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Cuba
Calendar Of
Events
& Public Holidays |
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2007 Calendar of Events
and Public Holidays
N.B. These dates are
subject to change annually |
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has a packed schedule of festivals, congresses, and carnivals, and it
seems like more are being offered each year. |
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1 January |
Liberation Day |
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Second week of February |
International
Book Fair,
Havana. This large gathering of authors, publishers, and distributors is
really only of interest to those who can read in Spanish. But if you
can, this is an excellent Latin American book fair.
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Late February |
Habanos
Festival,
Havana. Cigar smokers won't want to miss this annual celebration of the
Cuban stogie. Run by the official state cigar company, Habanos, S.A.,
events include lectures, factory visits, tastings, and a gala dinner
with an auction of rare cigars. For more information, visit
www.habanos.com. |
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Mid-March |
International
Festival of "La Trova" Pepe Sαnchez, Santiago de Cuba. If you like the sounds of traditional
Cuban folk music, you'll want to hit this festival. Buena Vista Social
Club member Eliades Ochoa was charged with organizing the latest
version. Local Santiagueros are the heart of the festival, but singers
and groups come from the entire island and throughout Latin America.
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Mid-March |
Celebration of
Classic Cars,
Havana. Recognizing the appeal of its huge fleet of classic American
cars, Cuba has organized a weeklong celebration of these Detroit
dinosaurs. Events include lectures, mechanical workshops, and parades.
Owners from other countries are encouraged to bring their wheels to
Cuba, and a caravan from Havana to another colonial city is usually
orchestrated. |
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Mid-April |
International
Percussion Festival PERCUBA, Havana. This large meeting of percussionists draws national and
international scholars and players working in genres ranging from
classical to fusion. Lectures, workshops, concerts, and colloquiums are
all part of a dense bill. Call tel. 7/203-8808 or visit
www.cult.cu for more information. |
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May 1 |
Labor Day |
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May 1 |
May Day parades,
nationwide. If you're in Cuba for May Day, the traditional socialist
celebration of Labor Day, you'll want to join (or at least watch) one of
the many parades and public gatherings. The big daddy of them all takes
place at the Plaza de la Revoluciσn in Havana, where over 100,000 people
usually gather to listen to Fidel's annual May Day speech. |
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Late June |
International
Festival "Boleros de Oro," Havana. You'll be crying in your mojito . . . and loving it. Theaters,
clubs, and concert halls across Havana will be filled with the sweet and
melancholy sounds of bolero. Concerts are also staged in Santiago
and other major cities. |
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July 25-27 |
Celebration of the National Rebellion |
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July 3 to 9 |
Fiesta del
Fuego,
Santiago de Cuba. This event features lectures, concerts, parades, and
street fairs celebrating Afro-Caribbean culture. Speakers, guests, and
musical groups from around the Caribbean are usually invited. For more
information, e-mail caribe@cult.stgo.cul.cu.
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Mid- to late July |
International
"Old Man and the Sea" Billfish Tournament,
Playas del Este, Havana. Marina Tararα is the host to this annual
big-game fishing tournament. Call tel. 7/897-1462 for more
information.
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Second half of July |
Carnival,
Santiago de Cuba. The most "African" city in Cuba throws an excellent
annual carnival. Street parties and concerts are everywhere, and the
colonial city is flooded with masked revelers and long conga lines.
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August 3 to 15 |
Carnival,
Havana. Although not nearly as colorful or charismatic as Santiago's
Carnival, there's still a good dose of public merriment, street parties,
open-air music concerts, and the occasional parade.
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Beny Morι
International Festival of Popular Music, Cienfuegos. Although he was actually born a few
kilometers away in the little hamlet of Santa Isabel de las Lajas, he is
celebrated here with a heavy schedule of concerts throughout most of the
latter part of August, and sometimes into September. |
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Carnival,
Matanzas. If you're looking for a good time, try to get to Matanzas
during the third week of August. Although not as massive or elaborate as
Carnival celebrations in Havana or Santiago, Matanzas still puts on a
good party. The town has strong Afro-Cuban roots, and you'll experience
this in body, flesh, food, and song throughout the week. |
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September 8 |
Fiesta de la Virgen del Cobre,
El Cobre, Santiago de Cuba.
Cuba's national
saint, the Virgin of Cobre, is revered by Roman Catholics and Santeras
alike. There are pilgrimages to her altar in the small town of El Cobre,
and celebrations in her honor nationwide.
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Late September |
International
Blue Marlin Tournament,
Havana. The Marina Hemingway is the fitting site for this annual
big-game fishing tournament. For more information, call tel.
7/204-6848 or check www.cubanacan.cu. |
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October 10 |
Day of Cuban Culture |
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October 10 to 20 |
Days of Cuban
Culture,
nationwide. In yet another show of Cuba's omnipresent anti-colonial
spirit, the period traditionally marking Christopher Columbus's
stumbling upon the New World are given over to celebrations of Cuban and
Afro-Cuban culture.
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Mid-October |
International
Festival "Matamoros Son,"
Santiago de Cuba. The silky sounds of Cuban son fill the streets
and theaters of Santiago. Organized by the reigning champion of the
genre, Adalberto Alvarez, this is a great chance to hear a solid week of
some wonderful music. Visit www.cult.cu for more information.
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Late October |
Havana
International Ballet Festival,
Havana. Alicia Alonso is amazingly still going strong, and the Cuban
National Ballet is still one of the most highly regarded troupes on the
planet. Alicia uses this cache to stage a wonderful annual international
festival in the Gran Teatro de La Habana. For more information, call
tel. 7/855-3084 or visit www.balletcuba.cu. |
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Mid-November
to
Mid-December. |
Havana Biennale,
Havana. This is one of the premier Latin American art shows, bringing
together and exhibiting a wide range of contemporary Latin American
artists working in a broad range of mediums and styles. Occurring in
even-numbered years from mid-November to mid-December. |
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Early December |
International
Festival of New Latin American Film Festival, Havana. This is one of the premier film festivals in
Latin America. A packed schedule of films is shown in theaters over a
period of 10 days throughout Havana, but predominantly in Vedado. For
more information, check out www.habanafilmfestival.com.
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Mid-December |
International
Jazz Festival,
Havana. This festival has had its ups and downs, and has struggled to
find its annual slot. It seems to have found its groove, dovetailing
with the film festival and organized for the past couple years by none
other than Chucho Valdιs. The festival usually draws a handful of top
international bands and soloists to share the stage and billing with a
strong stable of Cuba's best jazz talents.
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Late
December |
Las Parrandas,
Remedios. This extravagant public carnival features late night parades
with ornate floats, costumed revelers, and a serious amount of
fireworks. The big event occurs on December 24, but between the
preparations, practice runs, and smaller imitations in neighboring
towns, you'll be able to catch some of the excitement throughout most of
late December. |
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Note that Christmas Day has been observed as a public holiday since the
Pope's visit in 1997 |
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