Salsa
Clubs in
Cuba
The
Music Innovates and the Clubs Thrive in Cuba’s New Tourist Economy
By Thor Anderson - Havana City Guide Correspondent
I love salsa.
I play percussion in a salsa band, and I love to dance.
I have been to salsa clubs all over the
U.S. While many are great, nothing
compares to the clubs in Havana
and other cities in Cuba
which showcase all the great traditions of Cuban dance and music at their
roots.
In the early ‘90s, the aging
communist government of Cuba
rediscovered the popular music of the island as an asset for helping to
develop the tourist industry. Tourism
was seen as one of the few potential sources of income from foreigners to
replace the subsidies lost with the fall of the
Soviet Union. Tourism is now bigger than
sugar, and Cuban music has played a big role in making this happen.
More cabarets like the legendary
Tropicana have been introduced at hotels and nightspots in Havana,
Santiago
and Varadero. Salsa clubs have
been opened to large crowds all over Havana. Every major city features a Casa
de Trova with live bands from the area. In
Havana, the salsa dance aficionado can choose from many venues every night of the
week and some matinees as well. Cover
charges are low and the live music smokes with Cuban Salsa and Timba bands
that have become world famous. These
include, to name just a few: Los Van Van, NG La Banda, Charanga Habanera,
Adalberto Alvarez y su Son, Klimax, Bomboleo, Paulito FG, and Pupy y Los Que
Son Son (Cesar Pedroso’s new power Songo spin-off from Van Van).
Because the clubs cater to
foreigners, the level of dance skill is mixed.
Most foreign patrons come from
Europe
and
Latin America. There are many good salsa
dancers among them, but the styles are as varied as the national origins of
the crowd. But when the Cuban
bands play on home soil, they pull out all the stops.
The Cubans in attendance give it right back, showing off all their best
moves from their unique style. In
my opinion, the more Cubans there are in the audience the better.
The best Salsa Cubana events I have ever seen are always comprised
mainly of Cuban audiences, where the shared culture and energy of band and
crowd react in an explosive, almost religious revival-like communal
experience.
A caution to any self confident
salsero from the states wanting to dance with Cubans at the clubs: Cuban salsa
is different from styles in North America. Cubans grow up dancing
traditional Son (on two) and Rueda de Casino (danced in a circle with frequent
partner changes following various turns called by one of the leads).
I have known many excellent leads from the states who just frustrate
their Cuban follows with step patterns, timing, and moves that are like
speaking a different language. I
have learned enough of the basic Cuban style from Casino that I can make it
through a song with a Cuban partner without screwing up from her point of
view. But I still feel awkward.
For more information about traveling
to Cuba for amazing music and dance experiences, please visit my website at PlanetCuba.com.
In addition to the City Guide
information about specific clubs below, here are my impressions of some of the
best salsa clubs in Havana:
Café
Cantante - National Theater, Vedado
This disco is located in the
basement of the National Theatre on the Plaza of the Revolution.
It presents live music some nights, though not usually top groups.
Cover is $5 on DJ nights and $10 when there is a live band.
This is a good dance venue, frequented by foreign and Cuban audiences.
The recorded music features Salsa Cubana with occasional international
pop and disco numbers. The club no longer
features an open bar, but drinks are reasonable. Not great is the
hooker scene here. The Cuban girls (and guys) look great, dressed in hot outfits that
would be at home at the Conga Room in LA.
But unless you are there with your spouse or a date, expect to be
propositioned. The club no longer let's the girls in without an
escort. So they line up outside the upstairs entrance and wait their
turn to slip in with male patrons entering the club. They pay their own
cover charge.
Casa
De La Musica -
Miramar
My favorite club, this place
operates in a beautiful old performing hall next to a park in what was, and
still is, one of the best residential areas in Havana. The club presents a live matinee
from
6:00
to
9:00
and night time show from
10:00
to
1:00
every day of the week, even in the slow summer season.
The matinee cover is $5 and the night cover is usually $15.
During the day, one of the best music stores in Cuba
is open to the left of the entry hall. The
night show features Cuba’s best and most famous bands such as those I listed above.
The matinees present lesser known but great bands just the same.
The dance hall features a smooth tile floor with four-seat movable
tables everywhere except for a large dance space in front of the raised stage.
Two bars serve beer and mixed drinks at world market prices.
Overpriced Cuban sandwiches can be ordered from table service waiters.
Security is excellent. I
like the matinee because the crowd is about two thirds Cuban due to the lower
cover. The proportion is about two
thirds foreign at night. Arrive
early for both matinee and night shows to get a good table, or get a table at
all. The best feature of this club
is the bands. Powered by the
excellent sound system, the groups, usually with at least thirteen players
including drum set, just blow from the first number to last without pause.
The energy keeps building. Cubans in the crowd sing the coros of
favorite tunes along with the band, giving it up whenever the singer calls
“manos arriba” during the breakdowns.
This club almost never disappoints.
Casa
De La Musica - Havana
This is
Havana’s newest major salsa venue, modeled on the older one in Miramar. There is a raised stage and
large dance floor of hard tile. Unlike
the other Casa, seating is segregated from the dance floor on a higher level
towards the back of the club, including one section with theater seating for a
better view of the stage. A long
curving bar serves the seating area. As
of September, 2002, there was no matinee at this Casa.
The night time acts begin at about
11:00
with some kind of floor show, followed by the main act at about
midnight
or slightly later. Like the
Miramar
venue, this club features Cuba’s top salsa bands, presented with state of the art sound.
Cover is $15 for most events. The
crowd is mostly foreign, but I saw many locals here too.
Copa
Room - Hotel Riviera, Vedado
This club is located in the Riviera
Hotel on the Malecón. It is a good
venue to see and hear Salsa Cubana, but the wood dance floor is quite small.
Dancing is best done to the variety of Cuban and international pop
music that plays before the live act starts.
The room is set up theater style
with tables on the main floor and on three more levels rising behind.
Moving around the room becomes difficult when it fills.
Drinks are expensive here. I
got caught cash short here one night when I ordered a bottle of rum without
knowing it would cost me $50. Cover
charges are higher too, between $15 and $25.
Access to the venue is through the hotel so security is tight.
La
Cecilia - Playa
This is one of my favorite
restaurants in Havana, with an outdoor music venue attached. The
live performances are irregular depending on the weather and the season, so
check to see if something is playing before going to hear music here.
The outdoor theater is large and formed in an amphitheater with rising
levels for seating back up to a bar area.
A platform offers a dance area in front of the stage.
This becomes very crowded when a top act plays.
I have seen Paulito here twice and both times, the crowd presses up to
stage front leaving little room to show your dance moves.
But Timba groups like Paulito inspire this kind of powerful audience
response, like a great rock concert. Other
times, I have seen less well known groups here, fronted by a floor show often
including very impressive salsa dance demonstrations.
Audiences here are about 90 percent foreign.
Cover charge varies with the event, but rarely exceeds $20.
Macumba
- Havana West
This club is recommended only when
it presents live music. Many of
the top Timba and Salsa groups play here, but call first to verify schedules.
The pretty venue is a series of large, canopied outdoor dancing and
stage areas, each with its own bar, in a tropical ambience with lush gardens
everywhere. There is also a large
pool and a number of upscale (for
Cuba
) shops for fashion, jewelry, and gifts. Unfortunately,
the night I was there, no live music was playing.
Instead, a karaoke show was the main event in which a cheesy MC would
invite individuals from the audience to sing along with the latest Latin
American pop hits with lyrics projected on to a large screen in front of the
dance floor. The singers, who
appeared to be Latin American and Spanish tourists, were awful and it made the
$15 cover charge all the more painful. This
club is also quite far from the
Havana
population center and therefore Cubans form a relatively small proportion of
the crowd, even for live performances. Expect
cover charges of at least $15 on live music nights.
Readers who want to learn more about
the club scene in
Cuba
can contact me through my website, PlanetCuba.com.
Click here for a listing of salsa groups from Cuba
Stories/Reports of the dance scene from people who visited Cuba
Ian Brown
Frank H
Edwin Hautus: trip
to Santiago de Cuba for Carnaval
** Have you visisted Cuba recently? Would you like
to let every know what it was like dancing there? Send your story, and we'll add you
to the list.
Links:
http://www.timba.com Everything
about Cuba's breakthrough modern popular music.
http://listen.to/timba More
great
info on timba music.
http://www.sonero.com
From Spain - some good info on Cuban music
Most of this information is current as of December
2002.
Information below provided by Thor Anderson, City
Guide Correspondent for Cuba, with additional research by Julio Cesar Garcia
of Havana, Cuba.
This list is not complete, nor totally accurate.
Salsa Nightclubs in Havana |
Club Name |
Location
(Phone No) |
People Mix
Cuban/Foreign |
Music Mix |
| Cafe
Cantante |
Plaza de
la Revolucion
(873-0710) |
20/80 |
live Salsa
(average groups mostly), and mostly recorded disco |
| . |
$5
on DJ nights, $10 when music is live.
Enjoy the open
bar.
. |
| Casa
De La Amistad |
Vedado
Avenida Paseo
entre 17 y 19
(830-3114) |
20/80 |
Traditional
Son |
| |
This
is a beautiful outdoor venue that presents excellent traditional popular
music for dancing on Tuesdays and Thursdays, $5 cover. |
| Casa
de la Cultura |
Havana
Vieja
Calle Aguiar entre
Amargura y Teniente Rey |
90/10 |
Local
salsa and traditional bands. |
| |
Live
music on Thursday nights. This is a venue for Cubans, though
foreigners in the know enjoy it. A good place to dance with
Cubans, very inexpensive. |
| Casa de la
Musica |
Miramar
Calle 20 y 35
(204-0447) |
50/50 Mat 15/85 Nite |
live Salsa
(top groups mostly) |
| . |
$5
for the daily matinee. $15-20 for night time shows.
This venue features the top Cuban Salsa and Timba groups. The
matinee, 6 pm to 9 pm, is the best music value in Havana. The
night time shows 10 pm to 1 am features the best groups in
Cuba.
. |
| Casa de la
Musica |
Central
Havana Calle
Galiano (862-4165) |
30/70 Mat 10/95 Nite |
live Salsa
(top groups mostly) |
| . |
$5
for the daily matinee. $15-20 for night time shows.
This venue is an updated version of the Casa in Miramar and also
features the top Cuban Salsa and Timba groups. Like Miramar Casa,
the matinee, 6 pm to 9 pm, is the best music value in Havana. The
night time shows 10 pm to 1 am features the best groups in
Cuba.
. |
| Copa
Room |
Hotel
Riviera, Vedado
(33-4051) |
10/90 |
Formerly
Palacio De La Salsa, live Salsa
(top groups), and mostly recorded disco |
| . |
$15-$25
Very upscale club now featuring a cabaret. Enter from Hotel
Riviera lobby.
. |
| Havana
Cafe |
Melia
Cohiba Hotel, Vedado
(33-3636 ext 2704) |
5/95
|
Hotel
restaurant cafe with a low budget floor show, some
salsa, and a variety of music |
| . |
No
cover, but drinks are very expensive. Mostly a show bar, but there is some open
dancing. Music goes on during the day as well as at night.
. |
| Johnny's |
Miramar
(7)
293389 |
10/90
|
some
salsa, mostly disco |
| . |
$10,
small place
. |
| Karachi |
K
esq. 17, Vedado |
20/80
|
some
salsa, mostly disco |
| . |
$5,
small place
. |
| La Cecilia |
Miramar
(33-1562) |
5/95
|
live Salsa
(top groups), and recorded music |
| . |
$15-$20
Outdoor venue with irregular live performances. Call ahead to the
attached restaurant La
Cecilia.
. |
| Sala
Macumba |
Havana West
Calle 222 at 37, La Coronela,
La Lisa (33-0538) |
5/95 |
Occasional live Cuban salsa |
| |
$25 whether live
music or not. This venue is very pretty but overpriced except when
the best music is playing. Call ahead to
verify.
. |
| Salon
Rosado de La Tropical |
Laceiba
(29-0985) |
|
|
| . |
This well known venue is under renovation with reopening possible
in 2003. In its past form it was not a fancy club. It was a
large concrete outdoor arena. Everyone performed here - the famous
and
the not-yet-famous.
. |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
Live Son Groups in Havana |
| Son de Ahora 5-7pm all days
except Saturday in Hotel Nacional, Vedado. Outdoors. |
| Group at outdoor cafe on
the corner of San Ignacio and O'Reily, Habana Vieja. Music is during the day.
Outdoors. Son and small-group salsa. |
| Group at outdoor cafe in
Plaza de la Caterdral, Habana Vieja. Music is during the day. Outdoors. |
| Group at La Mina, Plaza de
Armas, Habana Vieja. Music is during the day. Outdoor patio. |
| Cafe Paris, Obispo y San
Ignacio, Habana Vieja. Small bar. Son and small-group salsa. Music is
during the day and continues until about 1am. |
Folkloric
Dance Shows in Havana |
Conjuncto Folklorico Nacional de Cuba
Calle 4 e/Calzado y 5ta, Vedado |
Rooftop of Hotel Inglaterra, Habana
Vieja
Monday & Thursday 9:30pm |
Radio
Shows in Havana |
| Radio Taino Havana: 93.3MHz Salsa Show
everyday 5-7pm. In English & Spanish. They announce salsa happenings for
everynight. |
Rumba in Havana
The following are
weekly events where people gather to dance afro-cuban rumba
in Havana
|
| NAME
OF PLACE |
WHERE |
WHEN |
| UNEAC |
17 y H,
Vedado |
Wed(every
other) 5pm-
Sat 3-6pm |
| El
Palenque |
Calzada y
4 Vedado |
Sat 2pm |
| El
Callejon |
Hamel
Centro Habana |
Sun 11am |
| Cabaret
Las Vegas |
Centro Habana |
Sat
5-8pm |
