It is almost obligatory at the end of the year to reflect on the events of the last 12 months. Many pleasing cultural offers have been presented in 2015, every day enriching the spirit and leaving indelible marks in the memories of the public.
It is precisely the public which makes the difference in Cuba. Over these past 12 months, it has been audiences, spectators, readers, film lovers, music enthusiasts, dancers who have been able to enjoy all the varied artistic manifestations presented this year.
A MUSICAL ISLAND
Cuba has frequently been described as a musical island. It is not surprising therefore that this year has seen valuable and varied musical offerings; it could even be said that music was the greatest protagonist of the last 12 months.
Several festivals embellished 2015’s cultural calendar, among them the Havana Contemporary Music Festival, an encounter which showcased thousands of works, world premiers or debuts in Cuba, presided over by maestro Guido López- Gavilán;Mozart-Havana 2015 and Les voix humaines, founded by Leo Brouwer, which given the maestros great summoning ability, brought together over 200 renowned Cuban and international artists.
A noteworthy celebration was the fifth anniversary of composer, trova singer and poet, Silvio Rodríguez’s Tour of the Neighborhoods, during which concert number 70 stood out, with performances by Buena Vista Social Club who made a stop in Havana, during their Goodbye world tour, bidding farewell to the global stage.
Without listing an exhaustive chronology of events, we recall that the last month of the year is reserved for the Jazz Plaza Festival, inaugurated by Ernán López Unza and his trio as well as U.S. group, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
The 2015 National Music Prize went to singer and composer Beatriz Márquez, one of the island’s best singers, who has seen great success in the genres of bolero, and “el feeling”, and maestro Guido López Gavilán, among the most famous composers and orchestra conductors on Cuba’s music scene.
Cubadisco was a moment to recognize the work of Cuban record labels. Two albums received the Grand Prize: Oh, yes!, by maestra Digna Guerra and the Entrevoces choir and La vuelta al mundo, by Alexander Abreu and Havana D’ Primera.
This year, Septeto Santiaguero received the Cubadisco award for Best Traditional Son and a Latin Grammy for No quiero llanto. Tributo a los Compadres, together with salsa singer José Alberto “El Canario”, from the Dominican Republic.
NOTEWORTHY VISITORS
The Cuban capital has for a long time been a place where global artists converge, this 2015 saw a plethora of visits by important figures which resulted in an always gratifying exchange between performers and the public.
Puerto Rico’s Olga Tañón, winner of five Grammy Awards, filled the Malecon, where thousands of Cubans danced to the rhythm of her music during her two-hour concert where she performed many classics such as “Cuando ya no estás,” “Bandolero” or “Muchacho malo.”
The singer and composer announced that recording of the concert will be available to buy on the international market with proceeds going to Cuban arts schools and a special education centre for children with disabilities in Santiago de Cuba, where she offered her first concert.
U.S. singer-songwriter Katy Perry, one of the most famous pop stars of the moment, visited Havana twice, although not to perform, like Beyonce and Rihanna had previous done. Perry made a stop in the capital during her Prismatic World Tour before continuing on to Puerto Rico where she performed for fans, after which she returned to Havana where she met with members of La Colmenita children’s theater company, at the group’s headquarters.
The aforementioned Festival Les voix humaines saw the participation of British tenor John Potter, Spanish flamenco singer Mayté Marín, Dulce Pontes of Portugal, Brazilian countertenor Rodrigo Ferreira, Bosnian guitarist Edin Karamazov, and German countertenor Andrea Scholl. All key figures within their respective fields.
Also performing during the event were legendary U.S. group Take 6, a huge hit with the public, showcasing the power of this talented vocal group, winner of seven Grammy Awards and five gold and platinum discs.
Invited to participate in the Habanarte Festival, offering the best examples of the capital’s culture over 10 days, former Ramones bass player CJ Ramone offered a concert to Rock fans.
Rock continued its successful run with super-band The Dead Daisies, which performed in the Maxim Rock concert space, considered to be the central hub of the genre on the island.
Featuring among the most prominent dancers to arrive to Cuba were the versatile and talented Rasta Thomas, who performed every piece with limitless charm, passion, intensity and precision. Working with Danza Contemporánea de Cuba, he bewitched with his festive, light-hearted style of dance in a modern piece entitled Give me all your love.
Thanks to the French Film Festival of Havana, the capital received one of the greatest figures of contemporary global cinema, Costa-Gravas, who told this publication that he only makes films about “stories which touch me deeply.”
A noteworthy concert of 2015 was without a doubt that of Chinese pianist, Lang Lang, one of the world’s most critically acclaimed musicians, alongside pianist and composer Chucho Valdés. The two maestros came together for a concert in the Plaza de la Catedral, in Havana’s colonial center, accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra, on that occasion conducted by Marin Alsop of the United States.
Classical music reached new heights with the return of the Minnesota Symphony Orchestra, led by Osmo Vanska from Finland, 85 years after it debuted for the first time in Havana.
The Encounter of Popular Voices, presided by Cuban singer Argelia Fragoso, this time saw the participation of Tania Libertad, who performed a mix of various Latin American styles of music with her exceptional voice, as well as that of Uruguayan composer and singer Jorge Drexler, winner of an Academy Award, who closed with the fourth edition of the festival.
The performing arts also offered some unforgettable moments, with Nederlander Worldwide Productions bringing the musical Broadway Rox to the capital, a magnificent concert with songs from Hair, Cats, Mamma Mia!, Jesus Christ Superstar, and The Phantom of the Opera. Meanwhile The Mote Carlo Ballet, directed by choreographer Jean-Christophe Maillot, presented his version of the classic Cinderella in the National Theatre’s Avellaneda Hall.
The company’s President, Princess Caroline of Monaco traveled to Havana to attend their shows, and also made a private visit to prima ballerina assoluta Alicia Alonso at the headquarters of the National ballet of Cuba.
FILM, A PASSION ON THE ISLAND
This year saw a greater number of Cuban feature-length films, some already on general release, presenting a range of themes, genres and styles by filmmakers of different generations.
No less than nine of these productions competed in the recently conluded Havana International Festival of New Latin American Cinema: El acompañante, by Pavel Giroud; La obra del siglo, by Carlos M. Quintela; Espejuelos oscuros, by Jessica Rodríguez; Caballos, by Fabián Suárez; Café amargo, by Rigoberto Jiménez; Bailando con Margot, by Arturo Santana; La cosa humana, by Gerardo Chijona; Cuba Libre by Jorge Luis Sánchez and Vuelos prohibidos by Rigoberto López.
Featuring among national films premiered this year are La emboscada, by Alejandro Gil; Fátima o el Parque de la Fraternidad, by Jorge Perugorría; La pared de las palabras, by Fernando Pérez and La ciudad, by Tomás Piard.
The Film Festival is a unique event given the wealth of pictures on offer, participation of a large number of directors from the region and focus on film lovers. A round up of the Coral winners has been published in previous editions, but we recall that Best Feature-Length film went to Chile’s Pablo Larraín for El Club.
BOOKS, A POPULAR CHOICE
Literature has a special place in Cuban cultural life. The year began in the customary way with one of the biggest cultural events on the island, the Casa de las Américas Literary Prize, which over 56 uninterrupted years has gained great prestige. An example of the consolidation of the event and growing interest from authors is the high number of contestants ever year, with more than 652 texts submitted in 2015.
We began with audiences, but now the reader’s time has arrived. Although books for personal enjoyment, the International Book Fair sees thousands of people descend upon its headquarters, the San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortress in Havana.
Cuba’s famously avid readers had the opportunity to choose from approximately 900 works during the 2015 edition (over 3,300,000 copies). India was chosen as guest country of honor brining 100,000 copies of 22 titles by Indian authors.
DANCE SEASONS, PREMIERS & FESTIVALS
Dance in 2015 saw the celebration of a global figure, the renowned prima ballerina assoluta Alicia Alonso on her 95th birthday with a beautiful gala paying tribute to her most important roles. In acknowledgement of her many contributions to national and global culture, the Cuban government decided to name the Grand Theatre of Havana the “AliciaAlonso” Grand Theatre of Havana.
In the month of April the capital sees intense days of dance take place. Seasons, premiers, festivals are held not only in theatres, but along streets and in parks; a frenzy which leaves both dancers and the public satisfied. Its also the moment when the National Dance Prize is awarded, which this year went to María Elena Llorente, one of the National Ballet of Cuba’s most outstanding performers and today one of its martyrs.
The diversity of cultural offers which characterize the island can clearly be seen during this month, during which International Day of Dance – a date designated by UNESCO in 1982 in commemoration of the birth of Jean-Georges Noverre (1727, 1810) an innovator, maestro and creator of modern ballet - is celebrated.
Over 30 companies, including Habana Compás Dance, Ecos, Narciso Medina, Ballet Español de Cuba, and Ballet del Centro Prodanza, led by Laura Alonso, showed their power to the expert Cuban audience.
Now on to an attractive event, the International Dance Festival, Urban Landscapes, Old Havana in Movement, hosted by Danza Teatro Retazos, directed by Isabel Bustos, National Dance Prize and the Huella de España Award winner.
THE WORLD OF VISUAL ARTS
The Havana Biennial is a prestigious and globally renowned event, organized by the Wifredo Lam Center. Its 12th edition transformed the city into a huge gallery, thanks to works by more than 40 guest artists, who initiated a direct dialogue with the public through their pieces located in different areas around the city.
But it was the expositions which reined throughout the year - given the importance contemporary art has been afforded in the capital - with the Post-it competition and exhibition for young artists in the Galeano, Collage Habana and ARTIS 718 galleries; collective expositions Pintura Fresca II, in Galería Habana and a presentation by maestro Tomás Sánchez in the National Museum of Fine Arts.
The end of the year was marked by the International Crafts Fair (Fiart) an expo-sales event brining together the most varied local and foreign products, such as, footwear, textiles, furniture, wax and leather pieces as well as other examples of sought after crafts.
VARIED THEATRICAL OFFERS
A highlight of the performing arts calendar was the 16th International Theatre Festival of Havana, where more than 60 groups, composed of 450 artists from 22 countries, in addition to the most outstanding Cuban collectives, offered a diverse range of performances from the experimental to the traditional.
This year’s edition paid tribute to Flora Lauten, 2005 National Prize for Theatre winner, and her group Teatro Buendía, which performed Charenton, based on Peter Weiss’ classic Marat-Sade.
MINISTERS OF CULTURE MEET
Havana played host to three important meetings during which the significance of culture as an indisputable tool to develop identity and the integration of the peoples was highlighted: the Sixth Meeting of Alba (the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America) Culture Ministers, the third meeting of sector authorities from CELAC (the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) member countries and the UNESCO Regional Workshop.
The Alba bloc (Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Granada, Nicaragua, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Venezuela) approved a statement reaffirming their commitment to strengthen cultural integration, preserve cultural heritage and focus efforts on “respect for cultural diversity among our multiethnic, multicultural and plurilingual communities.”
CELAC Culture Ministers, 18 present and other governmental representatives, approved a four point culture action plan, which should be fulfilled between 2015-2020, in which every country takes on a specific responsibility.
The agenda for the UNESCO Workshop, led by the organization’s Director-General Irina Bokova, included matters relating to the defence, conservation and fight against illegal trafficking of cultural goods and respect for diversity.
2015 has seen a varied calendar of events, it has been a culturally explosive year, culminating in an intense artistic program from December 20-Janaury 3.
