Timeline Of Annual Events In Havana

Havana Carnival

Parades and street parties, colourful costumes, wild dancing and traditional music. Cubans really know how to throw a party and for several weeks each year they do, the fun and frolics reaching high levels over weekends when the locals put their toil and trouble away and bring out the rum. Carnival comes with some traditions, like effigies of well known people being paraded along the coastal road, the Malecon, and the gaudy 'faroleros', decorated lamp posts carried aloft by dancers.

International Jazz Festival

Held every two years, Havana's feast of jazz is eagerly awaited by fans around the world, offering four days of concerts, jam sessions and workshops. Many artists travel to Cuba to perform without any remuneration, the event having gained a prestigious reputation for quality and good organisation. Star of the show is Cuba's own Chucho Valdes, who usually performs with other local artists and international guests in the grand finale concert on the final night.