CUBA CONCIERGE SERVICES Havana House Concierge Services

• Travel services are provided by our expert Travel partners who will ensure that your trip will be exciting, memorable and safe! • All itineraries are custom tailored and can include flights, visas, restaurants, tours, events, and either hotel or Airbnb accommodation. Your information

• Travel Dates • Departure Airport • How many people traveling • Names of all travelers as on passport • Single or double room • Hotel or Airbnb • Havana only or day trips / over-night trips

Hotels

• Hotel Saratoga • Hotel Parque Central • Hotel Inglaterra • Hotel Sevilla • Kempinski (not available to US residents) • Several great private homes through Airbnb’s (contact us for details) Restaurants

• San Cristóbal, Centro Habana municipality. San Rafael Street #469 e/Lealtad y Campanario #7-860-1705 Call and make a reservation. Obama and other celebrities have eaten here. Great food and the ambiance is unique! • La Guardida Concordia No.418 /Gervasio y Escobar. Centro Habana. Ciudad de la Habana. Cuba. Tel: (537) 863-7351, 866-9047 Make reservations. Just re-opened, location of movie Strawberries and Chocolate, it has great atmosphere and fantastic food. In an old mansion, the restaurant is on the top floor. You climb a marble staircase to reach it. • Cocina de Liliam, Vedado, #2096514, 48th between 13/15 some say this is better than La Guarida for food and atmosphere, it is outdoors in a beautiful garden. Closed on Sundays and Mondays. • Vistamar (Avenida 1ra, No. 2206, Playa, 53-7-203-8328; dinner for two around 53 CUC) serves Cuban and Continental food overlooking the Atlantic. Beautiful perfect 50s home, still with original owners, disappearing pool, great sunsets overlooking the ocean (one of the oldest remaining paladars and one of the best). • Santy Hard to find but it is THE SUSHI AND SEAFOOD PLACE to go to. Sitting by the river on a wooden little deck. Calle 240A & 3rdC, Jaimanitas. At least a 20 minute drive from Old Havana. Restaurants

• Bella Ciao Authentic Italian restaurant in the Playa neighborhood of Havana • El Cocinero Beautiful restaurant where you dine on the terraces next to Fabrica de Arte in Vedado • Rio Mar 1950s glass and concrete home overhanging the river, try to see the sunset from here. Playa/Vedado • Habana 61 Old Havana, great food choices and amazing cocktails • Chansonier Inside a beautiful 1900s home filled with antiques, in the Vedado neighborhood • La Esperanza Beautiful mansion in the Miramar neighborhood. • Ivan Justo The former Chef for Fidel creates paellas, risottos and Cuban dishes with flair in this paladar in Old Havana • El Del Frente Go straight to the roof top for amazing food. Sister restaurant to O’Reilly 304 at 303 O'Reilly • O’Reilly 304 For the best Gin and Tonics in town. Try the grilled lobster and daily specials La Guarida & San Cristobal Bars and Nightlife

• El Cocinero • FAC Fabrica de Arte • Tropicana Cabaret • Floridita, home of the Daiquiri • Sloppy Joe’s • Casa de Musica, Miramar • Johnny’s • Efe Club • Salon Rojo • Dos Gardenias • El Gato y Tuerto Jazz Club • Il Zorro y Cuervo Jazz Club Nightlife

• Roof of the Hotel Inglaterra every night at 9PM • Bar Monseratte one block from the Bar Floridita (Hemingway’s bar) • Buena Vista Show at the Café Taberna • Cuban National Ballet led by Alicia Alonso seasonal (also Matinees) • Tropicana Cabaret Show • Hotel Nacional Cabaret Parisian and Buena Vista Show • Casa de Musica in Miramar • Salon Roja next to Hotel Capri • Musical events at the Karl Marx Theater

Musica

• Fabrica de Arte Cubano - Cuban Art Factory New contemporary hot spot in Vedado, Havana. Originally the headquarters for Havana’s electricity company, then converted to an olive oil factory. Cuban musician X Alfonso converted the space into an art gallery, theatre, night- club. Next door to El Cocinero Restaurant. • Habana Compass Dance All women dancers that incorporate Afro-Cuban drumming into their performances. • Abdala Recording Studio, where famous musicians, including Nat King Cole and the Buena Vista Social Club, recorded some of their best music. This is of interest for people in the music business for whom we can arrange a private visit.

Art

HAVANA HOUSE! Need we say more. Showcasing the iconic pieces by Kadir Lopez whose collectors include Michelle Obama and Will Smith! Meet Kadir and other Cuban artists over an ice cold mojito, fresh fruit juice or coffee. Exhibitions change frequently and will include famous foreign artists, some of who will paint murals in the City of Havana (Shepard Fairey, Q1, 2019).

We can also arrange private studio tours to many of the top Cuban artists.

Cuba has a vibrant Art and Music Scene!

Kadir Lopez

Born in Las Tunas, Cuba in 1972, Kadir began his formal art education at the age of 12 at the Escuela Elemental de Artes Plasticas. He continued his studies at the Escuela Profesional de Artes in Camaguey, where he studied painting, sculpture and drawing. During that time, Kadir executed numerous set designs for the National Ballet of Camaguey. In 1990, he went on to the prestigious Instituto Superior de Artes in Havana, commonly known as ISA, graduating in 1995. There he combined professional art training with education in theory, philosophy, and art history.

Kadir has exhibited his work consistently since 1990 in over 90 solo and group shows in North and South America, Europe, China, and the Caribbean. He has participated in several of the art world's prominent international art fairs including the Havana Bienal, the Toronto International Art Fair (TIAF), ArtMadrid, Miami International Art Fair, Art Palm Beach and many others. Among his many outstanding solo exhibitions, Si gns series brought him critical attention and he was named one of the top ten artists to watch in 2011 by The Huffington Post.

In addition to creating art, Kadir has lectured at conferences at universities and museums worldwide, and has served as a juror at a number of national art contests in his country. His work can be found in several major museum collections, as well as a large number of private collections all over the world.

Things to do in and around Havana

• Beach Outing • Cigar and Rum Factory Tour (We will escort you to different stops to learn about cigars and the three drinks invented in Cuba: Mojito, Daiquiri and the Cuba Libre. Each drink has its own story to tell) • Santeria ritual (We will take you to the home of a Santeria Priestess to learn about the different deities of the religion and experience a cleansing to rid you of any negative vibes. The cleansing uses herbs, flowers, Holy Water from the Catholic Church and other ingredients) • Day trip to the beach in a vintage American Car (great for photo shoots) • Visit the Taquechel Pharmacy Museum on Calle Obispo No.155 • Baseball Game • Capitol guided tour • Private Dance Lessons • Gay Havana Tour Walking Tours

• Walking tour of the 5 plazas of Old Havana. Gain insights into life present and past as we tour five centuries in Old Havana. Added stops include the Taller de Grafica. The Taller is more than a workshop, it is a studio, a school and most importantly, an art institution that preserves and develops the sophisticated art of print making with freedom of spirit and form. While at the center you will see artworks produced there and have a conversation with the artists present about their works, and about life as an artist in Havana. Learn the long history of printmaking and the studio established by Che. There are over 40 artists working in the studio and the leading artists of Cuba work here to make their prints. There is also and art gallery here with prints for purchase. The artists will be waiting for us to display their art and give demonstrations. Half day or full day which includes a guided tour through the Museum of Fine Arts Cuban collection spanning 500 years or the Museum of the Revolution for Cuba’s version of history.

• Art Tours to many of the home/studios of the leading artists and curators of Havana can be combined with the tour of modern Havana or a personalized tour to fit your taste.

Walking Tour

• Follow the footsteps of Ernest Hemingway: includes Bar Floridita, Bodeguita del Medio, Hotel Ambos Mundos (where he lived for 7 years), and his home of 21 years, Finca Vigia. The home is located approximately 25 minutes from Old Havana. You can also visit the fishing town of Cojimar, where Hemingway kept his fishing boat Pilar, and where the local fishermen later erected a bust of him. Finish the day at the Hotel Sevilla, run by the Mafia and a favorite of Hemingway. • Tour of Modern Havana: Plaza de la Revolucion, Fusterlandia (a fishing village transformed Gaudi-like, with colorful tiles ), John Lennon Park and 5th avenue where the Embassies are located. Included is a stop at Callejon de Hamel, a short street dedicated to images from the Santeria religion, the Afro-Cuban religion that influences Cuban culture. Our last stop is the Hotel Nacional, the 1930s landmark where the Mafia held there big meeting in 1946.

Trip outside Havana

Day trip outside of Havana to La Moka/Las Terrazas, UNESCO Biosphere

Las Terrazas, an eco-village that is part of a UNESCO biosphere reserve established in 1985. Situated in a valley amid low mountains (the Sierra del Rosario range), this reforested area was the former site of over 50 coffee plantations. The restored area helps protect close to 850 endemic plant species and 98 bird species, including 11 of Cuba’s 24 endemic bird species. The approximately 1000 residents live in whitewashed houses with colorful shutters and clay tile roofs. We will the narrow roads of the terraced village and visit several houses and resident artisans. Also within the UNESCO reserve are the restored buildings and ruins of the Buena Vista coffee plantation, which was built in 1801 by French refugees from Haiti. The ruins are beautiful yet haunting, evoking as they do the former slave labor that made the farmers rich. Among the ruins are stone terraces where coffee beans were laid out to dry, a huge ox-powered grindstone used to extract coffee beans from their husks, and the remains of former slave quarters. The master’s house, with a westward view of the valley beyond, has been restored and now houses a restaurant. We can also organize a lunch at a local farmer’s home where the food is cooked over an open fire.

Overnight tours

Vinales

The 132 km ² (51 sq. miles) Vinales Valley boasts the most spectacular scenery in the whole of Cuba. It is, geologically speaking, the oldest region on the island dating back to the Jurassic period when the ocean floor rose, giving way to limestone formations commonly called Mogotes: steep-sided, flat- topped outcrops that seem to rise dramatically from the ground reaching a height that ranges from 140 to 400 meters ((between 460 and 1,312 feet). The valley was declared a National Monument and UNESCO added it as a Natural Landscape and as a World Heritage Site in the late 1990s.

One of the largest cave systems in the American continent is to be found here, making the interior of many of those water-wearable-limestone rocky formations navigable. The 1607 town of Vinales is deservedly a national monument, a rural charmer where time has seemed to come to a halt. Attractions abound in this heavenly place that is a must-see if you have an extended stay in Cuba. It is also the best tobacco growing region in Cuba and we will visit a local tobacco farm and if you like you can enjoy or take home a freshly rolled cigar.

Vinales is 3 hours by car from Havana and an overnight stay is suggested to fully enjoy the region.

Other Destinations in Cuba

Trinidad On the Caribbean coast, Trinidad is the best preserved colonial city in the Western Hemisphere. The first direct road was built to it in the 1960s. In the past Trinidad was the center for sugar cane production and the wealthy sugar barons left a legacy behind. It was the home of Hernan Cortez until he left to conquer Mexico. Music and dance abounds on every corner of town. It also is a great place for scuba diving and water sports. (4 hours by car from Havana and we suggest a 2 night stay). Other Destinations in Cuba

Cienfuegos The city is dubbed La Perla del Sur (Pearl of the South). In 2005, UNESCO inscribed the Historic Center of Cienfuegos on the World Heritage List, citing Cienfuegos as the best extant example of early 19th century Spanish Enlightenment implementation in urban planning. There is no other place in the Caribbean which contains such a remarkable cluster of Neoclassical structures.

Maps & Guides of Havana and Cuba Suggested Book List

Without Fidel, A Death Foretold in Miami, Havana and Washington by Ann Louise Bardach Ann Louise Bardach offers a spellbinding chronicle of the Havana-Washington political showdown, drawing on nearly two decades of reporting and countless interviews with everyone from Fidel Castro himself, his co-ruler and brother Raul, and other family members to ordinary Cubans as well as officials and politicos in Miami, Havana and Washington. Well written and very thorough in providing historical background in an interesting way.

Cuba Edited by Ann Louise Bardach This book contains 21 short stories by Cuban writers. Some appear in English for the first time. All will take you on an odyssey through the country’s rich past to its dynamic present, and are arranged by the areas of Cuba they illuminate. This collection is instructive and fun for the traveler, allowing him to see Cuba through the eyes of its most imaginative writers.

Havana: A Subtropical Delirium by Mark Kurlansky During his decade-long tenure as the Chicago Tribune's Caribbean correspondent in the 1980s, Mark Kurlansky began traveling to Cuba. Since this introduction to the island nation, the journalist grew to know and love the beautiful, messy capital. Drawing on Havana's history, Kurlansky starts with Columbus' arrival in 1492 and examines the city's role in the slave trade and its lasting effects. But he also brings us into the contemporary culture, highlighting the city's lively music, dance and art scenes, and supplying us with recipes to tasty Cuban dishes. - Smithsonian Magazine, "Ten Best Travel Books of 2017”

The 500 Hidden Secrets of Havana by Magalie Raman Great little guide book. Get this, the DK Guide and the vanDam Street Maps and you are Good to Go!

Films about Cuba

• The Buena Vista Social Club – the documentary about Ry Cooder’s visit to Havana in the 1990s that piqued American interest in Cuba and its traditional music • Strawberry & Chocolate – wonderful film about a Communist young man who befriends a gay man who is against Communism (partially filmed at La Guarida paladar in Havana, where you will be going for dinner, one of the best restaurants in Havana) • Guantanamera – watch this after Strawberry & Chocolate – same actors and director – it is a satire about life in Cuba • Havana – a revamp of Casablanca but it unfolds on the eve of the revolution in 1958 and stars Robert Redford, who is never hard to watch • Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights – a young American woman falls for a young Cuban man while in Havana and learns how to dance as only a Cuban can, with full heart and soul – very sweet film • The Motorcycle Diaries – chronicle of Che Guevara’s pre-revolution motorcycle trip across South America as a young man -- with beautiful scenery • Our Man in Havana – Graham Greene penned this cynical comedy about a vacuum cleaner salesman whose territory is pre-revolutionary Cuba

Films about Cuba

• Che: Part One – Steven Soderbergh’s brilliant biographical epic focuses on Che Guevara’s role in Fidel Castro’s rebel army • Before Night Falls – Stars Javier Bardem, who earned an Academy Award nomination -- set in the aftermath of the Cuban revolution, he portrays the extraordinary life of Cuban novelist and poet Reinaldo Arenas • I Am Cuba (Soy Cuba) – Classic Soviet film about the Cuban revolution – was initially intended to be propaganda and ended up an unforgettable art film • The Godfather, Part II – As Michael Corleone, Al Pacino tours Havana and Cuba in 1958 and glimpses the Revolution in action • Guys and Dolls – A classic musical; a gambler played by Marlon Brando takes an Army volunteer played by Jean Simmons on a getaway to Cuba

FOR MORE FILMS AS WELL AS ONES MADE IN CUBA OR BY CUBANS, GO TO: www.media-movies.cubasi.cu and www.cubalavida.com/cuban_films_enid5.aspx

Havana House Travel Concierge