Join the "Jazzcat" LeRoy Downs on a life-changing music, contemporary art, food, and cultural experience of Cuba. Immerse yourself in a spectacular selection of art by day and live Latin jazz by night during the Havana Biennial Art Festival and Jazz Plaza Festival.
Note: This itinerary is based on the musical performances from the last festival and will be adjusted as the artists confirm their participation and final concerts are announced, often just a couple of weeks before our travel. All meals and activities are included in the cost unless indicated by “cost not included.” Cuba remains a developing country and guests traveling here should adjust their expectations accordingly. Traveling to Cuba on a cultural exchange is quite unlike journeying to other destinations.
DAY 1: TUESDAY, JANUARY 28 | WELCOME TO HAVANA
Flight to Cuba. It is important to arrive more than two hours before your flight departure because checking into flights to Cuba requires a little more paperwork than flying to other places. You will need to fill out an OFAC (US Treasury) affidavit. When they ask you your reason for visiting Cuba the correct answer is “General License for Support for the Cuban People.” You will also fill out a Cuban customs and health form. If they ask you where you are staying in Cuba, you should tell them one of the hotel names and addresses below. Please hold onto your airplane ticket the entire time you are in Cuba because it has a stamp that serves as your medical insurance. It is also important to hold onto your Cuban visa card until you depart Cuba and your OFAC travel license document until you are in the United States.
Meet at Havana International Airport. The Havana airport can be confusing. Once you have your bags you can exit the airport individually. You will be greeted by our Cuban tour guide Gretell and/or Nadine Erickson, our U.S.-based tour leader who will be holding a sign for Project Por Amor. We will gather outside the airport in groups according to arrival times and transfer to our Havana hotels.
About our guide: Gretell graduated from the School of Foreign Languages at the University of Havana in English and French language in 2011. Since then, she has worked as a professional tour guide leading tours for US senators, singers, art and jazz lovers, universities, entrepreneurs, and doctors. Gretell loves art in every form. Dance and music run in her Cuban blood. She is a fan of movies and in her free time, she likes to photograph neon signs and the beauties of her Havana. On this trip she will be interpreting, coordinating activities, teaching Cuban history and culture, and meeting your expectations and needs in all domains. Her friendly personality and desire to work hard make her passionate about providing you with the best experience possible.
Transfer to Havana. During the drive, our travel staff will introduce themselves and give you some important information about Havana. Brief stop in Plaza de la Revolución to see ministries, monument to José Marti, and the colossal famous image of Che Guevara.
Check-in to Boutique Casa Italia. We will be staying in one of our favorite private hotels in Havana. This remodeled historic mansion is a classic, luxurious, and lavish house set in the Miramar neighborhood. Enjoy the swimming pool, gardens, and decor. The friendly Cuban-Italian staff serves some of the best food in the city. This is an opportunity to support independent small businesses and get to know Cuban people on a more personal level while staying in compliance with today's legal requirements for travel to Cuba under a General License for Support for the Cuban People.
5:00 pm ~ EARLY ARRIVALS: Performance. For those of you who arrive early, we will take you to a local venue like the Teatro Martí where last year we saw Danza Malpaso, a contemporary dance company based in Havana who tours the US' top performance venues regularly, pianist Arturo O'Farrill, one of NYC's top Cuban-American jazz icons, and Ted Nash, a non-Cuban grammy-award winning jazz musician from Los Angeles.
7:30 pm ~ Welcome dinner and orientation at our house. After settling in, we'll acclimate to the new time zone and trip with a welcome dinner party on the patio of our hosts at the Casa Italia. Enjoy live music and the best Cuban-Italian cuisine you'll ever eat to ease into our Havana adventure.
Concert: The Stars of Buenavista and More. Finish the evening with a tribute concert to the Buena Vista Social Club. This group of old timers will play the traditional son style which lies at the heart of Cuban music.
DAY 2: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29 | HABANA VIEJA
Please note: To best experience the historic core of Havana, we will be walking--more today than any other day. Please wear your best walking shoes and anything else that will help you be comfortable such as a hat, sunglasses, a backpack, and sunscreen. Shorts and t-shirts are fine to wear. And make sure to grab some waters from the bus in the beginning of the day. There will be many interesting things to see while we walk but we ask you to please stay together as a group. There will be plenty of time to return and visit anything on your own. If the walking is too much please let Gretell know and we can arrange an alternative accommodation that best meets your needs.
Breakfast at our villa. Our house chef will cook a traditional Cuban breakfast which usually includes café con leche, freshly squeezed tropical juice, fresh fruit, bread, cheese, eggs, and ham. Breakfast is served between 7 and 9:30 am.
10:00 am ~ Habana Vieja four plazas and contemporary art walking tour. Starting at the Plaza de la Catedral where our hotel is located, we’ll visit the collective graphic arts workshop, Taller de Gráfica. This public studio for local artists was established by Pablo Neruda and Che Guevara at the beginning of the Revolution as a place where artists living and visiting Havana work on printmaking. Next we'll see an exhibit at the Wilfredo Lam Center, the organization that produces the Havana Biennial. We'll continue on to la Plaza de las Armas, Havana’s first square and the origin point of the city’s settlement.
12:30 pm ~ Lunch at paladar Los Mercaderes. We’ll stroll down the oldest street in Havana, Calle de los Mercaderes (Merchants Street), to have lunch in a beautiful new restaurant built inside the home of the owner.
2:00 pm ~ Habana Vieja's Four plazas and contemporary art walking tour continued. We will get to know the historic core of Havana. In this UNESCO World Heritage Site, one can find extraordinary Colonial architecture of Cuban baroque and art nouveau, both well preserved and decayed, many galleries, contemporary centers, boutique museums, and little shops. The third stop is Plaza San Francisco where we'll see the Basílica and finish at the Plaza Vieja where we can see a couple of exhibits of contemporary Cuban art at two of Havana’s most important contemporary art centers, El Centro del Desarollo de Arte Contemporánea and la Fototeca de Cuba.
4:00 pm ~ Time of leisure. Continue exploring Old Havana or return to the casas in our bus to recharge your batteries, go for a swim, or take a siesta.
7:30 pm ~ Dinner at El del Frente. Enjoy specialty cocktails and mojitos in the hippest and tastiest restaurant in Habana Vieja. El Del Frente makes food and drinks that will rival any trendy restaurant in Los Angeles.
10:00 pm ~ Suggestion: Tropicana Cabaret. The Tropicana was the most famous nightclub in the world from 1939 to 1959. Built in the gardens of an early 20th-century residence, it contains one of Cuba’s most significant modern buildings, the Arcos de Cristal (1952), a thin-shell concrete structure by architect Max Borges Recio. The club continues to operate and is the only of Havana’s famous clubs to survive the Revolution. You will see the gardens and the show, which is based on the 1950s cabaret-era spectacles (optional–cost not included--talk to Gretell about reserving tickets ahead of time).
DAY 3: THURSDAY, JANUARY 30 | MATANZAS
Breakfast buffet at our hotel. Wake up to a typical Cuban breakfast spread of eggs, fruit, breads, ham, cheese, juice, and many other selections. The buffet is open daily from 7:00 - 10:00 am. Tip: for a better coffee ask one of the servers for an "espresso" or "cappucino" if you prefer foamed milk.
9:00 am ~ Depart for Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore, Matanzas is located on a bay on the northern shore of Cuba 90 kilometers east of Havana. It is called the City of Bridges, or the "Venice of Cuba," for the seventeen bridges that cross the three rivers that traverse the city. It was also called "La Atenas de Cuba" ("The Athens of Cuba") for its poets. Matanzas is known as the birthplace of the music and dance traditions of danzón and rumba.
11:00 am ~ Visit the Castle of San Severino. This castle, with its authentic central square, has great views of the Bahía de Matanzas thanks to its excellent location. It now houses the Museo de la Ruta de los Esclavos, a fascinating place to learn about Afro-Cuban history, traditions, and languages and how they transcended into the Caribbean and the Americas.
12:30 pm ~ Traditional Cuban pig roast party with live rumba. Celebrate life the Cuban way with a traditional pig roast. Joining us will be a legendary rumba group, Afrocuba, who will demonstrate how the guaguancó, columbia, and yambú music and dance.
3:00 pm ~ Visit the independent publishing house Ediciones Vigía. Founded in 1985, they produce handmade, limited-run, one-of-a-kind books. Members of the Vigía cooperative take on egalitarian roles, printing, cutting, pasting, editing, and binding each book. Watch them in action and engage in discussion about Cuban publishing.
3:45 pm ~ City tour of Matanzas. Visit the Plaza de la Vigía, Sauto Theater, Pedro Esquerré Gallery, Vigia, Casa Amigos del Danzón, Calle Medio, ACAA, Casa del Danzón, Cathedral, and Pharmaceutical Museum.
5:30 pm ~ Departure to Havana.
7:30 pm ~ Dinner and evening on your own. Return to our hotel and have dinner on your own. Options include the hotel restaurant or the many restaurants close by in Old Havana. We recommend the restaurants Jama, O'Reilly 304, or the Yarini Restaurant & Bar (see recommended restaurants section). Take the night off to recharge your batteries or see the Jazz Festival program for concerts or explore on your own (cost not included).
SUGGESTION: Ernán Lopez Nussa at Bar Fangio. We recommend checking out this fringe festival concert on the private rooftop Bar Fangio. Ernán Lopez Nussa is a good friend of ours and also one of Cuba's most legendary pianists (optional--cost not included).
DAY 4: FRIDAY, JANUARY 31 | CAPITOLIO NEIGHBORHOOD
Breakfast buffet at our hotel. Wake up to a typical Cuban breakfast spread of eggs, fruit, breads, ham, cheese, juice, and many other selections. The buffet is open daily from 7:00 - 10:00 am. Tip: for a better coffee ask one of the servers for an "espresso" or "cappucino" if you prefer foamed milk.
10:00 am ~ The Cuban Political Economy with Marc Frank. his is an opportunity to discuss the many questions about the Cuban system that you'll have at this point. Marc Frank is a well-known American author and journalist who has been living in Cuba with his family since 1993. He will tell us about how Cuba’s planned economy and political system works and doesn’t work and what changes the state is working on for the future with the new constitution, new currency system, economic reform, and many post-pandemic challenges. Marc Frank is the leading economic correspondent to Cuba for Thomson Reuters.
11:30 am ~ Detrás del muro. The popular and unique exhibition of the Habana Biennial, called Detrás del Muro (Behind the Wall), transforms Havana's famous "Malecón" into a long outdoor corridor gallery along the city's waterfront. Enjoy a series of outdoor sculptures and installation works by artists from Cuba and abroad. The exhibition stretches from Maceo Park to La Fortaleza de la Punta.
12:30 pm ~ Lunch at Cinco Sentidos. Nestled in the heart of Old Havana, Cinco Sentidos restaurant is a culinary gem that promises a sensory journey like no other. Its charming colonial-era ambiance is transformed with a chic contemporary artist flare and a menu that pays homage to the vibrant flavors of Cuban cuisine. From succulent ropa vieja to ceviche or perfectly grilled seafood, each plate tells a story of Cuba's rich culinary heritage.
2:30 pm ~ Opening at Cristina Vives Gallery and Norwegian Embassy. We will attend an opening at the gallery of Cristina Vives, Cuba's most respected independent contemporary art curator. She has played a significant role in the success of many contemporary Cuban artists who are now active in the international art world. Cristina, along with her daughter Cristinita Figueroa, supports and champions a new generation of artists, some of whom you will see in their home. They have also established a collaborative relationship with the Norwegian Embassy, which is next door to their studio, and regularly hold collaborative art events. The opening will showcase “Obsessions and Accumulations: The artists' cabinet” with works by Alexandre Arrechea, Alejandro Campins, Javier Castro, Jacqueline Maggi, Fidel García, Alejandro Gonzalez, Lorena Gutierrez, and Fernando Rodriguez.
3:30 pm ~ Afternoon free to relax or on your own. Take the afternoon without structure to visit Havana with a more spontaneous, personal, and individualized rhythm. We don’t have anything planned for the group, but we’ll be in the hotel lobby from 2:30 - 3:00 to help you figure out a good plan for the evening and make any reservations you’d like. If you’re a music lover there will be lots of concerts. If you’re not, there is a lot more to see in Havana including the Museum of the Revolution, Capitol tour, or take a stroll through Havana’s many charming and scenic neighborhoods.
5:00 pm ~ SUGGESTION: Homage to the Trova with Rodrigo Armeneiro. Rodrigo García Ameneiros live at the Teatro Martí with an all-star lineup of Cuban artists paying homage to Cuba's beloved singer-songwriter form called "trova." On stage will be greats such as Frank Fernández, Aldo López-Gavilán, the Havana Chamber Orchestra, Malva Rodríguez, Yasek Manzano, Alejandro Calzadilla, Fabio Abreu, Adner López, Olivia Rodríguez, David Faya, Roberto Álvarez, Jesús Estrada, Janio Abreu, Dayron Ortiz, X Alfonso, Rochy Ameneiro, Laritza Bacallao, David Torrens, Kiko Ruiz, Diego Gutiérrez (tickets included).
7:00 pm ~ Dinner at La Guarida. Anyone who has been to La Guarida will find it difficult to disagree that Enrique and Odeisys have managed to create their own magical home restaurant. The building, originally known as La Mansión Camagüey, shows its former grandeur from the magnificent wooden entrance door through the marble staircase up the two flights of stairs to the restaurant itself. The location is glamorized by Cuba's provocative and most iconic film “Fresa y Chocolate.” La Guarida has gone on to become one of the most popular restaurants in Cuba. On the menu is a choice of squash soup, eggplant caviar, or smoked marlin tacos for a starter; fish, chicken, or pork for the main course with sides of rice, black beans, fried yuca and plantains; and a cocktail, spring water, and coffee for dessert.
8:30 pm ~ Rooftop concert of Ramoncito Valles at La Guarida Sessions. “Valle is a more open, overly emotional piano – trio master than Brad Meldhau. Mcoy Tyner and Chick Corea are the musicians who come to mind as comparisons. He is a formidably sophisticated player rooted in Cuban jazz, but drawing on resources way beyond the usual suspects the idiom usually calls up.” - The Guardian
DAY 5: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1 | CAPITOLIO NEIGHBORHOOD
Breakfast our accommodations. Wake up to a typical Cuban breakfast spread of eggs, fruit, breads, ham, cheese, juice, and many other selections. The buffet is open daily from 7:00 - 10:00 am. Tip: for a better coffee ask one of the servers for an "espresso" or "cappucino" if you prefer foamed milk.
10:00 am ~ A Conversation on Jazz with LeRoy Downs and Cuban Jazz Artist. Start the day with freshly brewed Cuban coffee and a conversation with the L.A. "Jazzcat" LeRoy Downs to discuss, contextualize, and synthesize some of our musical experiences here in Havana. As an expert on American jazz also in Cuba for his first time, LeRoy will offer some of his thoughts on what's unique that is going on in the Cuban jazz scene. Then he will interview a Cuban jazz musician (TBA) to offer various insider perspectives on topic. This will take place in a meeting room at our accommodations, the Casa Italia.
11:30 am ~ Capitolio neighborhood walking tour. We’ll introduce ourselves to Havana by getting to know its most grand neighborhood. El Prado is one of the most exquisitely designed major avenues in all the Americas and home to the quintessential structures that define Havana, ranging from Colonial to Baroque to Neoclassical to Art Deco. Designed in 1772 by French landscape architect Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier, El Prado runs for many blocks from the dramatic fountain, La Fuente de la India, to the iconic Malecon, marking the boundary between Habana Vieja and Centro Habana. El Paseo, a marble promenade lined with a natural canopy of trees, marble benches and bronze lions was chosen by the House of Chanel for one of the most dramatic runway shows in the history of fashion. It is home to El Capitolio (1929): El Gran Teatro de La Habana (1918), home to the National Ballet of Cuba; The Bacardi Building (1930), a testament to Art Deco and dozens of other structures immortalized in photography and film for decades. El Prado encompasses all the cultural wealth that Havana has offered from the 17th to the 20th Century.
12:30 pm ~ Lunch at Paladar Ivan Chef Justo. We’ll have lunch at a nearby restaurant run by Fidel Castro’s former primary personal chef. The style of the place is thoroughly Cuban-Mediterranean, located on the second and third floors of a building that is over 200 years old. The food is nothing short of spectacular.
2:00 pm ~ Early afternoon free. Continue exploring Old Havana or return to the casas to recharge your batteries, go for a swim, or take a siesta.
6:00 pm ~ Jazz Plaza Festival Concert. It's time to hear some of Cuba's most legendary traditional bands such as Ecos del Tivolí, Orquesta Aragón, and Original de Manzanillo.
8:00 pm ~ Dinner at Tierra. Tierra is just as much about the Havana arts scene as it is about food. Built into the VIP section of the Cuban Art Factory built out of recycled shipping containers. This paladar pushes the limits of private industry and government cooperation in a 100-year-old previously abandoned cooking oil factory along the Almendares River between the Vedado and Miramar neighborhoods. We’ll enter through the front door of the FAC and get to skip the long lines that typically go around the block.
9:30 pm ~ La Fábrica de Arte Cubano (FAC). Experience Havana’s hippest new magnet for the urban and chic: an old peanut oil factory transformed into a multi-level and almost infinite art and music space exhibiting contemporary photography, installations, sculptures, three music stages, tapas, and seven bars. This new cultural hangout is an entrepreneurial project of Cuban celebrity musician X Alfonso. This “Cuban Art Factory” is a shining reflection of what the future might hold for Havana as it reemerges as the cosmopolitan trend-setting capital stronghold of Latin America that it once was.
Make sure to check out the concert in Nave 3 "The Art of Cuban Piano," paying homage to one of Cuba's great contributions to music: the piano montuno, featuring Dayramir González (Cuban-American), Emmet Cohen (US), Manon Mullener (Swiss), and Jorge Luis Pacheco (Cuban).
DAY 6: FRIDAY, JANUARY 26 | GRAND FINALE
Breakfast buffet at our hotel. Wake up to a typical Cuban breakfast spread of eggs, fruit, breads, ham, cheese, juice, and many other selections. The buffet is open daily from 7:00 - 10:00 am. Tip: for a better coffee ask one of the servers for an "espresso" or "cappucino" if you prefer foamed milk.
10:00 am ~ Ernest Hemingway’s Finca Vigía. Visit the hilltop house of American writer Ernest Hemingway where he lived from 1940 – 1960 with his wife, Martha Gellhorn, and their children. Cuba was Hemingway’s most frequented country where he wrote The Old Man and the Sea, To Have and Have Not, and For Whom the Bell Tolls. Hemingway donated his Nobel Prize to the Cuban people. His home in San Francisco de Paula has recently been the subject of a massive preservation effort by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. At this estate, you will see his sport fishing boat, the Pilar. The Finca Vigia estate and the fishing village of Cojimar are considered the most significant locales for those interested in Hemmingway’s history. We will also do a short visit to a neighborhood arts project at the Lidice Theater.
11:00 am ~ Private performance with modern dance company "Mi Compañia". Watch one of Cuba’s top contemporary dance companies under the direction of Susana Pous. We will visit a beautiful house transformed into her private dance school and company headquarters.
12:30 pm ~ Lunch at Vista Mar. Located in a mid-century modern home with an exceptional view of the Havana seafront and a piano-shaped swimming pool, this restaurant is a favorite place to catch the breeze while enjoying quality Cuban cuisine inspired by the sea.
2:30 pm ~ Havana shopping tour: Alma Shop, Clandestina, San José Artisan Market. For those of you who are interested in shopping, we’ll visit a selection of the most interesting and highest-quality Cuban designers and artisans. This is the best time to find a piece of Cuba to bring home with you for gifts or memories while supporting small Cuban entrepreneurs.
Alma. Alma stocks one of Havana's finest selections of Cuban souvenirs, from traditional straw hats to clothing, ceramics, jewelry, artwork, and many other unique, hand-made items procured locally. Feel free to get inspired by their Instagram.
Clandestina. The pioneer of independent Cuban design labels, Clandestina is a wildly popular all-female design studio that makes hip and innovative products that reflect social concepts of today’s Cuba with up-cycled clothing bears clever slogans. They also ship worldwide, a service to-date unmatched by local competitors.
Almacenes. The Almacenes San José is a huge artisan market of sprawling kiosks where hundreds of handmade souvenirs can be haggled for. It's the one stop shop for visiting pleasure cruisers looking for the largest possible selection of Cuban souvenirs, all under one roof on Havana's Bay.
4:00 pm ~ Time of leisure. Explore Havana on your own or return to the casas to recharge your batteries, go for a swim, take a siesta, or explore Havana.
5:30 pm ~ Classic convertible sunset car ride. Leaving from our hotels, we will travel to our final dinner “Havana Style” in a fleet of specially selected 1950s American convertibles that will take us on a scenic route through Havana’s most beautiful neighborhoods.
6:30 pm ~ Dinner party at artist Kadir Lopez’s house and Habana Light Neon Studio. Celebrate with a home-cooked Cuban meal in a magical setting in the tree-filled Kohly neighborhood of Havana. In his home, gallery, and studio which includes a neon shop and studio for neon sign restoration, Kadir will discuss neon, some of the restoration projects in the city, and the efforts to restore the post-war heritage of Havana. Our trip will be wrapped up with a concert from one of our own, Windy Barnes, a renown jazz singer in Los Angeles who will perform with clarinetist Coqui Calzadilla and his local Cuban jazz ensemble.
8:30 pm ~ Jazz Festival closing concert. Close out the Jazz Plaza Festival and your week in Cuba with a live concert. The concert will include an all-star list of invited artists to perform through his set.
DAY 7: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3 | ¡ADIOS CUBA!
Breakfast at our hotel. Wake up to a typical Cuban breakfast spread of eggs, fruit, breads, ham, cheese, juice, and many other selections. The buffet is open daily from 7:00 - 10:00 am. Tip: for a better coffee ask one of the servers for an "espresso" or "cappucino" if you prefer foamed milk.
Transfer to José Martí International Airport. We will bring people to the airport in groups according to departure times. You will be assisted through check in and customs.
Flights depart Havana for home cities.