Cuba - Lonely Planet [295]
Open to independent filmmakers of limited means, the festival takes place in April and, despite limited advertising, attracts up to US$100,000 in prize money. Lasting for seven days, proceedings kick off with a gala in the Cine Jiba followed by film showings, art expositions and nightly music concerts. The competition is friendly but hotly contested, with prizes used to reward and recognize an eclectic cache of digital movie guerrillas drawn from countries as varied as Iran and the US.
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Sleeping
There are no hotels in Gibara at present, but with half a dozen magnificent casas particulares, who needs them?
Odalys & Luis ( 84-45-42; Céspedes No 13 btwn Luz Caballero & J Peralta; r with air-con CUC$20; ) More colonial splendor here with big rooms, a salubrious patio and fountain, signature Gibara stained glass and delicious meals – all located a block and a half from Parque Calixto García.
La Casa de los Amigos ( 84-41-15; lacasa delosamigos@yahoo.fr; Céspedes No 15 btwn J Peralta & Luz Caballero; r CUC$20-25; ) One of the most amazing casas particulares you’ll find in Cuba with frescoes, wood carvings, gazebo and a huge, colorful open courtyard/patio. The rooms are boutique-hotel standard with antique sinks and the food a French-Cuban fusion.
Eating
Gibara is still in the Special Period as far as restaurants go. Stick to your casa particular or, if you’re excruciatingly hungry/curious, choose from this lackluster list of two.
Restaurante El Faro ( 84-45-96; La Concha; 10am-10pm) This place, on Parque de las Madres, serves chicken and fish meals overlooking the bay. It’s a simple, potentially romantic spot that was damaged by Hurricane Ike.
Restaurante El Mirador ( 24hr) Perched high above town near El Cuartelón, this place has a view to die for but not much in the way of good food. Quench your thirst after a romp up the hill and head back to your casa particular for dinner.
Drinking & Entertainment
Cine Jiba (Parque Calixto García) Cuba’s improbable poor man’s film festival hosts most of its cutting-edge movies in this small but quirky cinema bedizened with colorful art-house movie posters. If you’re going to go to the cinema anywhere in Cuba, it should be in Gibara – it’s a local rite of passage.
Casa de Cultura (Parque Colón) You might catch a salsa night here or gain an appreciation of the poetry of Nicolas Guillén in the pleasant inner courtyard.
For theater and dance, it’s the historic Casino Español (1889). Patio Colonial, wedged between the Museo de Historia Natural and Casino Español, is an atmospheric outdoor cafetería that hosts regular musical performances.
Getting There & Away
There are no Víazul buses to Gibara. Travelers can tackle the route with Cuban transport on a truck or bus from Holguín. The bus station is 1km out on the road to Holguín. There are two daily buses in each direction. A taxi (to Holguín) should cost no more than CUC$20.
For drivers heading toward Guardalavaca, the link road from the junction at Floro Pérez is hell at first, but improves just outside Rafael Freyre. There’s an Oro Negro gas station at the entrance to town.
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PLAYA PESQUERO & AROUND
Of Holguín’s three northern resort areas, Playa Pesquero (Fishermen’s Beach) is the most high-end. There are four tourist colossi here, including the Hotel Playa Pesquero (until recently the largest hotel in Cuba), and the strip has a luxury Caribbean sheen missing elsewhere on the island. Not surprisingly, the adjacent beach is sublime, with golden sand, shallow, warm water and great opportunities for snorkeling. The resorts and beaches are accessible off the main Holguín–Guardalavaca road via a spur road just before the Cuatro Palmas junction.
Ten kilometers west of Playa Pesquero and 3km west of Villa Don Lino is Playa Blanca; Columbus is thought to have landed somewhere near here in 1492, and this great meeting of two cultures