Events and Cultural agenda in Cuba in March

March is coming with very attractive cultural proposals.

Havana is still in lockdown due to Covid-19 pandemic in Cuba, but this does not prevent us from enjoying the cultural Cuban agenda at its best through social networks.
While many traditional events have had to be postponed -such as the expected Fiesta del Tambor-, as usual we propose those still scheduled events, yet adapted to the new times.
This month has very important dates that mark the cultural calendar of the island, making it an ideal month to travel to Cuba in March.

Among them is March 8, International Women Day. On this date, workshops, meetings, talks, exhibitions and musical concerts are usually held.

On the other hand, there are cultural proposals scattered throughout the country regarding other subjects: exhibitions of visual arts, projection of documentaries, online concerts, etc.
As usual, we suggest ten cultural proposals, inside and outside the island, that will surely delight you if you are a lover of the Cuban artistic expresions. The cuban photography currently has many young representatives who have been developing a conceptual proposal.
Among them cuban artist Ricardo Miguel Hernández, stands out, with a pop-menial-vernacular proposal.
If you want to discover his work you cannot miss the exhibition “Cuando la memoria se convierte en polvo II” held through platform El Pran Project and curated by Yenny Hernández Valdés.
Surely you will feel identified with the images which are the base of the photographer work. He rescues those pictures that we all have at home kept in family albums.
You will be able to appreciate a series of photo collages where the artist subverts the real image through the incorporation of new elements that modify the original concept and proposal.
Ironic, suspicious and even with a certain nuance of humor, it is this way that we get these images achieved based on the manipulation of the original file.
And if you want to enjoy Havana through the lens of other cuban photographers and discover those highly photographic spots, check our tour: Havana for photographers.

The cuban literature will be displayed in the city of Austin, Texas, through the screening of four documentaries sobre tres importantes figuras: José Lezama Lima, Severo Sarduy and Eliseo Alberto Diego.

These documentaries were produced in the 2010s by the renowned documentary makers Oneida González and Gustavo Pérez-Fernández; Ernesto Fundora; Jorge Dalton and Adriana Bosch.
If you want to get closer to the world of letters, discovering great Cuban writers from the 20th century, this documentary cycle will be the ideal opportunity for you.
With these audiovisual materials you will discover what unites these figures: their resistance to the censorship and political repression of the country.
And if you are curious to know that colonial Havana where they developed a large part of their literary work, you will be up to joining our tour: Colonial Havana.
The event is organized by University of Austin professor César A. Salgado, although it is also sponsored by the Benson Latin American Studies and Collections and the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies.
If you want to be aware of the schedule of the screenings and sign up for talks with the producers, you can access the sign in page.

We get more online exhibition , now featuring young women artists.

It is a virtual exhibition in which you will be able to appreciate the work of women artists, where you will discover many cuban creators, such as: Ailén Maleta San Juan, Lianet Martínez Pino, Paola Martínez Fiterre, Eliane Padrón and Alicia Rodríguez Alvisa.
This exhibition intends to highlight precisely the work of the female collective based on the particularities that it has when it comes to inserting itself in the art world.
They address those problems that artists face in the process of production and exhibition of their pieces.
If you approach this proposal, you will discover the work of multimedia artists working on photography, performance and audiovisual.
Under the curatorship of Yudinela Ortega, the exhibition will be showcased online at the following link by Art Code Space.
If you want to get an insight vision of the proposal of cuban female artists, surely you will be interested in the work of Lidzie Alvisa, whose studio we show you in our tourVedado and visual arts.

For lovers of figurative painting and the classic landscape theme we present this personal exhibition of the young Cuban artist Richard Somonte.
It is the first exhibition of the artist in Madrid, in a well-known gallery within the network of Madrid galleries.
Located in Barrio de las Letras, My Name is Lolita Art hosts the work of Richard Somonte with the exhibition “Línea y Montaña”.
The works that make up the exhibition were developed by the artist expressly for this exhibition.
It is made up of nineteen pieces, the majority in oil / canvas and in various formats, full of extruding colors, mountains and lines that cross them.
If you are in Madrid during the month of March, do not miss the opportunity to swing by to discover the work of the young Cuban promise.
But also if you are not in the city at that time, you also have the opportunity to virtually visit the exhibition through a virtual 360º tour.

For lovers of Cuban classic music we propose this event, which is traditionally held at the UNEAC in Villa Clara, but this year will be held for the first time online and with international participation.

The XXV edition of the Festival "A Tempo con Caturla" will have a guest of honor such as the master Chucho Valdés.
Therefore, the musical quality will be guaranteed: the Maestro José Antonio Méndez Valencia and the National Music Awards, Edesio Alejandro and Huberal Herrera will be honored.
Big names resound within this musical proposal. So if you are one of those who fully enjoys chamber music, this festival is a must for you.
Vocal soloists and instrumentalists, as well as chamber, choral, symphonic, folkloric and even electroacoustic music groups come to the doors of the festival. Whatever you like, you will have no excuse to miss this ensemble of Cuban music!
And if you want to continue with the musical delight, come to those emblematic places of the Cuban music which you can discover in our tourMusic in Havana.

Santiago de Cuba annually celebrates the Santiago Álvarez International Documentary Festival since 1999.

In 2021, it will be held on social networks and television so that we can keep on enjoying Cuban documentaries.
If you are a lover of cinema and documentary materials, you will have the opportunity to discover the life and work of a big figure in documentary genre in Cuba: Santiago Álvarez.
In addition, if you are interested in knowing the host city of this event, we encourage you to check the excursions we have organized in Santiago de Cuba, so that you discover its wonders.
In this edition, the festival will not be competitive, but you will be able to enjoy documentaries by Santiago Álvarez, from different editions of Noticiero ICAIC and a panel dedicated to Alvarez's contributions to documentary cinema.
There will also be broadcasting of award-winning works from previous years, as well as the panel discussion between academics from Cuba, Brazil, Venezuela and Argentina.

Jazz music is enjoying good health on the island of Cuba. From the Jazz Plaza to this jazz festival and contest organized by the Casa de Iberoamérica and the Provincial Culture Department of Holguín. It shows that in Cuba there is a lot of musical art.

This contest aims to encourage the creation and interpretation of this genre in young national and foreign jazz musicians, whose ages are between 16 and 35 years old.
Therefore, if you are in Holguín during those days, you will experience a great cultural movement. Conferences, conversations and audiovisual projections will create an environment conducive to enjoyment. You will be in direct contact with the most relevant of new cuban jazz as well as international figures.
In addition, the attendance of personalities such as Gerardo Piloto, Ramón Valle, William Roblejo and Michael Herrera is also confirmed.
Join the jazz party in Holguín and be part of this Cuban musical scene. You can discover it as well through the spots we recommend in our postTop custom private long weekend in Havana.

This event will be held virtually for the first time since its creation in 2006. It will be dedicated to Mayra Navarro, founder of the contest.

The meeting will feature the presentation of one-man shows and collective or group performances in unconventional spaces.

Each participant, each storyteller in the world will be able to send the videos with their stories - duration 2 min maximum - and they will be posted on facebook.

From there you can enjoy the magic that is created by storytellers from Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and Africa.

But also the radio in this edition will become the ideal means for the broadcasting of the event. Beatriz Quintana, director of the NarrArte, project that organizes this biennial meeting, confirms that the radio will be the main platform to spread the art of telling stories out loud.

Let's return to the traditional support of radio and social media platforms to be seduced by the voice of professionals in the oral narration.

Santiago de Cuba is the headquarters of the Estudio Teatral Macubá, who convenes the IV Young Theater Festival "Repique por Mafifa.

It will be showcased through Facebook and you will be able to appreciate images and videos of staging, performances, public interventions and works in progress.
Led by the playwright Margarita Borges, the event aims to promote the contemporary theater and focuses specially on illustrating theatrical resistance in times of pandemic.
Likewise, it is a space which supports and makes the figure of women in the art scene visible.
It is an excellent opportunity to get closer to cuban theater and keep up to date with what happens on Cuban stages.

The Salsa Festival in Cuba it is one of the most anticipated events every year.

Organized by cuban music Maykel Blanco, it has become one of the leading salsa events in Latin America.
This year due to the situation marked by the pandemic it will not be possible to hold its sixth edition. However, the organizing team did not want to make a pass and looked for a new alternative.
If you are a salsa lover and you like to dance to the rhythm of the traditional cuban music you can do it from a distance.
The event will take place on digital platforms and on television. Five television programs will be presented at the end of March - with channel, date and time yet to be defined.
In addition, within the virtual activities there are 1h-long performances of emblematic groups playing this musical genre.
You will not stop moving your body to the rhythm of the Salsa Mayor orchestra and enjoy other artists such as Alexander Abreu, José Luis Cortés, Giraldo Piloto, Haila, Elito Revé and Los Van Van.
And if you want to discover spots to dance in Cubafollow the recommendations in our tour:Havana and salsa.

March is a very nice month to discover Cuba, a time of transit between the “Cuban winter” and the arrival of the “Caribbean spring”.

Its temperature is still very pleasant, it ranges between 23ºC and 29ºC. And if you wonder if you can take a dip in best beaches and cays in Cubathe answer is yes! The water temperature remains around 24ºC.

Cuba is an eternal summer! The weather is very stable and mild throughout the year.

You will not have to deal with the tropical rainy season that normally begins around April, and the humidity is even usually lower than in summer, so discovering Cuba in March is a totally recommendable time.

March meets the weather requirements for those who intend to travel to Cuba in search of sun, fresh air, beaches, nature tourism and for the most urbanites as well, and although it is still high season, it really is a time less crowded with tourists.

As you can see, to enjoy the real Cuba and its cultural power, options are not lacking, even though we are in a context marked by the “new normal”.

From our custom made travel agency CubaUnique , we suggest you don't miss any of our recommendations to travel to Cuba without complications.
We suggest some of our most popular organized tours to Cuba , and, if possible, spend at least 10 days in Cuba to avoid missing the essentials, and above all, we recommend that you closely follow our suggestion of activities on the blog if you plan a cultural trip to Cuba to keep you up to date on the events you don't want to miss.
Unique experiences to discover Havana, Honey moon to Cuba, group trips with friends, students trips, family vacations, corporative trips …

Culture is universal! Do you dare to enjoy the diverse Cuban culture?

Julienne López Hernández
Degree in History of Art
www.artisticulturaltheory.com

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