-
Anfiteatro Parque Almendares
This riverside amphitheater hosts regular musical events and special concerts by the likes of Frank Delgado and Interactivo. It's an intimate place to catch some terrific music. Regular peñas (performances) include reggae and rap.
-
Bar La Marina
This pleasant outdoor courtyard with a 'ceiling' made out of twisted vines is as agreeable an old-town nook as any. You can grab a bite to eat, feast on popcorn, or just sip quietly on a mojito while the resident Cuban combo strums along.
-
Bar-Club Imágenes
This upscale piano bar attracts something of an older crowd with its regular diet of boleros (romantic love songs) and trova (traditional poetic songs), but sometimes there are surprise concerts by big-name musicians; check the schedule posted outside. Meals are available (and affordable).
-
Basilica Menor de San Francisco de Asís
Plaza de San Francisco de Asís' glorious church, which dates from 1737, has been reincarnated as a 21st-century museum and concert hall. The old nave hosts choral and chamber music two to three times a week (check the schedule at the door), and the acoustics inside are excellent. It's best to bag your ticket at least a day in advance.
-
Cabaret Las Vegas
Don't get duped into thinking this is another Tropicana. On the contrary, Cabaret Las Vegas is a rough and seedy local music dive (with a midnight show) where a little rum and a lot of No moleste, por favor will help you withstand the overzealous entreaties of the hordes of haranguing prostitutes.
-
Cabaret Turquino
If you want a classy but affordable cabaret show, look no further than the Turquino. Popular bands (including Los Van Van) play here regularly, and the views are spectacular. Locals swear by this place.
-
Café Cantante Mi Habana
This hip disco that offers live salsa music and dancing as well as bar snacks and food. Frequented mainly by 'yummies' (young urban Marxist managers) and aging sugar daddy tourists with their young Cuban girlfriends in tow, this place can get feisty. The music is quality and includes regular appearances from name singers such as Haila María Mompie. There's a dress code, no entry for those under 18, and no photos are allowed.
-
Café París
Jump into the mix by grabbing one of the rough-hewn tables at this Habana Vieja standby known for its live music and gregarious atmosphere. On good nights, the rum flows, talented musicians jam and spontaneous dancing and singing erupt in the crowd.
-
Café Taberna
A rocking bar-restaurant that pays both pictorial and musical homage to Cuba's Bárbaro del Ritmo (Barbarian of Rhythm), Benny Moré, the Café Taberna is where you can witness some of Habana's biggest and brassiest salsa sounds. Characterized by its long, well-stocked bar, and evocative images of Moré and other assorted mambo kings, the building fills a pale blue 18th-century house on the corner of Plaza Vieja and is always busy.
-
Callejón De Hamel
Aside from its funky street murals and psychedelic art shops, the main reason to come to Habana's high temple of Afro-Cuban culture is for the frenetic rumba music every Sunday afternoon. 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).
-
Advertisement
-
Casa De La Amistad
Housed in a lovely rose-colored mansion on leafy Paseo, the Casa de la Amistad hosts son and salsa music six nights a week in a classic Italian Renaissance-style garden. Buena Vista Social Club luminary Compay Segundo was a regular before his death in 2003, and a number of Cuban TV shows have been made at this site. Other perks include a reasonably priced restaurant, a bar, a cigar shop, and the house itself, which is a real Cuban beauty.
-
Casa de la Música Centro Habana
Imagine seeing U2 play live for around five US dollars. One of the understated successes of the Cuban revolution is that you can witness top musical performers in concert for next to nothing. This Casa de la Música is a little edgier than its counterpart in Miramar, and there are big salsa bands and plenty of 'name' acts thrown in for good measure. There are two daily shows; both are popular with locals.
-
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.
-
Centro Andaluz
A major Habana flamenco venue, the spit-and-sawdust Centro Andaluz on Paseo de Martí (Prado) regularly hosts blinding performances of what Spanish playwright Federico Lorca once poetically referred to as 'the music of hope and despair.' The dancing embodies much the same essence. The venue serves food, and you can inquire about guitar lessons.
-
Conjunto Folklórico Nacional
The Conjunto Folklórico Nacional, founded in 1962, specializes in Afro-Cuban dancing (all of the drummers are Santería high priests) and offers some of the best rumba in the city. It has toured the world - everywhere from New York to Angola - and is internationally famous. You can see the group perform at the Sábado de Rumba every other Saturday at El Gran Palenque, or to get in on the action you can organize dance lessons.
-
Copa Room
Doormen in tuxes and an atmosphere that's pure 1950s kitsch make the refurbished Copa Room a nostalgic draw. Built as part of Mafia boss Meyer Lansky's Hotel Riviera in 1957, the nightclub was requisitioned by Castro's rebel army two years later (Fidel actually held a press conference in the Copa Room on January 21, 1959) as the glitter was quickly taken out of Lansky's hedonistic honeymoon. But the Copa Room has survived to fight another day.
-
El Gato Tuerto
Once the headquarters of Habana's alternative artistic and sexual scene, this chic bar with live music still packs in the baby boomers in its role as a well-known shrine to the Cuban bolero. Hidden in a quirky two-story house with turtles swimming in a pond out front, the 'One-Eyed Cat' (as 'Gato Tuerto' translates into English) boasts an upstairs restaurant, along with a downstairs bar and performance space.
-
El Hurón Azul
El Hurón Azul is the social club of the Unión Nacional de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba (Uneac; National Union of Cuban Writers & Artists), Cuba's leading cultural institution. Frequented by writers and intellectuals, this charming mansion hosts musical performances in its garden. Wednesday is the Afro-Cuban Peña del Ambia and Saturday is authentic Cuban boleros; there's jazz and trova on alternate Thursdays. It doesn't get much better than this.
-
Havana Café
The Havana Café is a fancy nightclub-cum-cabaret at the Hotel Meliá Cohiba. The decor is 1950s American retro, with old cars, motorcycles, gas pumps, and even an airplane hanging from the ceiling. It's hip and trendy (this, after all, is the Meliá), and most people come here to have dinner and dance. After the tables are cleared and the place rocks to 'international music' until the cock crows.
-
Jazz Café
This upscale joint overlooking the Malecón is like a jazz supper club, with tables and a decent menu; come here for cocktails at sunset. Locals will tell you it is one of Habana's best jazz venues - at night, the club swings into action with jazz, timba (modern salsa mixed with funk, rap and rock) and occasionally straight-up salsa. It's a pity the dance floor is just a strip between the tables.
-
Advertisement
-
Jazz Club La Zorra y El Cuervo
Vedado's most famous Jazz Club is La Zorra y El Cuervo (the Vixen and the Crow) on Calle 23 (La Rampa), which attracts long lines of committed jazz fiends. The subterranean performance space is smoky and a little cramped (the official capacity is 130), but the freestyle jazz showcased here is second to none. In the past, this club has hosted such big names as Chucho Valdés and George Benson.
-
La Casa De La Música Miramar
The Casa de la Música in Miramar is one of Habana's top music venues, launched with a concert by renowned jazz pianist Chucho Valdés in 1994. Run by national Cuban recording company Egrem, its programs are generally a lot more authentic than the cabaret entertainment you see at the hotels. As well as Valdés, platinum players such as NG la Banda, Los Van Van, Aldaberto Alvarez and Su Son play here regularly.
-
La Lluvia de Oro
It's on Obispo and there's always live music belting through the doorway - so it's always crowded. But with a higher-than-average hustler-to-tourist ratio, La Lluvia de Oro might not be your most intimate introduction to Habana. Small snacks are available and the musicians' 'hat' comes round every three to four songs. Bring plenty of small change.
-
La Madriguera
Locals bill it as a 'hidden place for open ideas,' while outsiders are bowled over by the musical originality and artistic innovation on display. Welcome to La Madriguera, home to the Asociación Hermanos Saíz, the youth wing of Uneac. This is where the pulse of Cuba's young musical innovators beats the strongest. The program is varied but there is a strong bias towards the three Rs: reggaeton (Cuban hip-hop), rap and rumba.
-
Las Orishas
In the heart of Habana's Santería community, Las Orishas is a funky restaurant that at the weekends hosts live rumba music, including regular visits from the Conjunto Folklórico Nacional. The pleasant garden bar is surrounded by colorful Afro-Cuban sculptures depicting Santería deities such as Babalou Aye, Yemaya and Changó. Well off the beaten track and hard to get to at night, this quirky music venue is usually visited by foreigners in groups.
