Cuba - Lonely Planet [107]
Nightclubs
Piano Bar Delirio Habanero (Map; 873-5713; cnr Paseo & Calle 39, Vedado; admission CUC$5; from 6pm Tue-Sun) This suave lounge upstairs in the Teatro Nacional de Cuba hosts everything from young trovadores to smooth, improvised jazz. The deep red couches abut a wall of glass overlooking the Plaza de la Revolución, and it’s stunning at night with the Martí Memorial alluringly backlit. Escape here when the adjoining Café Cantante nightclub gets too hot.
Habana Café (Map; 833-3636; Paseo btwn Calles 1 & 3, Vedado; admission CUC$10; from 9:30pm) A hip and trendy nightclub cum cabaret show at the Hotel Meliá Cohiba laid out in 1950s American retro style. After 1am the tables are cleared and the place rocks to ‘international music’ until the cock crows.
La Casa de la Música Centro Habana (Map; 862-4165; Av de Italia btwn Concordia & Neptuno, Centro Habana; admission CUC$5-25) One of Cuba’s best and most popular (check the queues) nightclubs and live-music venues; all the big names play here, from Bamboleo to Los Van Van – and you’ll pay peanuts to see them. Of the city’s two Casas de la Música, this Centro Habana version is a little edgier than its Miramar counterpart (some have complained it’s too edgy), with big salsa bands and little space. Price varies depending on the band.
Cabaret
Cabaret Nacional (Map; 863-2361; San Rafael No 208, Centro Habana; per couple CUC$10; 9pm-2am) Barely noticeable below the Gran Teatro de La Habana across from Parque Central, this subterranean dance cellar has a show nightly at 11:30pm if enough patrons are present. It’s a little camper than other Havana cabarets and the noise – rather annoyingly if you’re watching the opera – sometimes filters through into the Lorca auditorium next door. There’s a couples-only policy and a ‘no shorts/T-shirts’ dress code.
Cabaret Turquino (Map; Calle L btwn Calles 23 & 25, Vedado; admission CUC$15; from 10pm) Spectacular shows in a spectacular setting on the 25th floor of the Hotel Habana Libre.
Cabaret Parisién (Map; 836-3564; cnr Calles 23 & O, Vedado; admission CUC$35; 9pm) One rung down from the Tropicana, in both price and quality, but this nightly cabaret show in the Hotel Nacional is well worth a look, especially if you’re staying in or around Vedado. It’s the usual mix of frills, feathers and semi-naked women, but the choreography is first class and the whole spectacle has excellent kitsch value.
Copa Room (Map; 836-4051; cnr Paseo & Malecón, Vedado; admission CUC$20; 9pm) Doormen in tuxes and an atmosphere that’s pure 1950s kitsch make the refurbished Copa Room in Meyer Lansky’s Hotel Riviera look like a nostalgic walk through The Godfather II.
Theater
With a well-entrenched and influential arts movement, Havana boasts a theater scene unmatched elsewhere in the Caribbean (and possibly Latin America), even if the auditoriums themselves may sometimes look a little run down.
CENTRO HABANA
Gran Teatro de La Habana ( 861-3077; cnr Paseo de Martí & San Rafael; per person CUC$20; box office 9am-6pm Mon-Sat, to 3pm Sun) The amazing neo-baroque theater across from Parque Central is the seat of the acclaimed Ballet Nacional de Cuba, founded in 1948 by Alicia Alonso. It is also the home of the Cuban National Opera. A theater since 1838, the building contains the grandiose Teatro García Lorca along with two smaller concert halls, the Sala Alejo Carpentier and the Sala Ernesto Lecuono – where art films are sometimes shown. For upcoming events enquire at the ticket office. Backstage tours of the theater leave throughout the day (CUC$2).
Teatro Fausto ( 863-1173; Paseo de Martí No 201) An eye-catching art-deco theater on Prado, rightly renowned for its sidesplitting comedy shows.
Teatro América ( 862-5695; Av de Italia No 253 btwn Concordia & Neptuno) Housed in a classic art-deco rascacielo (skyscraper) on Galiano (Av de Italia), the América seems to have changed little since its theatrical heyday in the 1930s and ’40s. It plays host to vaudeville variety, comedy, dance, jazz and salsa; shows are normally staged on Saturdays at 8:30pm