubano

(+53) 7-202-9188

(+53) 7-836-3031

Fábrica de Arte

CA 4+

Expat favorite hangout. Small indoor bar with live music and eclectic clientele.

Sangri-La

CA 5

For the cool kids. Basement bar/club which gets packed at weekends. Ave. 21 e/ 36 y 42, Miramar (+53) 7-264-8343

Bertolt Brecht

CA 5

Think MTV Unplugged. Hip, funky and unique with an artsy Cuban crowd.

Calle O e/ 17 y 19, Vedado (+53) 7-833-2224

Calle 18 e/ 3ra y 5ta, Miramar

Calle 13 e/ I y J, Vedado (+53) 7-830-1354

Humboldt 52

Fashion Bar Havana

Café Bar Madrigal

Gay-friendly Cabaret Las Vegas

CA 4

Can get dark and smoky but great drag show (11pm) from Divino—one of Cuba’s most accomplished drag acts. Infanta #104 e/ 25 y 27, Vedado. (+53) 7-870-7939

You’ve

CA 5

One of the hottest venues for gay nightlife in Havana at present. Humboldt #52 e/ Infanta y Hospital, Centro Habana. (+53) 5-330-2989

CA 5

A superb example of queer class meets camp, accompanied by a fantastic floor show. San Juan de Dios, esq. a Aguacate, Habana Vieja (+53) 7-867-1676

CA 4

Pop décor, fancy cocktails, and the staff’s supercilious attitude, this is a gathering spot for all types of folks. Calle 17 #809 e/ 2 y 4, Vedado (+53) 7-831-2433

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Bertolt Brecht

CA 5

CA TOP PICK

CONTEMPORARY BAR/CLUBS Ambience Popularity Entertainment Service & drinks Best for Hanging out with hip & funky Cubans who like their live music. Don’t Miss Interactivo playing on a Wednesday evening. Calle 13 e/ I y J, Vedado (+53) 7-830-1354

Espacios

CA 5-

CA TOP PICK

CONTEMPORARY BAR Ambience Popularity Entertainment Service & drinks Best for Laid back lounge atmosphere in the garden area which often has live music. Good turnover of people. Don’t Miss Ray Fernandez, Tony Avila, Yasek Mazano playing live sets in the garden. Calle 10 #510 e/ 5ta y 31, Miramar (+53) 7-202-2921

Sangri-La

CA 5+

CA TOP PICK

CONTEMPORARY BAR/CLUB Ambience Popularity Entertainment Service & drinks Best for Hanging out with the cool kids on the Havana Farundula in the most popular bar/club. Don’t Miss The best gin and tonic in Havana. Ave. 21 e/ 36 y 42, Miramar (+53) 5-264-8343

Bolabana

CA 5

CA TOP PICK

CONTEMPORARY Ambience Popularity Entertainment Service & drinks Best for Trendy new location near Salón Rosado de la Tropical Don’t Miss Hipsters meet the Havana Farándula Calle 39 esq. 50, Playa

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Humboldt 52

CA 5

CA TOP PICK

GAY FRIENDLY Ambience Popularity Entertainment Service & drinks Best for Hot staff, comfortable setting, and welcoming vibe at Havana’s first full-time, openly-gay bar Don’t Miss The disco ball, a talented opera duo performing Wednesdays and karaoke and drag performances other days of the week Humboldt #52 e/ Infanta y Hospital, Centro Habana. (+53) 5-330-2989

Fábrica de Arte

CA 5+

CA TOP PICK

CONTEMPORARY BAR Ambience Popularity Entertainment Service & drinks Best for X Alfonso’s superb new cultural center has something for everyone Don’t Miss Ne pas manquer Les meilleurs musiciens cubains Calle 26 e/ 11 y 13, Vedado (next to the Puente de Hierro)

Fashion Bar Havana

CA 5

CA TOP PICK

GAY-FRIENDLY Ambience Popularity Entertainment Service & drinks Best for A superb example of queer class meets camp, accompanied by a fantastic floor show. Don’t Miss The staff performing after 11pm San Juan de Dios, esq. a Aguacate, Habana Vieja (+53) 7-867-1676

TaBARish

CA 5

CA TOP PICK

CONTEMPORARY BAR/CLUB Ambience Popularity Entertainment Service & drinks Best for A comfortable place to chat / hang out with your friends. Great service. Don’t Miss The homemade Russian soup – just like Matushka makes it. Calle 20 #503, e/ 5ta y 7ma. (+53) 7-202-9188

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Basílica Menor de San Francisco de Asís

Havana’s best live music venues

Concert venues Karl Marx Theatre

CA 5

World class musicians perform prestigious concerts in Cuba’s best equipped venue. Calle 1ra esq. a 10, Miramar (+53) 7-203-0801

Basílica San CA Francisco de Asís

5

A truly beautiful church, which regularly hosts fabulous classical music concerts.

Fábrica de Arte CA

5

X Alfonso’s new cultural center. Great concerts inside (small and funky) and outside (large and popular!).

Oficios y Amargura, Plaza de San Francisco de Asís, Habana Vieja

Calle 26 e/ 11 y 13, Vedado (next to the Puente de Hierro)

Jazz Café

Privé Lounge

Sala CovarrubiasCA

5

TEATRO NACIONAL

Recently renovated, one of Cuba’s most prestigious venues for a multitude of events. Paseo y 39, Plaza de la Revolución.

Jazz Café Jazz Miramar

CA 4+

Clean, modern and atmospheric. Where Cuba’s best musicians jam and improvise. Cine Teatro Miramar 10:30pm – 2am Ave. 5ta esq. a 94, Miramar

Salsa/Timba

Café Cantante Mi Habana

CA 4

Attracts the best Cuban musicians. Recently renovated with an excellent new sound system. Ave. Paseo esq. a 39, Plaza de la Revolución (+53) 7-878-4273

Contemporary Café Teatro Bertolt Brecht

CA 5

Think MTV Unplugged when musicians play. Hip, funky and unique with an artsy Cuban crowd. Calle 13 e/ I y J, Vedado (+53) 7-830-1354

Trova & traditional Barbaram Pepito’s Bar

CA 4+

Some of the best Cuban Nueva Trova musicians perform in this small and intimate environment.

CA 5+

Small and intimate lounge club with great acoustics and beautiful decor. Jazz groups play Sunday night.

Galerías de Paseo Ave. 1ra e/ Paseo y A, Vedado

Calle 88A #306 e/ 3ra y 3raA, Miramar (+53) 7-209-2719

Casa de la Música

Casa de la Música

CA 4

CA 4

CENTRO HABANA

MIRAMAR

A little rough around the edges but spacious. For better or worse, this is ground zero for the best in Cuban salsa.

Smaller and more up-market than its newer twin in Centro Habana. An institution in the Havana salsa scene.

Galiano e/ Neptuno y Concordia, Centro Habana (+53) 7-860-8296/4165

Calle 20 esq. a 35, Miramar (+53) 7-204-0447

Don Cangrejo CA

4+

Love it/hate it—this is the oldest Friday night party place and is still going strong. Outdoor by the sea. Ave. 1ra e/ 16 y 18, Miramar (+53) 7-204-3837

Gato Tuerto

CA 4+

Late night place to hear fabulous bolero singers. Can get smoky. Calle O entre 17 y 19, Vedado (+53) 7-833-2224

Calle 26 esq. a Ave. del Zoológico. Nuevo Vedado (+53) 7-881-1808

You’ve

CA 4

A staple of Havana’s jazz scene, the best jazz players perform here. Somewhat cold atmosphere-wise.

El Sauce

CA 5-

Great outdoor concert venue to hear the best in contemporary & Nueva Trova live in concert. Ave. 9na #12015 e/ 120 y 130, Playa (+53) 7-204-6428

Legendarios de Guajirito

CA 5

See Buena Vista Social Club musicians still performing nightly from 9pm. Touristy but fabulous. Zulueta #660 e/ Apodaca y Gloria, Centro Habana (+53) 7-861-7761

La Zorra y el Cuervo

CA 5

Intimate and atmospheric, this basement jazz club, which you enter through a red telephone box, is Cuba’s most famous. Calle 23 e/ N y O, Vedado (+53) 7-833-2402

Salón Rosado de la Tropical

CA 5

The legendary beer garden where Arsenio tore it up. Look for a salsa/timba gig on a Sat night and a Sun matinee. Ave. 41 esq. a 46, Playa Times: varies wildly (+53) 7-203-5322

Teatro de Bellas Artes

CA 4+

Small intimate venue inside Cuba’s most prestigious arts museum. Modern. Trocadero e/ Zulueta y Monserrate, Habana Vieja.

CA 4+ Salón 1930 ‘Compay Segundo’ Buena Vista Social Club style set in the grand Hotel Nacional. Hotel Nacional Calle O esq. a 21, Vedado (+53) 7-835-3896 contents

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Havana’s Best Hotels

Hotel Nacional de Cuba

Simply the best… CA Iberostar Parque Central

5+

Santa Isabel

CA 5+

Luxurious historic mansion facing Plaza de Armas

Luxury hotel overlooking Parque Central

CA 5

Beautifully restored colonial house.

CA 5

Cuban baroque meets modern minimalist

Obispo #252, esq. a Cuba, Habana Vieja (+53) 7-862-4127

Oficios #152 esq. a Amargura, Habana Vieja

Business Hotels Meliá Cohíba

Palacio del Marqués...

CA 5

Oasis of polished marble and professional calm. Ave Paseo e/ 1ra y 3ra, Vedado (+53) 7- 833-3636

Meliá Habana

CA 5

Attractive design & extensive facilities.

CA 4

A must for Hemingway aficionados

Mercure Sevilla CA

4

Stunning views from the roof garden restaurant.

Calle Obispo #153 esq. a Mercaderes, Habana Vieja (+53) 7- 860-9529

Trocadero #55 entre Prado y Zulueta, Habana Vieja (+53) 7-860-8560

Economical/Budget Hotels Bosque

CA 3

On the banks of the Río Almendares. Calle 28-A e/ 49-A y 49-B, Reparto Kohly, Playa (+53) 7-204-9232

You’ve

Deauville

CA 3

Lack of pretension, great location. Galiano e/ Sán Lázaro y Malecón, Centro Habana (+53) 7-866-8812

5+

Immensely charming, great value. Oficios #53 esq. a Obrapía, Habana Vieja (+53) 7-867-1037

Occidental Miramar

CA 5

Malecón esq. a Lealtad, Centro Habana (+53) 7-862-8061

CA 4+

Good value, large spacious modern rooms.

Ave. 3ra y 70, Miramar (+53) 5-204-8500

For a sense of history Ambos Mundos

Hostal Valencia CA

Terral

Wonderful ocean front location. Newly renovated.

Paseo del Prado #603 esq. a Dragones, Habana Vieja (+53) 7-860-8201

Boutique Hotels in Old Havana Florida

CA 5+

Stunning view from roof-top pool. Beautiful décor.

Narciso López, Habana Vieja (+53) 7-860-8201

Neptuno e/ Prado y Zulueta, Habana Vieja (+53) 7-860-6627

Saratoga

Conde de Villanueva

CA 5

Delightfully small and intimate. For cigar lovers. Mercaderes #202, esq. a Lamparilla (+53) 7-862-9293

H10 Habana Panorama

CA 4+

Cascades of glass. Good wi-fi. Modern.

Ave. 5ta. e/ 70 y 72, Miramar (+53) 7-204-3583

Ave. 3ra. y 70, Miramar (+53) 7 204-0100

Hotel Nacional

Riviera

CA 5

Eclectic art-deco architecture. Gorgeous gardens.

CA 3

Spectacular views over wavelashed Malecón

Calle O esq. a 21, Vedado (+53) 7-835 3896

Paseo y Malecón, Vedado (+53) 7-836-4051

Saint John’s

Vedado

CA 3

Lively disco, tiny quirky pool. Popular. Calle O e/ 23 y 25, Vedado (+53) 7-833-3740

CA 3

Good budget option with a bit of a buzz Calle O e/ 23 y 25, Vedado (+53) 7-836-4072 contents

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Cañaveral House

Havana’s best private places to stay

For Help reserving any Private Accommodation (Casas Particulares) in Cuba please contact [email protected]

Mid range - Casa Particular (B&B) 1932

Carlos in cuba

CA 4

CA 5

Gay Friendly BED and Breakfast in Havana

Visually stunning, historically fascinating. Welcoming.

Calle 2 #505 e/ 23 y 21, Vedado (+53) 7-833-1329 (+53) 5-295-4893 [email protected] www.carlosincuba.com

Campanario #63 e/ San Lázaro y Laguna, Centro Habana (+53) 7-863-6203

Habana

CA 5

Beautiful colonial townhouse with great location.

Julio y Elsa

CA 5

Cluttered bohemian feel. Hospitable.

Calle Habana #209, e/ Empedrado, y Tejadillo, Habana Vieja. (+53) 7-861-0253

Consulado #162 e/ Colón y Trocadero, Centro Habana (+53) 7-861-8027

Artedel

Hostal Guanabo

Up-scale B&Bs (Boutique hostals) Cañaveral House CA But undoubtedly the most beautiful about private homes in Cuba

5 Vitrales

39A street, #4402, between 44 y 46, Playa, La Habana Cuba (+53) 295-5700 http://www.cubaguesthouse. com/canaveral.home. html?lang=en

CA 5

Hospitable, attractive and reliable boutique B&B with 9 bedrooms. Habana #106 e/ Cuarteles y Chacón, Habana Vieja (+53) 7-866-2607

CA 5+

Ydalgo Martínez Matos’s spacious and contemporary 3-bedroom penthouse is magnificent.

CA 5

Beautiful 4 bedroom seafront villa in sleepy Guanabo. Excellent food. Calle 480 #1A04 e/ 1ra y 3ra, Guanabo (+53) 7-799-0004

Calle I #260 e/ 15 y 17, Vedado (+53) 5-830-8727

Apartment rentals Bohemia Hostal CA

5+

Gorgeous 1-bedroom apartment beautifully decorated apartment overlooking Plaza Vieja.

Luxury Houses CA 5

Rent Room elegant and wellequipped. Beautiful wild garden and great pool. Calle 17 #1101 e/ 14 y 16, Vedado (+34) 677525361 (+53) 7-832-1927 (+53) 5-360-0456

You’ve

5+

Beautifully designed and spacious 3 bedroom apartment. Spanish colonial interiors with cheerful, arty accents.

San Ignacio #364 e/ Muralla y Teniente Rey, Plaza Vieja Habana Vieja (+53) 5- 403-1 568 (+53) 7-836-6567 www.havanabohemia.com

Villasol

Casa Concordia CA

Tropicana Penthouse

CA 5

Galiano #60 Penthouse Apt.10 e/ San Lázaro y Trocadero (+53) 5-254-5240 www.tropicanapenthouse.com

Casablanca

CA Michael and María Elena

CA 5

Elegant well-equipped villa formerly owned by Fulgencio Batista. Beautiful wild garden. Morro-Cabaña Park. House #29 (+53) 5-294-5397 www.havanacasablanca.com

This leafy oasis in western Havana has an attractive mosaic tiled pool and three modern bedrooms.

Calle 66 #4507 e/ 45 y Final, Playa (+53) 7-209-0084

CA 5

Elegant 2-bedroom apartment in restored colonial building. Quality loft style décor.

A luxurious penthouse with huge roof terrace and breathtaking 360 degree views of Havana and the ocean.

Concordia #151 apto. 8 esq. a San Nicolás, Centro Habana (+53) 5-254-5240 www.casaconcordia.net

Suite Havana

Lamparilla #62 altos e/ Mercaderes y San Ignacio, Habana Vieja (+53) 5-829-6524

5

Residencia Mariby

CA 5

A sprawling vanilla-hued mansion with 6 rooms decorated with colonial-era lamps, tiles and Louis XV furniture Vedado. (+53) 5-370-5559 contents

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Artedel Luxury

CA 5+

CA TOP PICK

3 BEDROOM PENTHOUSE Facilities Rooms Ambience Value Best for Stylish and contemporary furniture along with a beautiful 360-degree view over Havana Don’t Miss Ydalgo – an impeccable host, discreet or gregarious, as you prefer Calle I #260, e/ 15 and 17, Vedado (+53) 7-830-8727

Bohemia Hostal

CA 5+

CA TOP PICK

GORGEOUS 1 BEDROOM APARTMENT Facilities Rooms Ambience Value Best for Independent beautifully decorated apartment overlooking Plaza Vieja. Don’t Miss Spending time in Havana’s most atmospheric Plaza. San Ignacio #364 e/ Muralla y Teniente Rey, Plaza Vieja, Habana Vieja [email protected] (+53) 5 4031 568: (53) 7 8366 567 www.havanabohemia.com

Cañaveral House

CA 5+

CA TOP PICK

Facilities Rooms Ambience Value Best for Large elegant villa away from downtown Havana. Great for families or groups of friends. Don’t Miss Basking in the sun as you stretch out on the lawn of the beautifully kept garden. 39A street, #4402, between 44 y 46, Playa, La Habana Cuba (+53) 295-5700 http://www.cubaguesthouse.com/canaveral.home. html?lang=en

Rosa D’Ortega

CA 5+

CA TOP PICK

BOUTIQUE VILLA Facilities Rooms Ambience Value Best for Large elegant villa away from the bustle of downtown Havana. Gracious hosts, beautiful rooms. Don’t Miss Exploring the off-the-beaten track neighbourhood. Patrocinio #252 esq. a Juan Bruno Zayas, 10 de Octubre (+53) 7-641-43-29 / (+53) 5-263-3302 http://www.larosadeortega.com

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