Entertainment in Caribbean Islands
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El Floridita
Promoting itself as the ‘cradle of the daiquirí,’ El Floridita was a favorite of expat Americans long before Ernest Hemingway dropped by in the 1930s (hence the name, which means ‘little Florida’). A bartender named Constante Ribalaigua invented the daiquirí soon after WWI, but it was Hemingway who popularized it and ultimately the bar christened a drink in his honor: the Papa Hemingway Special (basically, a daiquirí made with grapefruit juice). His record – legends ha it – was 13 doubles in one sitting. Any attempt to equal it at the current prices (CUC$6 a single shot) will cost you a small fortune – and a huge hangover.
reviewed
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B
Club Mejunje
Set in the ruins of a roofless building given over to sprouting greenery, Club Mejunje is Havana-hip and more. Among the plethora of nighttime attractions here is Cuba’s only official drag show every Saturday night – a must-see! Other items on an eclectic entertainment menu include regular trova, bolero and son (Cuba’s popular music) concerts, children’s theater and disco nights. If you’ve only got one night, this is the place.
reviewed
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C
Casa de la Trova
Nearly 40 years after its initial incarnation, Santiago’s shrine to the power of traditional music is still going strong and continuing to attract big names such as Buena Vista Social Club singer, Eliades Ochoa. Warming up on the ground floor in the late afternoon, the action slowly gravitates upstairs where, come 10-ish, everything starts to get a shade more caliente. Arrive with a good pair of shoes and prepare to be – quite literally – whisked off your feet.
reviewed
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D
Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville
This corporate franchise has turned getting drunk into big business. As with its counterparts in Montego Bay and Negril, the music is too loud and the drinks are too expensive, but some people find the orchestrated good-time vibe to be irresistible. The menu aims for the lowest common denominator with selections including the artery-clogging ‘Cheeseburger in Paradise’ and Caesar salads, pizzas and sandwiches.
reviewed
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E
La Casa de la Música Centro Habana
One of Cuba’s best and most popular (check the queues) nightclubs and live-music venues; all the big names play here, from Bamboleo to Los Van Van – and you’ll pay peanuts to see them. Of the city’s two Casas de la Música, this Centro Habana version is a little edgier than its Miramar counterpart (some have complained it’s too edgy), with big salsa bands and little space. Price varies depending on the band.
reviewed
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Caribbean Coffee & Tea
Tucked into Plaza Andalucia, a small strip mall, this café is popular with a young upscale crowd from the surrounding Los Angeles–like neighborhood. While there’s nothing to see other than a busy intersection, sitting at one of the outdoor tables sipping a cappuccino (US$2) or tea (US$1.50) is a pleasant way to while away an afternoon. Wraps (US$10), paninis (US$7) and salads (US$6) are also available.
reviewed
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Club Mambo
Cuba’s ’50s mambo craze lives on at this quality live music venue – arguably one of Varadero’s hippest and best. Situated next to Club Amigo Varadero in the eastern part of town, the CUC$10 entry includes all your drinks. A DJ spins when the band takes a break, but this place is all about live music. There’s a pool table if you don’t feel like dancing.
reviewed
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F
Disco Ayala
It might not be the first time you’ve gone jiving in a cave, but this surreal place up by the Ermita Popa church beats all others for atmosphere and animation. While it’s mainly a place to let rip and dance J-Lo style in the semi-darkness with as many mojitos as you care to sink, this disco also puts on a decent cabaret show with a pre-Columbian Indian theme.
reviewed
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G
Estadio de Béisbol Guillermón Moncada
This stadium is on the northeastern side of town within walking distance of the main hotels. During the baseball season, from October to April, there are games at 7:30pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, and 1:30pm Sunday (one peso). The Avispas (Wasps) have had the edge on Havana’s Industriales of late with National Series victories in 2005, 2007 and 2008.
reviewed
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H
Casa de las Tradiciones
The most discovered ‘undiscovered’ spot in Santiago still retains its smoke-filled, foot-stomping, front-room feel. Hidden in the gentile Tivolí district, some of Santiago de Cuba’s most exciting ensembles, singers and soloists take turns improvising. Friday nights are reserved for straight-up, classic trova, à la Ñico Saquito and the like.
reviewed
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Patio ARTex
Art lines the walls of this shop-and-club combo that hosts live music both day and night in a quaint inner courtyard; a good bet if the Casa de la Trova is full, or too frenetic.
reviewed
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Casa de la Música
Aping its two popular Havana namesakes, this place has quality live acts and a definitive Cuban feel. It’s in town and attracts a local crowd who pay in pesos.
reviewed
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El Chevere
One of Habana’s most popular discos, this alfresco place in a lush park gets local tongues wagging, and hosts a good mix of Cubans and tourists.
reviewed
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Casa de la Música
Similar to the venues in Havana, this Casa de la Música features a mix of live salsa and taped disco and is usually a cracking night out.
reviewed
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M
Teatro Nacional de Cuba
One of the twin pillars of Havana’s cultural life, the Teatro Nacional de Cuba on Plaza de la Revolución is the modern rival to the Gran Teatro in Centro Habana. Built in the 1950s as part of Jean Forestier’s grand city expansion, the complex hosts landmark concerts, foreign theater troupes, La Colmenita children’s company and the Ballet Nacional de Cuba. The main hall, Sala Avellaneda, stages big events such as musical concerts or plays by Shakespeare, while the smaller Sala Covarrubias along the back side puts on a more daring program (the seating capacity of the two salas combined is 3300). The 9th floor is a rehearsal and performance space where the newest, mos…
reviewed
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Calypso Tropical Café
Wall-to-wall suntans, svelte girls in bikini tops, bare-chested blokes nursing cold beers, and syncopated reggae music drifting out beneath the sun-dappled palm trees; the Calypso is everything you’d expect a beachside surfers’ bar to be – and perhaps a little more. All that’s missing is a prepsychedelic-era Brian Wilson propping up the jukebox (then again, Brian never could surf). On the ocean side of the leafy road to the lighthouse, Calypso hosts the oldest pub scene in Rincón and regularly books live bands to cover rock, reggae and calypso classics. Not surprisingly, it’s a microcosm of the region at large and the place to go to find out about surf gossip,…
reviewed
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La Bodeguita del Medio
Made famous thanks to the rum-swilling exploits of Ernest Hemingway (who by association instantly sends the prices soaring), a visit to Havana’s most celebrated bar has become de rigueur for literary sycophants and wannabe writers. Past visitors have included Salvador Allende, Fidel Castro, Nicolás Guillén, Harry Belafonte and Nat King Cole, all of whom have left their autographs on La Bodeguita’s wall – along with thousands of others. These days the clientele is less luminous, with package tourists bussed in from Varadero to delight in the bottled bohemian atmosphere and the CUC$4 mojitos (which, though good, have lost their Hemingway-esque shine). The menu specialty is …
reviewed
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Wet & Liquid
Here they are, the beautiful people, perched on zebra-striped stools or lounging on strategically positioned sofas, martinis in hand. The buffed body-builders, the fashionistas, the 20-something wannabe actresses corseted into tight black dresses. Popularly considered to be two of San Juan’s most esteemed watering holes, Wet and Liquid comprise two separate bars situated in Isla Verde’s Water & Beach Club. Liquid dominates the ground floor, Wet inhabits the roof. Interconnected by a space-age elevator that is decorated rather surreally with its own water feature, this is where San Juan’s well-heeled and the well-endowed come to swap email addresses. The real glitterati ar…
reviewed
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Q
Patio de María
Rather unique in Cuba for a number of reasons, the Patio de María, near the Teatro Nacional de Cuba, is a nexus point for Havana’s burgeoning counterculture hosting everything from rock music to poetry readings. Run by María Gattorno, the venue has received heavy media coverage in Cuba and abroad, partly due to Gattorno’s AIDS and drug-prevention educational work. You can catch all kinds of entertainment here from videos and debates to workshops and theater, but the real deal are the rock nights (to canned music) that take off most weekends. Check the cartelera posted at the door or head to Parque de los Rockeros (Calles 23 and G) to find out what’s happening.
reviewed
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Teatro Tapia
The Teatro Tapia on the south side of Plaza Colón is an intimate neoclassical theater designed in the Italian style with three-tiered boxes and an elegantly decorated lobby. Dating from 1832 and named after the so-called ‘Father of Puerto Rican literature, ’ Alejandro Tapia y Rivera, the building has long acted as a nexus for the island’s rich cultural life and has hosted big names from the world of opera, stage and ballet from around the world. The theater was restored extensively in 1949 and then again in 1976, 1997 and 2007. Experts today rate it as the oldest free-standing drama stage in the US and its territories.
reviewed
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Quad
This complex comprises four clubs, each with its own distinct personality. On the main floor is Christopher’s Jazz Club, a tasteful jazz bar where the city’s movers and shakers gather on a nightly basis. In the basement is Taboo, a so-called ‘naughty gentleman’s’ club with ‘exotic’ dancers. Every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, two clubs open up on the top floor: the Voodoo Lounge, which tends to draw an older, more urbane crowd, and Oxygen, which attracts a twenty-something set always ready to get sweaty until 4am. The US$10 admission will give you entry into Christopher’s, Voodoo Lounge and Oxygen; Note that Taboo charges a separate US$10 admission.
reviewed
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Gran Teatro de la Habana
The amazing neobaroque Gran Teatro, located in the Centro Gallego, is the seat of the acclaimed Ballet Nacional de Cuba, founded in 1948 by Alicia Alonso. It is also the home of the Cuban National Opera. A theater since 1838, it contains the grandiose Teatro García Lorca, along with two smaller concert halls: the Sala Alejo Carpentier and the Sala Ernesto Lecuono, where art films are sometimes shown. For upcoming events check out the handwritten notices posted under the colonnades on the sidewalk outside, or inquire at the ticket office (open 9am to 6pm Tuesday to Saturday, 9am to 3pm Sunday).
reviewed
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Escolania
The Escolania, reckoned to be Europe’s oldest music school, has a boys’ choir, the Montserrat Boys’ Choir, which sings in the basilica once a day, Sunday to Friday, except in July and August. See the latest performance times (which can change) on the web page. It is a rare (if brief) treat as the choir does not often perform outside Montserrat. The choir has sung hymns since the 13th century. The 40 to 50 escolanets, aged between 10 and 14, go to boarding school at Montserrat and must endure a two-year selection process to join the choir.
reviewed
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Callejón de Hamel
Aside from its funky street murals and psychedelic art shops, the main reason to come to Havana’s high temple of Afro-Cuban culture is for the frenetic rumba music that kicks off every Sunday at around noon. For aficionados, this is about as raw and hypnotic as it gets, with interlocking drum patterns and lengthy rhythmic chants powerful enough to summon up the spirit of the orishas (Santería deities). Due to a liberal sprinkling of tourists these days, some argue that the Callejón has lost much of its basic charm. Don’t believe them. This place can still deliver.
reviewed
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Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville
This popular place claims to have ‘put the hip into the Hip Strip’. Who would have thought that anything to do with Jimmy Buffett could obtain a cachet of cool? Ignoring the sleeping patterns of the strip’s many hotel guests, outrageously loud music is pumped into the air until the moment before dawn. Four open-air bars, 15 big-screen TVs and dance floors on decks that overhang the water offer plenty of diversion until the wee hours. If that’s not enough excitement, there’s a waterslide to carry revelers through the plumbing to flush them ignominiously into the ocean near a floating trampoline.
reviewed
