JANUARY
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MARCH
APRIL
MAY
JUNE
JULY
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
The Cubans are never shy of holding a fiesta, and through revolution and recession the country’s social calendar has always included its fair share of cerebral and celebratory happenings. Indeed, many of Cuba’s annual get-togethers are internationally renowned cultural extravaganzas that draw in movers and shakers from around the globe.
Jan 1
As well as seeing in the New Year with roast pork and a bottle of rum, Cubans celebrate the triumph of the Revolution, the anniversary of Fidel’s 1959 victory (Click here).
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First held in 1930, the International Book Fare is headquartered in Havana’s Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña Click here, but it later goes on the road to other cities. Highlights include book presentations, special readings and the prestigious Casa de las Américas prize.
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Famous for its citrus plantations, Isla de la Juven-tud celebrates the annual grapefruit harvest with this animated excuse for a party in Nueva Gerona where the guachi (grapefruit schnapps) flows freely.
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Gibara’s celebration of low- and no-budget cinema (see boxed text,) has been an annual event since 2003 when it was inaugurated by Cuban film director Humberto Sales. Events include film-showing workshops and discussions on movie-making with limited resources.
You can’t be serious! Cuba’s unique humor festival takes place in San Antonio de los Baños in out-of-the-way Havana province. Headquartered at the celebrated Museo del Humor, talented scribblers try to outdo each other by drawing ridiculous caricatures. Hilarious!
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May 1
Hundreds of thousands of flag-waving Cubans converge on Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución Click here on Labor Day to witness military parades and listen to impassioned annual ‘worker’s day’ speeches. It’s a fantastic spectacle, even if you’re lukewarm about the polemics.
1st week of May
This religious festival Click here takes place in the city of Holguín and culminates with a procession to the top of the city’s emblematic Loma de la Cruz, a small shrine atop a 275m hill.
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late Jun
Cuba’s celebration of country music and the witty 10-line décimas (stanzas) that go with it takes place about 3km outside unassuming Las Tunas at Motel Cornito, the former home of erstwhile country-music king Juan Fajardo ‘El Cucalambé.’
last weekend of Jun
This feisty carnival in Trinidad is a showcase for the local vaqueros (cowboys), who gallop with their horses through the narrow cobbled streets.
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Jul 26
On this day the Cubans ‘celebrate’ Fidel Castro’s failed 1953 attack on Santiago’s Moncada Barracks (see boxed text,). The event is a national holiday and – in the days when Castro enjoyed better health – the loquacious leader was famous for making five-hour speeches. Expect un poco (a little) politics and mucho (much) eating, drinking and being merry.
end of Jul
Arguably the biggest and most colorful carnival in the Caribbean, the famous Santiago shindig Click here is a riot of floats, dancers, rum, rumba and more. Come and join in the very caliente (hot) action.
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Organized by the Asociación Hermanos Saíz – a youth arm of Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba (Uneac; Union of Cuban Writers and Artists) – the annual Havana Hip-Hop Festival is a chance for the island’s young musical creators to improvise and swap ideas (Click here).
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The Barbarian of Rhythm is remembered in this biannual celebration of his suave music, headquartered in the singer’s small birth town of Santa Isabel de las Lajas in Cienfuegos province (see boxed text,).
Sep 8
Religious devotees from around Cuba partake in a pilgrimage to the Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Cobre near Santiago to honor Cuba’s venerated patron saint.
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Hosted by the Cuban National Ballet, this annual festival brings together dance companies, ballerinas and a mixed audience of foreigners and Cubans for a week of expositions, galas, and classical and contemporary ballet. It has been held in even-numbered years since its inception in 1960.
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Considered one of the most important manifestations of Cuban campesino (country person) culture, this esoteric fiesta in Ciego de Ávila settlement of Majagua splits the town into two teams (red and blue) who compete against each other in boisterous dancing and music contests (see boxed text,).
late Nov
The popular Havana marathon draws between 2000 and 3000 competitors from around the globe. It’s a two-lap course though there are also races for half-marathon, 10km and 5km distances.
Intrinsically linked to Cuban jazz maestro, Chucho Valdés Click here, the International Jazz Festival is staged in the Karl Marx, Mella and Amadeo Roldán theaters in Havana, and draws in top figures from around the world for some truly memorable concerts.
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The internationally renowned film festival (www.habanafilmfestival.com) held in cinemas across Havana illustrates Cuba’s growing influence in Latin American cinema worldwide (Click here).
Dec 17
Every year on this day Cubans descend en masse on the venerated Santuario de San Lázaro Click here in Santiago de las Vegas, on the outskirts of Havana. Some come on bloodied knees, others walk barefoot for kilometers to exorcize evil spirits and pay off debts for miracles granted.
Dec 24
A firework frenzy that takes place every Christmas Eve in Remedios in Villa Clara province, Las Parrandas sees the town divide into two teams who compete against each other to see who can come up with the most colorful floats and the loudest bangs!
Dec 24
Didn’t like Las Parrandas? Then try Las Charangas, Havana province’s cacophonous alternative to the firework fever further east. The town splits into the exotically named Espino de Oro (Golden Thorn) and Ceiba de Plata (Silver Ceiba).