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Music & Culture Festivals in Havana
Festival Internacional Jazz Plaza
Cuba's capital and cultural nerve centre, a city of crumbling colonial grandeur where son, rumba, Afro-Cuban jazz, and trova coexist in a music scene largely unchanged by commercial pressures.
Run by Instituto Cubano de la Musica, with published dates and a real program.
Dates & details verified against: The institution itself ↗
Why here
The Festival Internacional Jazz Plaza is where Cuban jazz shows its full range, on its home ground. Started in 1980 by the pianist and singer Bobby Carcasses and now run by the Instituto Cubano de la Musica, it turns Havana over to a week of concerts across the city, from the Teatro Nacional and Teatro Mella to hotel ballrooms and the small club at La Zorra y El Cuervo, then spreads to Santiago de Cuba and Santa Clara. The line-ups mix the giants of Cuban jazz, Chucho Valdes and the players around him, with visiting artists from across the Americas and Europe. It is the island's most important music event and doubles as the launch pad for its next generation of players.
Best months
The festival runs about a week in late January, sometimes tipping into the first days of February. Concerts spread across theatres, clubs and hotels in Havana, with parallel programmes in Santiago de Cuba and Santa Clara. January is dry-season Havana, cool and comfortable. Buy tickets for the marquee theatre shows early; the late-night club jams are where players sit in with each other.
Getting there & around
Everything happens in central Havana and is walkable or a short classic-cab ride apart. Programmes are announced only a few weeks out through the Instituto Cubano de la Musica, so plan flexibly and confirm venues on arrival. The famous club sessions run late and fill up, so arrive early for a seat.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (1)
Instituto Cubano de la Musica
OrganizerThe Instituto Cubano de la Musica is the Cuban state body that oversees the island's music institutions and runs its major festivals, including the Festival Internacional Jazz Plaza. Based in Vedado, Havana, it coordinates the programming and venues that turn the city over to a week of concerts each January, from grand theatres to the small late-night jazz clubs.