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Havana Contemporary Music Festival NOVEMBER 13 - 19, 2016 HAVANA CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FESTIVAL The 29th Annual Havana Contemporary Music Festival will be performing a full concert of Cascadia Composers! We invite you to travel to Cuba with us for a unique insider’s experience of their art & music during this historic era. Going on this trip will also help bring Cuban composers to Portland for a concert. Become part of our bridge between contemporary American and Cuban music! Dear Friends of the Cascadia Composers, Dear Friends of Cascadia Composers, NACUSA, Cascadia Composers is so excited to oer its patrons an unprece- dented opportunity to be part of our groundbreaking cultural exchange program with Cuban composers. Our patron tour is more than incredible. From the ve star hotel, the world famous restau- rants, our expert Cuban guide, and inclusion in Havana’s vibrant arts and cultural landscape, this people-to-people cultural tour will oer travelers an unforgettable experience. As our patrons are learning about the history of Cuba and experienc- ing the country’s art and culture, members of Cascadia Composers will be part of an artist delegation that will interact more closely with Cuban musicians and will take part in Havana’s Contemporary Music Festival. Many activities for patrons and composers will overlap. is plan will make it possible for patrons to experience the musical life of Havana is a way that would not be possible for partic- ipants of other Cuban tours. With so much world strife today, the time is ripe for Americans to welcome opportunities to build relationships with people of other countries. What better way of creating friendships with people of one of the most musical nations in the Americas than for our com- posers to visit Cuba and their composers to visit us in Portland. We welcome you on our journey. If you would like to nd out more about the patron tour, please contact Sage Lewis at [email protected] For more infor- mation about the artist-only delegation, contact David Bernstein at [email protected]. Best Wishes, Jan Mittelstaedt President Cascadia Composers, NACUSA Itinerary PLEASE NOTE: is schedule is subject to minor changes between now and the trip dates. DAY 1, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2015 | MIAMI TO HAVANA Meet in Miami International Airport. Arrival time to be determined. 10:00 am ~ Arrive in Havana 11:30 am ~ Orientation and Walking Tour of Prado. To begin our trip we will get acquainted with Havana’s neighborhood constructed just after the independence from Spain and the formation of the Republic of Cuba. Bordering Old Havana and Central Havana municipalities, this area is notable for signicant architectural structures that exemplify the early 20th Century urban center. We will start from the capitol building (1929) modeled on the U.S. Capitol, the Grand eater (1915), walk through Central Park (1877), and see the Neo-Moorish style Inglaterra (1879) and Sevilla (1908) hotels. We’ll walk down the famous Promenade, El Paseo del Prado (1929), considered in its time as one of the greatest open spaces in the world, designed by French landscape designer JCN Forestier. Here we’ll see the original Bacardí building (1930), an example of tropical Cuban Art Deco and the National Museum of Fine Arts Cuban Collection designed by Cuban architect Alfonso Rodriguez Pichardo (1955). 12:30 pm ~ Welcome Lunch at La Guarida Paladar. Anyone who has been to La Guarida will nd it dicult to disagree that Enrique and Odeisys have managed to create their own magical home restaurant. e building, originally known as La Mansión Camagüey, shows its former grandeur from the magnicent wooden entrance door through the marble staircase up the two ights of stairs to the restaurant itself. e location for a classic scene from Cuba’s most iconic lm “Fresa y Chocolate,” La Guarida has gone on to become one of the most popular restaurants in Cuba. 2:00 pm ~ Private In-Home Opera Performance 3:30 pm ~ Arrive at the Hotel Melia Cohiba and Check-in to Your Rooms. Located on the sea in the central and modern Havana neighborhood of El Vedado, this is an ideal 5-star hotel to stay in. We’ll check into our rooms and get a chance to rest before our rst night out. 7:00 pm ~ Dinner at Rio Mar Paladar with Cascadia Composers. Eat dinner with the Cascadia Composers where the Almendares river meets the Carribean Sea dividing the El Vedado and Miramar neighborhoods. ese private home restaurants called “paladares,” along with other types of small businesses, are nascent experiments in Cuban entrepreneur- ialism. 9:00 pm ~ Night Activity. After dinner we will attend a music or dance performance, to be determined, depending on what is happening in the city that night. Such activities could include the National Ballet, National Contemporary Dance Company, National Symphony Orchestra, jazz concerts, salsa clubs, Tropicana Cabaret, drag shows, baseball games, boxing matches and many other attractions of the Havana nightlife (optional - price not included). DAY 2, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14 | INTRO TO CUBAN MUSIC 9:00 am ~ Breakfast at the Hotel. We will eat breakfast at the hotel every morning. e buet opens as early as 7:00 am daily and goes until 10:00 am. 9:00 am ~ Discussion on Cuba-U.S. Relations with Professor Raul Rodriguez. Participate in a stimulating presentation and discussion about the past, present, and future of our country’s relations with Cuba. Raul Rodriguez is a Cuban professor of U.S. history at the Universidad de la Habana and an internationally recognized and published scholar on US-Cuba relations. 10:30 am ~ Music Concert and Presentation by Charanga Siglo XX. One of Cuba’s oldest and most revered charanga bands will perform a private didactic concert to demon- strate and distinguish the many styles of traditional Cuban music as it evolved from danzon to son to son-montuno, to mambo, and into what we know today as salsa. Between each song will be a description and discussion of the style. 12:00 pm ~ Lunch at Café Litoral. Have lunch on the Malecón’s most popular café. is buet includes fresh vegetables from Finca Marta. 1:30 pm ~ Batá Workshop with “Obba Irawo” in Centro Habana. is family of master Afro-Cuban drummers, under the direction of Octavio Rodriguez Rivera, will give us a 60-minute workshop that breaks down the complex drumming, song, and dance patterns that are used in Cuba to communicate directly to the African gods. Octavio is considered one of the foremost authorities on Afro-Cuban folkloric music. He began his study of percussion in the 1970’s with master and Omo Aña drummer Papo Angarica. He was a professor at the National Art School and he participated for a long time in carnivals in the comparsas of Andrés Escandon (BAYOYA). e Cascadia Composers will be joining us for this activity. 3:30 pm ~ Afternoon Free. Take some free time in the afternoon to attend the Havana Contemporary Music Festival. You can also take this opportunity to explore Havana in small groups or rest at our hotel. 6:00 pm ~ Opening Concert of the Havana Contemporary Music Festival. Join Cascadia Composers, Havana’s intellectual music community, and other composers from around Latin America in the opening night concert of the 29th Annual Contemporary Music Festival. is Festival is a healthy attempt to familiarize local audiences--who sometimes seem to be tied to the sounds of Romanticism—with the latest in contempo- rary music. Cuba’s most outstanding chamber orchestras and electro-acoustic groups will perform new works by renowned Cuban and international composers. You will have Festival badges that will allow you to get into any contemporary music concert throughout the week. 8:00 pm ~ Dinner and Evening On Your Own. Split into small groups to explore Havana’s booming new foodie scene. We’ll recommend options and make reservations at the best restaurants in town such as El Cocinero, Doña Eutimia, Vista al Mar, Le Chan- sonnier, El Atelier, La Moraleja, and El Chanchullero. is is an opportunity to experience the city and practice your Spanish skills in a more personal way. (optional – cost not included). DAY 3, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15 | ART OF OLD HAVANA 8:45 am ~ Breakfast at the Hotel. 9:00 am ~ Overview of Havana and its History with City Planner Wilfredo Benitez. Wilfredo Benitez is a renowned Cuban art and architecture historian and manager of the Ludwig Foundation. He is an expert on the historical development of Havana and will give a glimpse into the history of Cuban architecture, from the Colonial era to 1950s modernism and today. is will deepen your understanding of the city while we explore its many neighborhoods. 10:30 am ~ Private Performance of Camarata Romeu. Visit the beautifully restored Basílica San Francisco de Asis to experience a private performance of the rst all women string orchestra in Latin America. Under the direction of Zenaida Romeu, Camarata Romeu is one of Cuba’s most extraordinary classical music ensembles. is non-govern- mental independent music group frequently tours internationally and performs new works of numerous Cuban and other Latin American composers. 12:00 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. 1:30 pm ~ More Plazas and More Contemporary Art. After lunch Curator Gretel Medina will guide us through an exhibit of contemporary Cuban art at one of Havana’s most important contemporary art museums, El Centro del Desarollo de Arte Contem- poránea.
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