The Leo Brouwer International Guitar Festival-Competition is a prestigious event founded in Havana in 1982. It is presided over and artistically directed by maestro Leo Brouwer, its creator and principal organizer.

It is organized by the Cuban Institute of Music (452 ​​Calle 15, corner of Calle F, Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución, Havana) and the National Center for Concert Music (Calzada y D, Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución, Havana), with the collaboration of the General Society of Authors and Publishers (SGAE). The Amadeo Roldán Auditorium Theater (Calzada y D, Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución, Havana) is the main venue for the event. The Minor Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi (Oficios between Amargura and Churruca, Old Havana, Havana), the Great Theatre of Havana (Paso Martí No. 458, Old Havana, Havana), the House of the Obraría (Obraría No. 1858, Old Havana, Havana), the Pablo de la Torriente Brau Center (Calle de la Muralla No. 63 between Oficios and Inquisidor, Old Havana, Havana) and the National Museum of Fine Arts (Calle Trocadero between Zulueta and Monserrate, Old Havana, Havana), also host Cuban and European musicians participating in the meeting.

The International Guitar Festival-Competition has seen the participation of prominent figures in international guitar playing. Its programs have included recitals, concerts with orchestras, lectures, master classes, exhibitions, and other activities related to this universal instrument.

The competition is held every two years and has featured renowned national and international teachers and performers such as John Williams, Costas Cotsiolis, Paco de Lucía, Manolo Sanlúcar, Jesús Ortega, Robert Aussel, Alirio Díaz, Vicente Amigo, Ichiro Suzuki, Pepe Romero, Eliot Fisk, Joaquín Clerch, Alvaro Pierri, Eli Kassner, Shin-Ichi Fukuda, Víctor Pellegrini, Paolo Paolini, the Guitar Quartet, and other leading figures in the world of guitar.

The Competition has produced many award-winning artists over its years, several of whom are now world-renowned artists, including Víctor Pellegrini from Argentina, Joaquín Clerch from Cuba, Christianne Spannhof from Germany, Alexander Frauchi from Russia, and Yosuji Ohagui from Japan, among others.

In its 11th edition, the International Guitar Festival celebrated 20 years as one of the most prestigious guitar competitions in the world. Twenty-three contestants from eight countries faced a rigorous nine-member jury, including figures such as Costas Cotsiolis of Greece, Joaquín Clerch, Jesús Ortega, Eduardo Martín of Cuba, Luis Orlandini of Chile, and Víctor Pellegrini of Argentina, all of whom were beloved names for fans of the instrument.

Spaniard Ricardo Jesús Gallén, who has been collecting first prizes since 1997, took home the First Prize of Havana. Greek Michalis Kontaxakis took second place in the competition, having been a favorite from the start. Third place remained vacant, with five mentions of equal standing awarded to Cubans Cristina Pérez Madiedo, Alí ​​Jorge Arango Marcano, and Osnel Rodríguez, Mexican Alfredo F. Macías, and Chilean Sebastián Montes Valjalo.

The influence exerted by Leo Brouwer has been decisive in the prestige this festival has achieved, now ranked among the most important of its kind in the world. Therefore, naming the event after him in 2004 was a well-deserved recognition of one of the most important personalities and emblematic Cuban composers on a global scale.

In its 12th edition, this international gathering was dedicated to the 65th birthday of Leo Brouwer and paid tribute to the Spanish composer Antón García Abril on his 70th birthday. The events featured master classes and seminars taught by professors attending the event, whose influence helped to transform Havana into the “city of the guitar” for a few days.