Cuba - Lonely Planet [109]
Cine Actualidades (Map; 861-5193; Av de Bélgica No 262 btwn Neptuno & Virtudes, Centro Habana) Timeworn place centrally located behind the Hotel Plaza.
Cine Charles Chaplín (Map; 831-1101; Calle 23 No 1157 btwn Calles 10 & 12, Vedado) An arthouse cinema adjacent to the Icaic HQ. Don’t miss the poster gallery of great Cuban classic films next door or the movie grapevine that is the Café Fresa y Chocolate opposite.
Cine La Rampa (Map; 878-6146; Calle 23 No 111, Vedado) De Niro seasons, French classics, film festivals; catch them all at this Vedado staple that houses the Cuban film archive.
Cine Payret (Map; 863-3163; Paseo de Martí No 505, Centro Habana) Opposite the Capitolio, this is Centro Habana’s largest and most luxurious cinema, erected in 1878. Plenty of American movies play here.
Cine Riviera (Map; 830-9564; Calle 23 No 507 btwn Calles G & H, Vedado) Big pop, rock and sometimes rap concerts happen here. The movies are a myriad of Latin American, European and North American, and the audience has a strong student demographic.
Cine Trianón (Map; 830-4698; Línea No 706, Vedado) Movies or live theater in a salubrious setting.
Cine Yara (Map; 832-9430; cnr Calles 23 & L, Vedado) One big screen and two video salas (cinemas) here at Havana’s most famous cinema and the venue for many a hot date.
Cinecito (Map; 863-8051; San Rafael No 68, Centro Habana) Films for kids behind the Hotel Inglaterra. There’s another one next to Cine Chaplín on Calles 23 & 12.
Sport
Estadio Latinoamericano (Map; 870-6526; Zequiera No 312, Vedado) From October to April, this 58,000-seat baseball stadium in Cerro is home to Los Industriales and Los Metropolitanos (they alternate home fixtures). Entry costs a few pesos (but they like to charge foreigners CUC$1). Games are 7:30pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 1:30pm Saturday and Sunday. The benches are cement – painful after nine innings.
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AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
To see a different side of Havana, hang out with the arty crowd at the Centro Cultural Cinematográfico (Map; Calle 23 btwn Calles 10 & 12) in Vedado, a hive of talented creativity and youthful energy. The HQ of the Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (Icaic), the center hosts film premieres, discussion nights, art expos, live music and is home to Havana’s best DVD movie outlet. The adjacent Café Fresa y Chocolate is a great place to get acquainted with the Icaic’s movers and shakers, especially on Wednesday nights when there’s an excellent live clarinet quartet. The most enlightening shows are the interactive debate nights known as El Último Jueves de Cada Mes (The Last Thursday of Each Month) for when they’re held. Hosted by a small panel of academics, intellectuals and experts from the arts magazine Temas, respectful but enthusiastic public audiences discuss everything from politics to TV soap operas. It’s a fascinating insight into the parameters of public debate in a supposedly totalitarian society. Admission is free and the debates are in Spanish.
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Ciudad Deportiva (Map; cnr Av de la Independencia & Vía Blanca, Vedado; admission 5 pesos) ‘Sport City’ is Cuba’s premier sports training center and big basketball, volleyball, boxing and track contests happen at the coliseum here. The P-2 metro bus from Línea & Av de los Presidentes (Calle G) stops across the street.
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KNOW YOUR BASEBALL
To discover the true essence of a country – any country – you first have to understand its sporting rituals, and in Cuba that means baseball.
The Cuban National Series (Serie Nacional de Béisbol), the country’s premier baseball tournament, has run in its present format since 1993 when the competition was reorganized into 16 teams: one from each province (including the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud) plus two teams from the city of Havana – Los Industriales and Los Metropolitanos.
Split regionally into four groups of four, the teams play each other over the course of a 90-game season that runs from November to March and culminates