Culture, Sports, Events

In a phone consultation with the Gran Logia de Cuba, they explained that prospective visitors must contact their office either by phone or in person. (They do not have an email address.) The individual to contact is the Gran Secretario (Grand Secretary), Alberto William Rojas Aguilar, at Telephone (537) 878-5065.

In a phone consultation with Hotel Cayo Levisa, located in Pinar del Rio, they said that the name comes from a small-to medium-sized fish known as the levisa, which is common in the waters surrounding Cayo Levisa as well as in other parts of Cuba. The fish is not eaten.

The link does work, although not perhaps from your end. However, as of early August 2010, on their official site – www.inder.cu/beta/competitions/marabana – under Inscripciones (Registrations), the reference is still only to the 2009 marathon and not that planned for this year.

To find out what’s happening in Cuba – dance, music, art, theatre, etc. – there is no one website that provides all the information. Still, some sites do exist that can be consulted. For a list of several sites and an explanation of what they cover, please consult the answer to the question How can I find out when the Cuban National Ballet are performing? which you will find by clicking on the “Culture-Sports-Events” page of the Havana Times Cuba Travel section.

The month of July is a great time to be in Santiago de Cuba, if you can take the stultifying heat and humidity that typifies that time of year. The two great festivals during July are the traditional Festival del Caribe, also known as the Festival del Fuego or Festival of Fire, and El Carnaval.

One organization that might be able to help you is Global Exchange, an education and action resource centre based in San Francisco. Its mission is to promote human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice around the world.

It is really an individual preference whether one wants to learn salsa in organized classes or make one’s own arrangements, upon arrival, with a private teacher. It is our policy to recommend official Cuban structures and sources of information for arranging one’s visit inside the country. For information on organized salsa classes in Cuba, following are some Cuban organizations and websites that you might want to check out.

Some of the final games of this year’s 2010 baseball series in Cuba – between the Industriales (Havana) and Villa Clara – will be taking place in Havana on March 26th, 27th and 28th (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). Tickets (for tourists) are available for purchase at the stadium itself (Estadio Latinoamericano), costing CUC 3 per person. The Estadio advises that they be purchased at 9am on the day of the game. The phone numbers of the Estadio are (537) 870-6752 and (537) 870-8175.

For the April 3-5, 2010 period, the schedule of services in the Russian Orthodox Church in Havana is as follows:

On Saturday, April 3rd, you must be at the Church at 11:30 at night. The Easter Service begins at midnight and goes until about 3 in the morning (April 4th). There is a break.

Manuel Galbán is a Grammy-winning Cuban guitarist, pianist and arranger, notable for his work with the legendary doo-wop vocal quartet Los Zafiros, which he founded, and the world famous Buena Vista Social Club with its repertoire of son, bolero, danzón and guajiro. In 2001 he recorded Mambo Sinuendo with Ry Cooder, winning the 2003 Grammy for Best Post Instrumental Album.