THE AGENDA OF EVENTS AND CULTURE IN CUBA IN MAY

Travel to Cuba in May is a very attractive time to enjoy its varied cultural agenda. In the present times of Coronavirus, a five-day quarantine is still mandatory when entering the island, but we hope that these measures will soon be relaxed and normality will return.

In such an effervescent country the cultural Cuban agenda does not stop, but readjusts itself to the new prevailing conditions with more cultural offer online. This allows you discover cuban culture even when you are not travelling to the island in person.
We offer you a thoughtful selection of events in Cuba which will bfe part of the cultural agenda in May.
Started in 1997, the 24th International Music Fair, Cubadisco, arrives this time through the social networks and Canal Clave on Cuban television.
It is an initiative to bring the general public closer to the most recent Cuban musical proposals, especially this Ibero-American Year of Music, where Spain is a guest country.
You will be able to enjoy on Canal Clave of the shows "Concerts for a Prize" and "Two Languages" (Bis Music) which will open a call for proposals to cuban labels to Cubadisco.
This is a selection of the materials delivered for two years to the contest, which includes the cinematographic works under the title of "Documentaries for a prize".
Therefore, if you want to be up to date with what has happened in the past two years in the recording world and the Cuban music, do not miss the proposals that will be arriving periodically from the television channel dedicated especially to music.
And if you are in Havana, go ahead as soon as possible to discover the Music in Havana with one of our favourite guided tours.
The Fototeca de Cuba has organized at Gallery El Reino de este Mundo the group photo exhibition “Todos a la plaza”, which has as its central motif the Plaza de la Revolución.
It exhibits works by creators of several generations, featuring all of them the Plaza de la Revolución as the setting of important events in the history of the Cuban Revolution.
The exhibition can be visited through the social networks of the CNAP, the Biblioteca Nacional and the Fototeca de Cuba.
You will find forty-seven works by more than ten photographers who focused their lens on the old Plaza Cívica, today Plaza de la Revolución. Documentary photographs converge, along with proposals by younger creators who approach the symbol of the square from a more conceptual perspective.
If you want to discover Cuba through the historical events that have taken place around this space, as well as the reinterpretation given to it by the youngest photographers, come to the exhibition.
And if you want to take photos of the Plaza de la Revolución and other spots of Havana yourself, check out our tour : Havana for photographers.
With this exhibition you will be able to know the paths of some of the most significant names of the cuban architecture from the 80s.
These are architectural and urban revitalization projects that were never carried out between 1980 and 1993 because they were not accepted by the government.
If you come to Es Baluard Museu in Palma de Mallorca you will get to know those different architectural styles exhibited, from a typical architectural solution such as barbecue, to more well-known styles such as kitsh, the art decó and the eclecticism.
These proposals show the interest of the Cuban architects and urban planners about refreshing and updating the image of the city.
You will discover projects that disengaged from the traditional image of the cuban cities to offer a different perspective: open, utopian, futuristic and where local alternatives are recovered.
Regarding this topic, we encourage you to discover the interesting project San Isidro: Art District through our post San Isidro, an urban art district in Old Havana.
The contemporary cuban art gives way to the art of the 60's. The curatorial project “En el centro de abril” brings together the work of great cuban painters featuring the revolutionary epic style.
It is an exhibition that allows you to discover those subjects and aesthetic diversity of the visual artists of the sixties in Cuba.
This is an excellent opportunity to come into direct contact with works that belong to the collections of the National museum of fine arts and Palacio de la Revolución.
Names such as Raúl Martínez, Mariano Rodríguez and Servando Cabrera Moreno make up the list of creators, with a total of six pieces exhibited.
The selected pieces are very illustrative of the work of each painter, as is the presence of the human figure in the painting of Mariano Rodríguez, the body and homoeroticism in Servando Cabrera and the popular imaginary in pop paintings in Raúl Martínez. You can enjoy a virtual tour of the exhibition on the website of Artemorfosis.
And if you want to expand your knowledge of the work of these creators, we will take you to the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes on our city-tour Old Havana and visual arts.
With the motto "Jazz meets son" and held online, comes the 4th Matanzas Jazz Festival. It is an event full of proposals for jazz lovers.
If you are one of them, you will not want to miss the interactive lectures, allegorical concerts, archive presentations and photographic exhibitions that will take place.
To keep up with what is happening in the event you must follow it on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and YouTube. This meeting with jazz will be vice-chaired by the pianist and Cuban composer Alejandro Falcón and dedicated to the birth centenary of master Frank Emilio Flynn.
Within the musical proposal you will find the work of the Casino Bellamar orquestra, the Grupo Mestizaje, Janio Abreu and Aires de Concierto, Gastón JoJazz and Yasek Manzano.
One of the novelties will be the premiere of the DVD "Jazz with guaguancó", by Alejandro Falcón and Cuba Adentro. So, if you want to discover the most recent record production of the pianist from Matanzas, follow the event on social networks around that time.
And if you want more cuban jazz, in our tour Havana after dark you will surely find what you were looking for at Jazz Café.
Celebrating the 55th anniversary of the legendary COHIBA's brand will be a thing in the virtual event Habanos World Days. You will be able to enjoy pairings, a virtual visit to the factories, contests, conferences, launches, a virtual fair and many more attractions.
If you are passionate about the art of good smoking, one of the sections that you will want to consult will be Habanos Premiers, where videos and presentations with the most exclusive content of the event will be exhibited.
But if the world of pairing catches you, then the pairing section that will be made by experts Habanos Sommeliers will be your cup of tea.
On the other hand, you will be able to find out about the novelties of the year at the virtual fair, a virtual stand that will also host accessories and luxury items. And if you are passionate about competing, you can enter the Habanos World Challenge and put your knowledge of the Cohíba brand to the test.
When it is possible that you travel to Cuba you will surely want to discover the best brands of cigars and their factories. We have a special guided tour Tobacco in Havana so you can make up your mind on what you can taste.
Lovers of numismatics have the opportunity to participate in the call launched by the Provincial Department of Cultural Heritage of Mayabeque to participate in a virtual group exhibition.
The exhibition “Nuestra memoria sólida” will take place on the official Facebook page of the Department of Cultural Heritage of Mayabeque, in which the selected numismatic photographs will be exhibited.
They will also have additional information for those who want to research on this subject, since the date of manufacture, material and a brief review of each piece will be included in the technical sheet.
It is a very peculiar theme and it does not have a great diffusion within the cultural agenda of the island. So, if you are one of those who are passionate about numismatics, in addition to visiting the Numismatic Museum of Havana, you can swing by this exhibition.
The 1st International Exhibition of Experimental Cinema and New Media "La Mirada Inquieta" will be a space where you will be able to appreciate the proposals of Santiago filmmakers and directors of different generations.
You will have the opportunity to approach panels, conferences, film exhibitions, meetings and various premieres. Without a doubt we are talking about an event that makes it possible to value local audiovisual proposals and also analyze alternative ways of making films.
If you want to watch local film production and know the aesthetics, the various forms of production and the subjects addressed by Santiago creators in their productions, don't miss this event.
It is a very recent initiative that aims to socialize this cinema that has been emerging for several years in Santiago de Cuba although it remains unknown. If you want to be up to date, consult the social networks of the Mirada Inquieta International Festival.
And if you are passionate about the seventh art, you will surely be interested in reading our post Top 5 classic books by Cuban writers to find out which are some of those books that have inspired classic films like Cecilia Valdés.
In the city of Bayamo we will find XX Edition of Primavera Teatral Festival. If you want to be connected with cuban theater in times of pandemic, this is an excellent opportunity for you to get closer to the Cuban performing arts.
This event is aimed at groups, directors, producers, independent artists, academies and theater researchers who are interested in participating through the various digital platforms of Primavera Teatral.
They will be able to do it from various formats: videos of complete plays, teasers, tutorials, talks and conferences.
The variety of the proposals enables a true blend of diverse current artistic languages or aesthetic tendencies. You will also find tutorials, talks and workshops on different theater specialties.
The Factoría Habana gallery has gone online, at least regarding exhibitions, through social networks, and this time you can there discover the project "Artistas en Acción II".
During the months of May to June the list of artists will be led by young creators such as Alejandra González, Dania González Sanabria, Marianela Orozco and Katiuska Saavedra.
The exhibition will be part of the project Ruta y Andares by the Oficina del Historiador, and as we can see, the artists will all be women, so there is a feminist component in the curatorial proposal.
The gallery, run by the Spanish gallery owner Concha Fontenla, intends to maintain its cycle of exhibitions online and this time it will do so by exhibiting pieces of cuban female artists.
If you want to be up to date with cuban art made by women of different generations, do not miss "Artistas en Acción II", a meeting place with female proposals.
Do you want more? Get to know the studio of Cuban women artists on our tour Vedado and visual arts.
May is an excellent month for you travel to Cuba, just before the arrival of the most intense heat. If you travel this month it certainly coincides with the beginning of the rainy season in Cuba.
The rains can be intense at times, but short-lived, so you can enjoy the sun and carry out your scheduled activities and water sports.
Cuba is an everlasting summer! The climate is very stable, and the temperatures are mild throughout the year, so you can bathe in the sea and visit the best beaches and cays in Cuba all year round.
In May, furthermore, you can make the most of the day since there are ten hours of natural light, so it becomes the perfect formula for you to discover Cuba.
In addition, this is usually the low season for tourism, so you can find good deals. You will enjoy the island much calmer, without so much tourism, and this will make you feel at home.
We recommend that when you plan to travel to Cuba in May you take into account for example the celebration of "Romerías" in the city of Holguín. It is an event that will surely catch you: music, dance, carnival, art and a city that does not sleep.
You have thousands of choices to enjoy your holidays in the real Cuba and its cultural power.
From our tailor-made trips agency to Cuba , 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 in May 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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