Entertainment in Cuba
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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El Hurón Azul
If you want to rub shoulders with some socialist celebrities, hang out with the intellectuals at Hurón Azul, the social club of the Unión Nacional de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba (Uneac; Union of Cuban Writers and Artists), Cuba’s leading cultural institution. Replete with priceless snippets of Cuba’s under-the-radar cultural life, most performances take place outside in the garden. Wednesday is the Afro-Cuban rumba, Saturday is authentic Cuban boleros, and alternate Thursdays there’s jazz and trova. You’ll never pay more than CUC$5.
reviewed
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Tropicana Nightclub
A city institution since it opened in 1939, the world-famous Tropicana was one of the few bastions of Havana’s Las Vegas–style nightlife to survive the clampdowns of the puritanical Castro Revolution. Immortalized in Graham Greene’s 1958 classic Our Man in Havana, this open-air cabaret show is little changed since its ’50s heyday, featuring a bevy of scantily clad señoritas who climb nightly down from the palm trees to dance Latin salsa amid colorful flashing lights on stage. Tickets go for a slightly less than socialistic CUC$70.
reviewed
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Tropicana Santiago
Anything Havana can do, Santiago can do better – or at least cheaper. Styled on the Tropicana original, this ‘feathers and baubles’ Las Vegas–style floor show is heavily hyped by all the city’s tour agencies who offer it for CUC$35 plus transport (Havana’s show is twice the price, but no way twice as good). Located out of town, 3km north of the Hotel Las Américas, a taxi or rental car is the only independent transport option, making the tour-agency deals a good bet. The Saturday night show is superior.
reviewed
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Teatro Amadeo Roldán
Constructed in 1922 and burnt down by an arsonist in 1977, this wonderfully decorative neoclassical theater was rebuilt in 1999 in the exact style of the original. Named after the famous Cuban composer and the man responsible for bringing Afro-Cuban influences into modern classical music, the theater is one of Havana’s grandest boasting two different auditoriums. The Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional play in the 886-seat Sala Amadeo Roldán, while soloists and small groups are showcased in the 276-seat Sala García Caturla.
reviewed
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Café Cantante
Below the Teatro Nacional de Cuba (side entrance), this place is a hip disco that offers live salsa music and dancing, as well as bar snacks and food. The clientele is mainly ‘yummies’ (young urban Marxist managers) and ageing sugar-daddy tourists with their youthful Cuban girlfriends. Musically, there are regular appearances from big-name singers such as Haila María Mompie. No shorts, T-shirts or hats may be worn, and no under-18-year-olds are allowed.
reviewed
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Casa de la Amistad
Housed in a beautiful rose-colored mansion on leafy Paseo, the Casa de la Amistad mixes traditional son sounds with suave Benny Moré music in a classic Italian Renaissance–style garden. Buena Vista Social Club luminary, Compay Segundo, was a regular here before his death in 2003 and there is a weekly ‘Chan Chan’ night in his honor. Other perks include a restaurant, bar, cigar shop and the house itself – an Italianite masterpiece.
reviewed
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Cabaret Salón Rojo
Although George Raft’s opulent Hotel Capri closed a couple of years back, its once notorious cabaret show, the Salón Rojo (Red Room), seems to have been given an indefinite reprieve. While the cabaret is no longer the Mob-infested gambling den of yesteryear, the acts and music in the trussed up and revamped Salón Rojo are still hot, pulsating and ever popular with affluent Cubans. For heated music and no-holds-barred dancing, this is the place to come.
reviewed
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Casa de la Música
Launched with a concert by renowned jazz pianist Chucho Valdés in 1994, this Miramar favorite is run by national Cuban recording company, Egrem, and the programs are generally a lot more authentic than the cabaret entertainment you see at the hotels. Platinum players such as NG La Banda, Los Van Van and Aldaberto Álvarez y Su Son play here regularly; you’ll rarely pay more than CUC$20. It has a more relaxed atmosphere than its Centro Habana namesake.
reviewed
