Cuban culture arrayed across the city

Bringing together the best of the Cuba’s artistic expressions under the banner of Todo el arte de una vez (All art at the same time), is the goal of the HABANARTE festival, scheduled September 11-21. Viengsay Valdés in The Black Swan With the sponsorship of the Ministry of Culture, more than a 1,000 artists and groups will be converging on Havana for the event, turning the city into a grand stage and showcase of Cuban culture. During a press conference at the National Theater’s Delirio Habanero club, with Deputy Minister Julio Ballester on hand, the impressive program was announced, including ten days of music, dance, visual arts, handicrafts, literature, film, theater and theoretical discussions, plus tours of historical sites and museums. A musical city David Blanco, one of the participating musicians, described the event, taking place across the city and offering all genres of music, as "marvelous," while singer Waldo Mendoza said the festival represents "an important pathway opened to artists, an accomplishment for the country, for the dissemination and promotion of music, in venues for dance music, jazz, trova, bolero and song." Some of the sites to be used include the Fábrica de Arte, El Sauce, Palacio de la Rumba, Máxim Rock, Submarino Amarillo, the Hotel Nacional’s Salón 1930, Café Miramar, Karl Marx Theater, the National Theater’s Covarrubias Hall and the Salón Rosado de la Tropical. Arnaldo y su Talismán Dance music will be offered by Los Van Van, Pupi y los que Son Son, Habana de Primera, Adalberto Álvarez, La Charanga Latina, Anacaona and NG la Banda, while traditional artists include Eliades Ochoa, the Ignacio Piñeiro band and Sexteto Habanero. There will be music for all tastes: pop, rock, jazz, trova, rumba and classical presented by David Blanco, Tesis de Menta, Aldo López Gavilán and his group, Harold López Nussa with his band, the Camerata Romeu, Frank Fernández with the Música Eterna Chamber Orchestra, Buena Fe, Clave y Guaguanco, Yasek Manzano, Gerardo Alfonso and his group, Pedro Luis Ferrer, JoJazz prize-winning pianists, X Alfonso, Los Papines, Haila Mompié, Tania Pantoja, Vania Borges and Beatriz Márquez. Theater in all its diversity National Prize for Theater winner Gerardo Fulleda reported that offered during Habanarte will be "a demonstration of the diversity of our culture, opening new frontiers with our everyday audiences and visitors, so they can see what we are doing." Carlos Alberto Cremata, director de the children’s theater company La Colmenita, announced the performance of La cucarachita Martina y Los Van Van, with music by the unforgettable Juan Formell. A number of plays are scheduled, including Mefisto Teatro’s Escándalo en la trapa; Pequeño Teatro de La Habana, El flaco y el gordo; Teatro D’Dos, Contigo pan y cebolla; De la luna, Delirio habanero and Argos Teatro, El tio Vania. Dance will be represented by Cuba’s renowned companies, naturally the Ballet Nacional de Cuba (Les syphlides, The black swan, Dido abandonada); Danza Contemporánea; the Conjunto Folclórico; Habana Compás; Danza Abierta; Ballet Español de Cuba (Y lo español se baila asi), Compañía Irene Rodríguez (De lo clásico al flamenco); Ecos (also flamenco) and Habana Compas Dance (Fusión y pasión). Cinema in Havana A grand retrospective of Cuban Revolutionary cinema, with many critically acclaimed films, along with works from previous eras will be featured in the city’s main theaters. Among the most popular will surely be Hasta cierto punto, with Tomás Gutiérrez Alea’s cinematography, and Nosotros, la música, a series of documentaries focused on Cuban music and musicians. Visual arts from all times and styles During the event, the public will be able to enjoy a broad display of the best art being produced on the island. One show planned is the Sixth Contemporary Art Salon in Plaza Vieja, featuring the most avant-garde work. While at the Wifredo Lam center, opening is an exposition entitled Las otras narraciones. Una década de animación independiente, including more than 100 artists and Xl´2 in the Centro de Desarrollo and the Fototeca de Cuba. Presented in the José Martí Memorial will be a tribute to Samuel Feijoo, celebrating his centenary, and in the Servando Gallery, En el mismo tiempo, en el mismo lugar, with works by young artists and Eduardo Ponjuan, 2014 National Prize for Visual Arts winner. In addition to re-visiting the Fine Arts, Dance and Decorative Arts museums, art-lovers will have the opportunity to take in workshops with contemporary artists, including Eduardo Roca (Choco), Zaida del Rio, Nelson Domínguez, Roberto Diago and KCHO, in his Romerillo studio. Several tours have been organized by thoughtful planners, among them Havana Art Deco, Hemingways’s Havana, Cinema Havana, plus two focused on dance, including a visit to the National Ballet’s school on Prado. A cultural destination for all The festival is also directed toward attracting tourism, and the Paradiso travel agency is offering special packages for stays in hotels in Habana vieja, Vedado and Miramar. Requests have already been received from Colombia, Trinidad-Tobago, Mexico and Venezuela. Habanarte 2014 will be a great celebration of Cuban culture. The hard part? Deciding what to do in just 10 days.