HAVANA JAZZ FESTIVAL
With Dorian Bennett - December 14-21, 2014
ITINERARY
[1] Sun, 14 December 2014
- Miami, Florida
[11:00 am] - Check-in at Viaje Hoy Charter Service for Cuba flight
[2:00 pm] - Depart to Havana
- Havana City
[3:00 pm] - Arrive in Havana
[5:00 pm - 6:00 pm] - check in to Melia Cohiba
[7:30 pm - 9:30 pm] - La Guarida (Restaurant - Paladar)
Anyone who has been to La Guarida will find it difficult to disagree that Enrique and Odeisys have managed to create their own magical place. It oodles a cosy atmosphere with soft lights, fine table linen, German silver cutlery, candles, Cuban music and good jazz. The effect is magnified by the entrance from a run-down Central Havana street. The building, originally known as La Mansión Camagüey, shows its former grandeur from the magnificent wooden entrance door through the marble staircase up the two flights of stairs to the restaurant itself. Fidel’s famous explanation of [why he said] Patria o Muerte (country or death) is a photographer’s dream on the way down. For visitors to Havana, La Guarida has become a must experience. This is deservedly so for while it may be busy, expensive and has been discovered before, it retains its intimate (somewhat formal) charm and provides a quality dining experience with sensitivity and professionalism.
After dinner, we will explore Havana’s nightlife. Havana is alive these evenings with music in every club and restaurant in the city. We will find out what's hot tonight and go check it out. If its a Jazz Festival event you already have tickets. If its something off the beaten path but incredible you will have to pay the entrance fee on your own. If its under a tree on El Prado or by the ocean on the Malecon then its free to all. Music will be everywhere.
[2] Mon, 15 December 2014
- Havana City
[7:00 am - 9:00 am] - Breakfast at the hotel
[9:30 am - 3:00 pm] - Old Havana Four Plazas (Tour - City tour)
Tour Old Havana on foot, walking between the four main plazas that comprise Cuba’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. Start at Plaza de Armas, the site of the oldest Spanish fortress in the Americas, the 1519 locale of the first mass in Cuba, and the massive Baroque seat of government, known as Palacio de los Capitanes Generales. Continue to Plaza de San Francisco de Assis and Plaza Vieja, where we will visit artists galleries and historic buildings and get a sense of the structure of the colonial city. Wind through historic streets spanning 5 centuries of historic architecture and end at Plaza de la Catedral and see the Baroque cathedral. There will be time to stop and go inside many of the buildings to see the interior architecture.
[12:30 pm - 2:30 pm] - Las Tres Monedas (Restaurant - Restaurant-Bar-Gallery)
This is one of the next generation of paladares in Havana. Its next-gen because it is a combination eating establishment, bar and night-club as well as an artwork in process established and conducted one of the leading social practice artists of Havana, Kadir Lopez. Unlike many of Havana’s paladares the food here is light and quick with creative tapas being the best description. The bar offers a variety of Cuban and international spirits and the entertainment is high art music and performances.
The place itself is an art work crafted by Kadir. Overall this place gives you the idea that you are in a 1940’s New York City art house looking out at the Old Havana street scene of today.
[2:30 pm - 3:30 pm] - Taller de Grafica (Museum - Art Gallery)
After lunch we will stroll to Plaza de La Catedral to visit Havana’s premiere graphics arts workshop. This public center for local artists was established by Pablo Neruda and Che Guevara at the beginning of the Revolution as a place where artists living and visiting Havana can work on printmaking. Over the years they have developed an inventory of prints by unknown artists as well as more celebrated artists. This is an excellent time to purchase art gifts for yourself and others at great prices.
[4:00 pm - 5:00 pm] - Cocktails at El Floridita. Follow the Hemingway trail to his favorite bar on the planet. The place where the Daiquiri was invented. This old, dank wooden bar has seen more than its share of intrigue and Hemingway has his own stool. The frozen daiquiris will definitely get you in the mood for more.
[5:00 pm - 6:00 pm] - Return to Hotel to freshen up and relax before dinner (Miscellanea - On your own)
[6:30 pm - 7:45 pm] - Dinner on your own (not included)
Tonight you will dine in a paladar of your choice from a list of the hottest foodie scenes in the City. Our guide will make the reservations. This is an opportunity for you to get away from the larger group and dine with a smaller group of friends. You will take a taxi to the meal that we will find for you. We will have a chance to speak with the Chef and owner of the establishment to discuss food and new opportunities in the food industry in Cuba. The cost of this meal is not included in the trip price.
After dinner, we will explore Havana’s nightlife. Havana is alive these evenings with music in every club and restaurant in the city. We will find out what's hot tonight and go check it out. If its a Jazz Festival event you already have tickets. If its something off the beaten path but incredible you will have to pay the entrance fee on your own. If its under a tree on El Prado or by the ocean on the Malecon then its free to all. Music will be everywhere.
[3] Tue, 16 December 2014
- Havana City
[7:00 am - 9:00 am] - Breakfast at the hotel
[9:30 am - 2:30 pm] - Capitolio Central Park and Prado (Tour - City tour)
Lying on the border of old Havana and Centro Havana municipality, this area is notable for containing numerous architecturally and historically significant buildings that exemplify mid-19th c. urban center. We will begin at the 1877 Central Park, then walk along the 1772 Prado Promenade, see the Moorish-style Inglaterra Hotel, oldest in the city, the 1929 Capitolio building, which is modeled on the US capitol, and the Bacardi building, the best example of tropical Art Deco.
[10:00 am - 11:00 am] - Museo de Bellas Artes Cuban art collection/Bellas Artes Museum (Museum - Art Museum)
You will visit the Cuban collections in this striking modernist building which was completed in 1953 and exemplifies the combination of sculpture with architecture in Cuban mid-century modernism. The Palace of Fine Arts houses a collection of Cuban visual art that spans 4 centuries.
[12:30 pm - 2:30 pm] - Sloppy Joes (Restaurant - International cuisine)
The restoration project of the mythical Sloppy Joe's of Havana is great news for bar and cocktail lovers of the whole world. The project completed in 2013 with much care and intelligence to reopen the bar with all its splendor, just as it used to be. Now you will be able to enter there as Alec Guinness did in "Our man in Havana" and will be able to have a sip at the amazing mahogany drinks cabinet, opposite the large windows Just like Hemingway did in his day. The food includes tapas and the Sloppy Joe Sandwich as well. There is a great collection of fine liquors and wines from all over the world.
[7:30 pm - 9:30 pm] - Atelier (Restaurant - Paladar - Bar- Restaurante)Calling Atelier contemporary is like calling Havana a little rundown: true, but enough of an understatement as to miss the point. The large main room is decorated with sparse modern lines, inside a typically idiosyncratic Vedado mansion. Two balconies have boundless cushions for the outdoor lounge. An antique hob outside, old sewing and adding machines inside make the place retro yet not old. The food changes every day, every week, hence the handwritten menus. This is a very refined establishment. The hippest restaurant in Havana right now.
Calling Atelier contemporary is like calling Havana a little rundown: true, but enough of an understatement as to miss the point. The large main room is decorated with sparse modern lines, inside a typically idiosyncratic Vedado mansion. Two balconies have boundless cushions for the outdoor lounge. An antique hob outside, old sewing and adding machines inside make the place retro yet not old. The food changes every day, every week, hence the handwritten menus.
After dinner, we will explore Havana’s nightlife. Havana is alive these evenings with music in every club and restaurant in the city. We will find out what's hot tonight and go check it out. If its a Jazz Festival event you already have tickets. If its something off the beaten path but incredible you will have to pay the entrance fee on your own. If its under a tree on El Prado or by the ocean on the Malecon then its free to all. Music will be everywhere.
[4] Wed, 17 December 2014
- Havana City
[7:00 am - 9:00 am] - Breakfast at the hotel
[9:30 am - 2:30 pm] - Modern Havana (Tour - City tour)
Start the tour at the Plaza de la Revolucion. Continue to Cristobal Colon Cemetery. After lunch drive through the historic Fifth Avenue and neighborhoods of Miramar stop at Club Havana.
[10:00 am - 10:45 am] - Revolution Square ( Plaza de la Revolucion) (Tour - City tour)
[12:30 pm - 2:30 pm] - El Aljibe criolla cuisine (Restaurant - Cuban cuisine)
An outdoor thatch roof restaurant located in the residential area of Miramar, a few minutes from downtown Havana. A flavor created and maintained by the family tradition since the first restaurant was founded on the El Aljibe farm. The specialty is the El Aljibe Chicken, which combines roast chicken with French fries and fried plantain, delicious black beans, white rice, salad and, for dessert, national sweets.
[2:45 pm - 3:45 pm] - Pablo Menendez lecture (Music - Lecture)
Pablo Menéndez, Band Leader and Guitarist. The music of Pablo Menéndez is as unique a thing on the Cuban landscape as is the man himself. No doubt, the fact that he is a United States citizen living in Cuba for over 30 years has influenced his musical choices, which have in turn influenced many young Cuban musicians. Born Paul Menéndez in Oakland, California, in 1966 Pablo moved to Cuba at age 14 in order to spend a year studying at the new Escuela Nacional de Arte, or National Art School in Havana, the prototype for schools which today train the cream of Cuba's high school-age artists. He stayed on to marry and raise a family, and to become very involved in the emergence of the new Cuban popular music scene of the 1960s and beyond. Since 1985 Menéndez has led the popular group Mezcla, in addition to engaging in other musical pursuits. Here he talks about his experiences as a student and instructor in Cuba's music education system, of changes which he has seen over the years in Cuban music, and in the challenges confronting musicians and artists today
[7:30 pm - 9:30 pm] - Dinner on your own (not included)
Tonight you will dine in a paladar of your choice from a list of the hottest foodie scenes in the City. Our guide will make the reservations. This is an opportunity for you to get away from the larger group and dine with a smaller group of friends. You will take a taxi to the meal that we will find for you. We will have a chance to speak with the Chef and owner of the establishment to discuss food and new opportunities in the food industry in Cuba. The cost of this meal is not included in the trip price.
After dinner, we will explore Havana’s nightlife. Havana is alive these evenings with music in every club and restaurant in the city. We will find out what's hot tonight and go check it out. If its a Jazz Festival event you already have tickets. If its something off the beaten path but incredible you will have to pay the entrance fee on your own. If its under a tree on El Prado or by the ocean on the Malecon then its free to all. Music will be everywhere.
[5] Thu, 18 December 2014
- Havana City
[7:00 am - 9:00 am] - Breakfast at the hotel
[9:00 am - 3:00 pm] - Day trip to Las Terrazas (Tour - Nature)
Depart in the morning drive west to the province of Pinar Del Rio. Arrive at the Las Terrazas biosphere reserve. Enjoy a welcome cocktail and learn about the history and development of the biosphere. Visit the Buena Vista Coffee Plantation for the 16th century. Learn about coffee production in Cuba. Have lunch at Casa del Campesino a typical rural house enjoy local delicacies prepared over a wood burning stove. After lunch visit the communities of Las Terrazas enjoy local coffee and meet local artisans and world class artists. Finish the day by visiting the San Juan River take time to swim in this beautiful river or just enjoy the surrounding nature. BE SURE TO BRING YOUR SWIM SUITS TODAY!
[7:30 pm - 9:30 pm] - Dinner on your own (not included)
Tonight you will dine in a paladar of your choice from a list of the hottest foodie scenes in the City. Our guide will make the reservations. This is an opportunity for you to get away from the larger group and dine with a smaller group of friends. You will take a taxi to the meal that we will find for you. We will have a chance to speak with the Chef and owner of the establishment to discuss food and new opportunities in the food industry in Cuba. The cost of this meal is not included in the trip price.
After dinner, we will explore Havana’s nightlife. Havana is alive these evenings with music in every club and restaurant in the city. We will find out what's hot tonight and go check it out. If its a Jazz Festival event you already have tickets. If its something off the beaten path but incredible you will have to pay the entrance fee on your own. If its under a tree on El Prado or by the ocean on the Malecon then its free to all. Music will be everywhere.
[6] Fri, 19 December 2014
- Havana City
[7:00 am - 9:00 am] - Breakfast at the hotel
[9:30 am - 10:15 am] - Ferry ride across Havana Bay
Take the ferry from Old Havana across Havana Bay, to visit the historic City of Regla.
[10:30 am - 11:30 am] - Guanabacoa Museum (Museum - Religious)
Comprises objects of the popular Cuban religions of African origins: Regla de Osha, Reglas Congas and the Abakuá Secret Religious Societies.
[11:30 am - 12:30 pm] - Ernest Hemingway's Finca La Vigia (Museum - History Museum)
Visit Ernest Hemingway's Finca La Vigia, located on a hilltop in the rural village of San Francisco de Paula, just southeast of the City of Havana. The home has recently been the subject of a massive preservation effort by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as the author left it in 1961. At this farm you will be able to see his sport-fishing boat, the Pilar. This place houses the Hemingway Museum. The Finca Vigia estate and the fishing village of Cojimar are considered the most significant locales for those interested in Hemmingway’s history.
[12:30 pm - 2:30 pm] - Lunch at Ajiaco. One of the best paladars in Havana(Restaurant - International cuisine)
[7:30 pm - 9:30 pm] - San Cristobal Paladar (Restaurant - Paladar)
Rated by The Guardian as the number one Paladar in Havana, This paladar, is in a space that is cluttered and eclectic on the bottom floor of an early 20th-century mansion. Piles of old books are stacked atop beautiful old furniture; black and white photos jostle for space with antique record covers and bullfighting posters, while a selection of clocks, religious artefacts and, even a full-size zebra pelt, add to the mix. The food is Cuban-Creole: malanga, yucca, cerdo asado (roast pork), lobster, fresh fish, shrimp and other traditional fare. This is not, however, the bland standard cuisine found in many state restaurants. The dessert menu is expansive: pudding San Cristóbal (eggs, fruit, milk and almonds) is excellent while the fruit tart and rice puddings are pretty passable, as well as the omnipresent flan. The wine list is broad enough and reasonably priced. We will have a chance to speak with the Chef and the owner of the establishment to discuss food and new opportunities in the food industry in Cuba.
After dinner, we will explore Havana’s nightlife. Havana is alive these evenings with music in every club and restaurant in the city. We will find out what's hot tonight and go check it out. If its a Jazz Festival event you already have tickets. If its something off the beaten path but incredible you will have to pay the entrance fee on your own. If its under a tree on El Prado or by the ocean on the Malecon then its free to all. Music will be everywhere.
[7] Sat, 20 December 2014
- Havana City
[7:00 am - 9:00 am] - Breakfast at the hotel
[9:30 am - 10:30 am] - Fabrica de Arte Cubano (Museum - Art Gallery)
This is a new artist space in the Vedado district of Havana created by well known musician X Alfonso and his band Synthesis. A repurposed oil factory given a new life and it’s tall chimney now announces the cultural resurgence of the neighborhood. This giant space which is adjacent to a fine restaurant is an all purpose art space that hosts visual artist projects and concerts for Cuba’s most adventurous artists.
[12:30 pm - 2:30 pm] - Lunch on your own
[6:00 pm - 7:00 pm] - Classic cars.
We will be picked up by a fleet of classic American cars that have plied the city streets for over fifty years and are, almost magically, not worse for the ware. You ride to dinner tonight HAVANA STYLE!
[7:30 pm - 9:30 pm] - Farewell dinner at Kadir Lopez Studio (Restaurant - Cuban cuisine)
Kadir Lopez, and his brother Kelvin Lopez are graduates of the Instituto Superior de Arte. Their expansive studio and exhibit spaces are located in A 1930’s Havana mansion that has been re-purposed by the artists for their home-workspace. Here the group will enjoy a great and delicious traditional Cuban home-made dinner cooked by the family of the artist.You will have a chance to talk with Kadir, Kelvin and other artists who will join us and beyond having a fabulous dinner you will enjoy warm conversation about everything Cuban.
After dinner, we will explore Havana’s nightlife. Havana is alive these evenings with music in every club and restaurant in the city. We will find out what's hot tonight and go check it out. If its a Jazz Festival event you already have tickets. If its something off the beaten path but incredible you will have to pay the entrance fee on your own. If its under a tree on El Prado or by the ocean on the Malecon then its free to all. Music will be everywhere.
[8] Sun, 21 December 2014
- Havana City
[7:00 am - 9:00 am] - Breakfast at the hotel
[9:00 am - 10:00 am] - Check out of Hotel
[11:30 am - 12:30 pm] - Light lunch at the hotel
[12:45 pm - 1:30 pm] - Transfer from a Havana hotel to the airport (Miscellanea - Transportation)
[4:00 pm - 5:00 pm] - Depart Havana for Miami