Entertainment in Havana
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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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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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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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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.
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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.
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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
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La Madriguera
Locals bill it as a ‘hidden place for open ideas, ’ while outsiders are bowled over by its musical originality and artistic innovation. Welcome to La Madriguera – home to the Hermanos Saíz organization, the youth wing of Uneac. This is where the pulse of Cuba’s young musical innovators beats the strongest. Come here for arts, crafts, spontaneity and the three Rs: reggaetón (Cuban hip-hop), rap and rumba.
reviewed
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Sala de Fiesta Macumba Habana
Cocooned in a residential neighborhood southwest of Cubanacán is Macumba, one of Havana’s biggest venues for live salsa. The outdoor setting is refreshing and the sets long, so you’ll get a lot of dancing in. You can also dine at La Giradilla in the same complex. This is a great place to catch jazz-salsa combos and timba music, a modern extension of salsa mixed with jazz and rap and championed by NG La Banda (who perform here regularly).
reviewed
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Teatro Karl Marx
Size-wise the Karl Marx puts other Havana theaters in the shade with a seating capacity of 5500 in a single auditorium. The very biggest events happen here, such as the closing galas for the jazz and film festivals and rare concerts by trovadores like Silvio Rodríguez. In 2001 it hosted Welsh rockers The Manic Street Preachers, the first Western rock band to play live on the island (with Fidel Castro in the audience).
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Salón Rosado Benny Moré
For something completely different, check out the very caliente action at this outdoor venue. The Rosado (aka El Tropical) packs in hot, sexy Cuban youths dancing madly to Los Van Van, Pupi y Su Son Son or Habana Abierta. It’s a fierce scene and female travelers should expect aggressive come-ons. Friday to Sunday is best. Some travelers pay pesos, others dollars – more of that Cuban randomness for you.
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Cabaret Nacional
The Cabaret Nacional, below the Gran Teatro de la Habana, has a show nightly at 11:30pm if enough patrons are present. It’s a little camper than other Havana cabarets and the noise – rather annoyingly if you’re watching the opera – sometimes filters through into the Lorca auditorium next door. There’s a couples-only policy and a ‘no shorts/T-shirts’ dress code.
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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Taberna de la Muralla
Havana’s only homebrew pub is situated on a boisterous corner of Plaza Vieja. Set up by an Austrian company in 2004, it sells smooth cold homemade beer at sturdy wooden benches set up outside on the cobbles or indoors in an atmospheric beer hall. Get a group together and they’ll serve the amber nectar in a tall plastic tube, which you draw out of a tap at the bottom. There’s also an outside grill.
reviewed
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La Zorra y EI Cuervo
Havana’s most famous Jazz Club is La Zorra y El Cuervo (the vixen and the crow) on La Rampa, which opens its doors nightly at 10pm to long lines of committed music fiends. Suitably shoehorned into a cramped, smoky basement, the freestyle jazz showcased is second to none and, in the past, the club has hosted such big names as Chucho Valdés and George Benson.
reviewed
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Teatro América
Housed in a classic art-deco rascacielo (skyscraper) on Galiano (Av de Italia), the América seems to have changed little since its theatrical heyday in the 1930s and ’40s. It plays host to vaudeville variety, comedy, dance, jazz and salsa; shows are normally staged on Saturdays at 8:30pm and Sundays at 5pm. You can also enquire about dance lessons here.
reviewed
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Casa de la Trova
Strangely, Habana’s Casa de la Trova is a bit of a damp squib compared to other famous Casas de la Trova in Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey. It’s traditionally a haven for son music of the type popularized by Ry Cooder’s Buena Vista Social Club, but the schedule here is sporadic. Check the upcoming program before turning up.
reviewed
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Café Taberna
Founded in 1772 and still glowing after a recent 21st-century makeover, this drinking and eating establishment is a great place to prop up the (impressive) bar and sink a few cocktails before dinner. The music – which gets swinging around 8pm – doffs its cap, more often than not, to one-time resident mambo king Benny Moré. Skip the food.
reviewed
