Such a rich mixture of races has produced a truly amazing variety of artistic genres, particularly in the field of popular music. Cubans, by nature, are passionate people and no more so than when it comes to their music.
Trova, from the Spanish for troubadour, is ballad-style singing to the accompaniment of a guitar. Most towns have at least one
Casa de la Trova, where anybody of any age who can play a musical instrument can happily while away the evening with an impromptu jam session.
Guajira is country-style music and the most famous song in this genre is the ubiquitous
Guantanamera. Above all
salsa, with its mesmerizing
rhythms, has taken the world by storm. Cuba has become internationally renowned for other well-known rhythms, such as the
rumba, a combination of Afro-Cuban music for voice and percussion, which is now accompanied by a passionate dance. The
cha-cha-cha, originally popularized between the 1930s and 50s, is still popular. The state is keen to encourage all aspects of the arts and most towns have at least one theater and a cinema. Standards are high and Cuban performers have achieved international fame.
Music: Groups such as
Los Van Van and
The Buena Vista Social Club have long been established in Cuba, but now their reputation has spread worldwide and both frequently tour in the West. They perform regularly in different venues around the city, such as
Salón 1930, National Hotel, Calle O y 21, Vedado (tel: (7) 873 3564). Classical music is performed by the
National Symphony Orchestra, who regularly appear at the
Teatro Nacional de Cuba, Calle Paseo and Calle 39 (tel: (7) 879 6011).
The Recordings and Musical Editions Company (EGREM), Calle 3ra 1008 entre 10 y 18, Miramar (tel: (7) 209 0688) is the most famous recording house in Cuba with a network of specialized stores, places dedicated to the trading of musical instruments and technology and artistic representation.
Theater: The standard of theater in Havana is high. There are regular performances of local, modern plays and international classics. The most professional performances are at the
Gran Teatro de La Habana (tel: (7) 861 3077/5873), corner of Paseo del Prado and Calle San Rafael, Centro Habana, and the
Teatro Nacional de Cuba (see
Music above).
Dance: The
National Ballet of Cuba has gained international fame thanks in part to its founder Alicia Alonso. Cuban ballet has also been greatly influenced by the years of close association with the famous Russian ballet schools of the Bolshoi and Marinsky theaters. Ballet performances take place at the
Gran Teatro (see above). Every night the two
Casa de la Música pulsate to the sound of salsa with some exciting performances by local bands. Contact
Casa de la Música de Miramar (tel: (7) 204 0447) and
Casa de la Música de Centro Habana (tel: (7) 862 4165) for more information.
Film: Cinema is huge in Cuba, although homegrown films are few and most cinemas show dubbed or subtitled foreign movies. Many major international films do reach Havana but generally a couple of years after they have been released abroad. Havana can boast dozens of cinemas, including:
Payret, opposite the Capitolio on Paseo de Marti (tel: (7) 863 3163);
Yara, opposite the Habana Libre Hotel, Calle L y 23, Vedado (tel: (7) 832 9430), and
Charles Chaplin, Calle 23 between Calles 10 and 12, Vedado (tel: (7) 831 1101).
The internationally acclaimed
Fresa y Chocolate (Strawberry and Chocolate), directed by Tomas Gutierrez Alea, and set near the Coppelia ice cream parlour in Havana, was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign film in 1994.
Buena Vista Social Club (1999), directed by Wim Wenders, is a documentary that chronicles the collaboration of Ry Cooder with these legendary Cuban musicians.
Literary Notes: The romance of Havana has made it an attractive setting for many works of fiction by both Cuban and international writers. The most famous book featuring Havana as a backdrop has to be Graham Greene’s classic 1958 novel,
Our Man in Havana. A vacuum cleaner salesman in Havana joins the British secret service, but sends in bogus reports and photographs of vacuum parts as supposed secret weapons and recruits imaginary agents. His description of the Tropicana is familiar to visitors today: ’Stage and dance-floor were open to the sky. Chorus-girls paraded 20 feet up among the great palm-trees, while pink and mauve searchlights swept the floor. A man in bright blue evening clothes sang in Anglo-American about Paree. Then the piano was wheeled away into the undergrowth, and the dancers stepped down like awkward birds from among the branches.’
Ernest Hemingway’s 1952 novel,
The Old Man and the Sea, won him the Nobel Prize for Literature for his simple tale of an old Cuban fisherman’s fight with a big fish. The prolific contemporary writer James Michener, co-wrote a book with photographer John Kings in 1989 called
Six Days in Havana. Their impressions of Castro’s Cuba gave a unique insight into the country and its people. Modern Cuba is depicted in Pico Iyer’s
Cuba and the Night (1995), an in-depth, rather cynical, description of a Cuban woman’s relationship with an ex-pat. Cristina Garcia’s moving novel
Dreaming in Cuban (1992) explores a family divided by the revolution, looking from both sides - the exiles in America and those who stayed behind in Cuba.
The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Related Havana Content
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
Related Cuba Content
The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
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