Arts & Culture
December 2014Havana Jazz Festival
The Buena Vista Social Club gave Cuban music an international reputation, and Havana is a city that is permeated with music - son, hiphop, reggaeton, salsa, and - of course - jazz.
Cuban jazz legend Chucho Valdés is the artistic director of the Jazz Festival and founder of the group Irakere, which featured the world-famous Arturo Sandoval. The official headquarters of the Festival is the newly-restored Hotel Riviera de la Habana. The Casa de la Cultura Plaza, Teatro Nacional de Cuba, Teatro Amadeo Roldán, Teatro Mella and Teatro Karl Marx also host performances.
The Havana Jazz Festival attracts a consistently high-calibre international line-up, and in the past has featured stellar performers such as Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach and Charlie Haden. It is also a showcase for Cuban and South American jazz musician and Latin jazz.
The atmospheric city of Havana provides a suitably moody backdrop, with its colonial-era architecture, decaying grandeur and vibrant street life.
