lahabana. com magazine 7 JULY lahabana magazine INCLUDING GUIDE TO THE BEST PLACES TO EAT, DRINK, DANCE AND STAY IN HAVANAJULY 2017 1 lahabana. com magazine LA HABANA.COM is an independent platform, which seeks to showcase the best in Cuba arts & culture, life-style, sport, travel and much more... We seek to explore Cuba through the eyes of the best writers, photographers and filmmakers, both Cuban and international, who live work, travel and play in Cuba. Beautiful pictures, great videos, reviews, insightful articles and inside tips. JULY 2017 2 lahabana. com magazine JULY 2017 3 EDITORIAL If you’re in Cuba in July, sure, it’s great to walk the streets of Old Havana, or visit frozen-in-time Trinidad, or take a swim in the crystal-clear waters of the Island’s many beaches… But the real place to be this month is around 800 kilometers east of Havana: Santiago de Cuba. The Festival Internacional del Caribe Fiesta del Fuego (July 3 -9), a weeklong colorful celebration of Caribbean cultures, will be dedicated this year to the small island of Bonaire, which will bring their dances, Simidan and Bari. Join the Santiagueros in the Serpent Parade and the Burning of the Demon, which kicks off and marks the end of the festival, respectively. Then take a break because you’re going to need to recharge your batteries to continue partying. From July 21-27, another vibrant and contagious event takes place: the Santiago de Cuba Carnival, which attracts crowds of locals and visitors alike as no other carnival in Cuba. The entire city takes part in this celebration, as people of all ages dance down the steep streets of Santiago de Cuba to the rhythm and sounds of congas and the Chinese horn. FEB 2017 4 lahabana. com magazine So, whether during the Fire Festival or the Carnival (or both), be sure to join the locals, don’t be a sideliner! If you can’t make it to Santiago de Cuba, though, you still have the Varadero Baila International Salsa Dancers Festival (July 7-11) which takes place at the famous resort town of Varadero. Dance, sun and beach all in one. Back in Havana, there is no slowing of activities either: workshops on Cuban folkloric dances (July 3-15), the Art at La Rampa Crafts Fair (throughout the month), the Aquelarre Comedy Festival (July 3-9), CIRCUBA, the third oldest circus festival in the world (throughout the month), plus the usual suspects: art exhibitions, musical theater, ballet, performances by popular bands, and so much more. Be sure to check out our listings for more detailed information. Have a great July! Abrazos! The LaHabana.com Team JULY 2017 5 CUBA TRAVEL NETWORK: WELCOME TO RHYTHM individual travel 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 TO CUBA love to show our beautiful home to the world. BOOK TODAY WITH With Cuba Travel Network, experience Cuba as a traveler, CUBA TRAVEL NETWORK! not a tourist. WHY TRAVEL WITH CUBA TRAVEL NETWORK? • Cuba Travel Network 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 lahabana. com magazine CONTENTS JULY 2017 NEVER A SATURDAY WITHOUT 50 SUNSHINE…OR DAIQUIRÍ WITHOUT ICE ORIENTE: THE BEST PLACES 54 FOR EATING AND DRINKING LOVE ENTERS THROUGH THE KITCHEN… ESPECIALLY IN 58 ORIENTE MUSICIANS AND BANDS FROM 63 ORIENTE YOU SIMPLY HAVE TO ORIENTE: THE LISTEN TO 09 OTHER SIDE OF LIFE YOGA, CUBAN-STYLE CUBA BEGINS IN 69 14 SANTIAGO 10 SPOTS IN ORIENTE YOU JUST 23 CAN’T MISS EVENTS IN CUBA’S 32 ORIENTE THE BEST HOTELS 39 TO ENJOY IN CUBA’S ORIENTE EXPLORE CUBA 45 WITH MELIÁ JULY 2017 7 HAVANA LISTINGS56 The ultimate guide to Havana with detailed reviews of where to eat, drink, dance, shop, visit and play. Unique insights to the place that a gregarious, passionate and proud HAVANA people call home. 73 GUIDE FEB 2017 lahabana. com magazine ORIENTE: THE OTHER SIDE OF LIFE Andrea Clark Photos: Lorena y Mene JULY 2017 9 lahabana. com magazine Al carnaval de Oriente me voy, que es donde mejor se puede gozar…[I’m off to the Carnival in Oriente, because that’s where you have the best time…]. This is how an old popular song goes, singing about the great times, joy and the son Cubano, which pervade that most eastern part of Cuba. It’s undisputedly true that almost always when you talk about Cuba, what you are really talking about is Havana. The eastern part of Cuba, el Oriente, has been able to remain almost virgin, far from prying eyes, away from fashions and trends, very comfortable with its own traditions, its rich culture and its unique essentially Caribbean identity. For that reason, and from days gone by, a common dream among Havana residents is to spend their vacations in Oriente, lulled by the son of the hills, the pig roasting on a spit over burning coals, cooling off with a really cold beer, never as delicious as when you drink it under the blazing sun in Oriente. Now that Cuba has become the most desired destination of millions of tourists, as if recently discovered, Oriente remains a mystery that can be unveiled day by day. The conventional tourist lands in Havana or Varadero, goes to the beach, strolls along the colonial streets of Old Havana, jaunts over to Trinidad and maybe to Las Terrazas or Viñales Valley in Pinar del Río, and that’s the end of the trip. With any luck, this tourist may have seen fifteen percent of the Island. But he or she hasn’t seen anything of its people or culture; they haven’t even come close. JULY 2017 10 lahabana. com magazine In comparison with Havana, which prides itself in being a cosmopolitan city, Oriente is all about country life without being exactly bucolic; it is a land where its folks say “Buenos Días” to you and smile at anyone they meet. That’s a custom which amazes Habaneros, almost scaring them. Oriente is populated by men and women who measure the passage of time by the length of a palm tree’s shadow; they are never in a hurry to get anywhere and are always calm enough to stop for a good coffee. In fact, the area grows some of the best coffee since the days when the French colonists arrived, after being expelled from Haiti after the first revolution in the Americas. Recorded Cuban history actually started in Oriente, on Bariay Beach on the northern coast of today’s Holguín Province. That’s where the Grand Admiral of the Ocean Sea Christopher Columbus landed in 1492. As he knelt in the sand, overcome by the soft light of dawn, he confessed: This is the most beautiful land human eyes have ever seen. And to the south lies the city to which the poet would sing: It is Santiago de Cuba, be not amazed by anything! Santiago has been praised for being hospitable and at one time was the capital of Cuba, bathed by the white-capped waves and the sea breezes of the Caribbean. Except for a few rare examples, you won’t find any of those tall buildings casting their heavy shadows there and the sky reigns supreme over the city and its people who are proud of their history which they have raised with their hands. Listen to them speak: it sounds like they are singing because they carry music in their souls and in their gaze they dream songs. JULY 2017 11 lahabana. com magazine The richness of mestizaje runs rampant Their words, like their fruits, are different, unique in their sweetness, impossible there; only in Oriente will you find whites to find elsewhere on the Island. This is where you find fruit like the cashew and blacks, as in the rest of the country, apple, sapote or canistel. And from the roots of certain secret ancestral trees, melding with vestiges of aboriginal peoples, a refreshing beverage named Pru is fermented, something you will only find in the Siboneys. They are special faces, Oriente. cinnamon-toasted skins, the blackest of hair, sensual gestures and movements, Land of poets! One of these poets, after the first victory in the independence modulations of the voice that preserve war against Spanish troops, was urged by the acclaiming crowd to improvise the the daily use of a hammock, a pilón and verses of the National Anthem, without even dismounting, one leg crossed over cutaras. The culture of cimarronaje, of his saddle. It’s no accident that this is where trova comes from and continues to resistance, of life. seduce the world. This is where the conga was born and when you hear it your feet start dancing all by themselves. And the changüí and the son, those true, melodic, incomparable rhythms that tempt you on every corner.