The Havana Habanera Festival has been held since 1985, always during the first days of November, during the festivities of the Villa de San Cristóbal de La Habana. The habanera is a Cuban musical genre that emerged in Havana during the 19th century. The main objective of this event is to recover the wealth of new pieces belonging to this genre.

This festival features a variety of activities, including concerts, artistic presentations, serenades, composition and performance competitions, discussions, theoretical gatherings, and exhibitions. The competition prizes include first, second, and third place, a performance award, and any honorable mentions the jury deems appropriate.

In 2005, the 20th Habaneras Festival took place in Havana, where a panel was held where prominent figures such as Zoila Lapique and Emilia Morales presented their theses. Nearly seventy works from across the country participated in the composition competition held during the event, of which fifteen were finalists.

During this edition, the CD Habanera Viajera was presented at the Galiano Music House. This is the first album produced at the Festival. This album is composed of nine habaneras, showcased by soprano Lucy Provedo and mezzo-soprano Lina Milián, with piano accompaniment by Juan Espinosa. There was also a segment dedicated to women and the habanera with Elizabet de Gracia, Emilia Morales, Maurín Iznaga, and Raquel Hernández. The Por Siempre Habanera Choral Encounter and a performance by the National Concert Band were also held.

12.10.6 International Boleros de Oro Festival

The Boleros de Oro International Festival is one of the most prestigious events in Latin America dedicated to the bolero musical genre. It was founded in 1986 by Cuban composer and musicologist José Loyola Fernández. Little did he know at the time that it would eventually become one of the most important competitions of its kind in this part of the world.

This gathering of composers, performers, musicologists, and bolero lovers is held annually in Cuba. It is organized by the Union of Cuban Writers and Artists (UNEAC) (17th Street between G and H Street, Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución, Havana) and fosters an intense cultural exchange around a musical genre with deep international roots. It is co-sponsored by the Ministry of Culture (2nd Street between 11th and 13th, Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución. Havana), the Cuban Agency for Musical Copyright (ACDAM) (6th Street No. 313 between 15th and 13th, Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución. Havana), the Cuban Institute of Music (15th Street No. 452 corner of F, Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución. Havana), the National Council for the Performing Arts, the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television (ICRT) (23rd Street No. 258 between L and M, Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución. Havana), among other institutions.

Each edition of the International Boleros de Oro Festival features a guest country and pays tribute to the genre’s most outstanding performers. In parallel, an International Colloquium brings together musicologists and bolero scholars. This important event has contributed to reviving this Cuban musical tradition. From Japan to Italy, and throughout Latin America, the greatest bolero lovers gather in our country year after year.

The Boleros de Oro International Festival features music students and professional artists. The “Boleros de Oro International Colloquium” also takes place, offering presentations and discussions of highly relevant and current topics in the musicology of this genre.

In the 2001 edition, the world’s longest Bolero was recorded, lasting 76 hours. According to the organizers, reaching the 100-hour mark is a long-term milestone. This record gave the Bolero a new lease on life.

The 19th International Festival was dedicated to the island of Puerto Rico. It included concerts by important exponents of the genre, including Cuban diva Omara Portuondo and Puerto Ricans Andy Montañez and Danny Rivera. As a special feature, this year the event extended beyond Havana, encompassing ten other provinces in the country.

The 22nd edition of the festival, which took place in 2008, was dedicated to the sister people of Ecuador and to the Cuban singer Ela Calvo. Specialists with a long and renowned career in the artistic field such as José Ramón Artigas, Jorge Musa and Jesús (Chucho) Hernández, directed and performed the shows that took place at the Mella Theater (Line No. 657, Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución, Havana) and América Theater (Avenida de Italia No. 253 between Concordia and Neptuno, Centro Habana, Havana), as well as at the sub-venues, because each night the Festival does not end with the performances in the theaters, the “bolereando” continues until the early hours of the morning in prestigious nightclubs such as: Hurón Azul at the House of Writers and Artists of Cuba (17th Street between G and H, Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución, Havana), Casa Dos Gardenias (18th Street No. 302, Miramar, Playa, Havana), Gato Tuerto (O and 17th Street, Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución, Havana), Hotel Nacional (0th Street corner 21st, Vedado, Revolution Square, Havana), among others.

In 2009, on the 23rd anniversary of its creation, the event began with a tribute to Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré Gutiérrez, popularly known as Benny Moré. The events were connected to the seventh art, with screenings of vintage Cuban-Mexican films from the 1950s, featuring El Bárbaro del Ritmo, Rosita Fornés, Armando Bianchi, and the Lago Sisters, among others.

The twenty-third edition was dedicated to Mexico and the eminent Cuban singer Omara Portuondo, known as “The Bride of Feeling.” Other commemorations that contributed to the brilliance of this cultural jubilee were the births of Manuel Corona (1880), Rosendo Ruiz Suárez (1885), and Ernesto Lecuona (1895), illustrious composers who have contributed value to the development of the Bolero. Added to the celebrations in this edition were the commemoration of the 90th anniversaries of the musicians Pedro Junco, Adolfo Guzmán, Tania Castellanos, Tito Gómez, and Miguelito Cuní. The cycle of celebrations closed with the founding of the Conjunto Casino (1940), an orchestra that trained great bolero singers.

The program in 2010 included various activities, including an exhibition of works by Cuban visual artists on musical themes, at the Servando Cabrera Moreno Gallery (1st A and 42nd Avenue, Miramar, Municipality of Culture Playa, Havana) and the International Bolero Colloquium with the theme: “Contemporary Bolero: New Appropriations and Styles.”

The International Boleros de Oro Festival is considered an opportunity to revel in Cuba’s softest and most romantic melodies.