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OUR CONTRIBUTORS We are deeply indebted to all of the writers and photographers who have shared their work with us. We welcome new contributors and would love hear from you if you have a Cuba-related project. Photo by Ana Lorena EDITORIAL So, President Obama, Michelle and the kids came for Spring Break to Havana, mother in law in tow to keep an eye on things. As if that wasn’t enough, two days after they left, the largest rock band in the world played to 1 200 000 people in the biggest and best music concert Havana has seen in a generation. I loved the mix from the young cool reggaetonero to the pensioners whose last concert was before the young hipsters were born. And before anyone says anything about has-beens who stick around for too long, hats off to the incredible Mick Jagger who at age 72 can still move around a stage like no one else. This issue is taking as its inspiration Mick’s moves on the dance floor and covering Dance in Cuba in its entirety. The starting point is Havana City in Motion: Modern Dance Festival in Old Havana, one of Havana’s truly best festivals that brings alive the old city with a riotous assemble of performances from around the world (April 6-19, 2016). This is run by the incomparable Isabel Bustos, who is a true spitfire in her own right. Staying on a modern bent, the Havana Queens Party is something to behold as is the incredibly talented Miguel Iglesias’ Danza Contemporánea. Turning to the more traditional, we pay a visit to the house of Rumba in Havana’s Cayo Hueso district and review Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba. Coming back to the house of salsa, we strongly recommend Ritmo Cuba’s Salsa Festival, which mixes the best of Cuban salsa dancers with a strong international contingent. Salsa’s Coming Home! Moving to Spanish dance, where better to start than with an army of little girls in long skirts, a story that goes a long way to explaining the profound talent, which appears later on as shown, by Irene Rodríguez. Our dance section closes out with the two titans of Cuban ballet, Alicia Alonso and Carlos Acosta. Past and Present. The Gran Teatro de la Habana has just reopened following a loving restoration and has been named after the Grand Dame of Cuba. Carlos has come back to Cuba after many years starring with the Royal London Ballet Company and is presenting his own company: Acosta Danza. So what are you waiting you? Get your dancing shoes on and go show what you’ve got! Abrazos! The LaHabana.com Team About our new look In January we introduced our new logo, look and feel. If you look closely, you’ll see it’s not a huge departure from the original Cuba Absolutely logo. Rather we’re staying close to our roots, whilst we position ourselves for an expansion into the digital realm with LaHabana.com. We will continue to expand our monthly themes while maintaining the popular “What’s On” section as an integral part of the Magazine. In the coming months we will bring online weekly updates on what to see and do in…La Habana. Please send us your feedback and comments. INDIVIDUALINDIVIDUAL TRAVELTRAVEL to Cuba BOOK TODAY WITH CUBA TRAVEL NETWORK! Cuba Travel Network: Definitely Dierent Come and experience Cuba with a company that's passionate about the magical island. Our on the ground team in Cuba is the first to know about the country's developments—from new hotels and tour possibilities to ever-changing travel regulations, and we love to show our beautiful home to the world. With Cuba Travel Network, experience Cuba as a traveler, not a tourist. Why travel with Cuba Travel Network? • CTN is the premier travel service provider for the individual traveler planning trips to Cuba, handling accommodation, all domestic flights and excursions. • On-the-ground assistance from expert concierge representatives throughout the island. • Choose from fully guided, flexible and special interest tours. • Real-time availability and immediate booking confirmation for 220+ hotels and 50+ rental car locations. • Secure online payment; Visa & MasterCard accepted. US - [email protected] | 1 800 282 2468 (Toll Free) Europe - [email protected] | +31 (0)20 794 7962 Asia - [email protected] | 1800 198 150 (Toll Free) Rest of the world - [email protected] | +53 (0)7 214 0090 CubaTravelNetwork.com Photo by Ana Lorena APRIL 2016 Obama came and saw p7 THE WEEK Rock’n’rolling with The Rolling Stones p9 THAT WAS “It´s only Rock and Roll, but I Like it” p11 21 Festival Internacional de Danza en Paisajes Let’s DANCE Urbanos: Habana Vieja Ciudad en Movimiento p14 Isabel Bustos Dancing with Retazos p15 Havana Queens Party p18 Miguel Iglesias: swimmer turned dancer p22 Rumba in Havana’s Cayo Hueso district p25 Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba p28 Ritmo Cuba Salsa Festival: a springtime showcase p30 Dancing in the Night in Cuba p33 An Army of Little Girls in long skirts p36 Irene Rodríguez and her Spanish Dance Company p38 Dance and the Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso p41 Alicia Alonso: The Grand Dame of Cuba p43 Cuban Ballet Dancers go International p46 Carlos Acosta presents his new company: Acosta Danza p49 Acosta Danza Premiere Season p52 Dance p53 — Visual Arts p55 Photography p58 — HAVANA LISTINGS Music p59 — Theatre p68 — For Kids p69 Features - Restaurants - Bars & Clubs - Live Music - HAVANA GUIDE Hotels - Private Accommodation p72 Obama came and saw by Victoria Alcalá Cuba has been unable to rest since the 20th of the present, we were visited by the Italian Prime March. We started out with Obama’s visit until Minister and the presidents of France and Austria, the 22nd and we kept on going on the 25th with we favorably negotiated the Club of Paris debt, the Havana concert of The Rolling Stones. Thank and Cuban rights over the Havana Club trademark goodness we had two days for a bit of a breather! were recognized, just to mention a few of the events that seemed to be a strange version of the We may have never welcomed a genuine rock “China Syndrome.” and roll classic, but it wasn’t the first time a US President has visited our Island. It was Calvin Political analysts have been endlessly studying Coolidge, or “Silent Cal” as the American press what was said, what wasn’t said and what could be dubbed him, who came in 1928. In those days, read between the lines of every utterance of this relations between the governments of Cuba and its northern neighbor were fairly uneventful even though the Cuban President Gerardo Machado had extended his mandate “a la cañona” by having any opposition murdered left, right and center. This time was different. On December 17, 2014, presidents Barack Obama and Raúl Castro proclaimed what until then had seemed impossible: reestablishing the diplomatic ties that had been broken over 50 years ago and heralding the start of a long and winding road towards normalization of relations between the two countries. The presence on the Island of the first Afro-American in the White House bore testimony to the seriousness of the agreement and per se, represented something positive for Cuba. From the reestablishing of diplomatic relations until Photos by Ana Lorena very eloquent US President, so very different from his illustrious but silent predecessor who didn’t have the advantages offered by teleprompters. I would prefer to go by what I heard him say: that the United States was extending a friendly hand to the Cubans, that Cubans should be able to decide their future without any meddling, that areas for working together should be found and that we should be respectfully discussing our differences, that he would continue to ask Congress to eliminate the “embargo” (blockade we call it over here…). His words seem to erase, with the flick of a pen, centuries of imperial gluttony. He also talked about his concept of freedom, democracy and human rights and he clearly talked about intentions to “empower” those of us who would like to make up a new social class. Whether or not he will do what he promised, or whether his successor in the Oval Office will maintain the same intentions, only time will tell. For the time being, there will be some new business, less fear for US allies to invest in the country of yesterday’s “diabolical” Castro Brothers, waves of tourists who want to see the island before its culture becomes absorbed by the US (it seems that they don’t know that Cuba was a neo-colony and its culture was strong and authentic enough to survive then) and perhaps there will be better opportunities to connect with the rest of the world.