An Evening Out at the Buena Vista Social Club, Old Havana. Cuba

Cuba has a strong musical tradition

Cuba is a country with a strong tradition of music. We would have missed a lot if we did not watch a show visiting this country. 

Through the travel agent stationed at our hotel, we purchased two tickets for a dinner show package for the Buena Vista Social Club.  

Since the dinner show wouldn’t start until 8:00 pm, we spent the morning relaxing at our resort.

 In the afternoon around 3 o’clock, we took a taxi from our hotel and agreed on the fare of 15 CUC’s
 (  about Canadian $ 20.00) to Old Havana where we spent a few hours prior to dinner. 

We explored a few famous sites including the popular Obispo Street.

Buena Vista Social Club dinner show was held at  Teatro Rosalia de Castro

We arrived at the Buena Vista Social Club dinner show venue around 8:00 pm. There were a lot of people waiting outside to get in for the dinner at 8:30pm.


The dinner show actually took place at the Teatro Rosalia de Castro.

Going up to the upper floor for the dinner and show

The Buena Vista Social Club was a members' club in Havana that held dancing and musical activities. It became a popular location for musicians to meet and play during the 1940's.  But later on the original club was closed.

Reception area where guests were checked in and assigned their seating

 In the 1990's, it inspired the making of a musical album and a documentary; both of which gained international fame.

The dinner show venue

The hall was a big place with tables set for many who would be here for the dinner and show.

A pre show solo performance by a pianist 

Fortunately, we were glad that we were seated pretty close to the stage with a good view.

However, we were surprised that two other guests were also ushered to seat at our table. It was not an arrangement we had expected.


We made the best of the situation, introduced ourselves to these two strangers at our table. They were a father and daughter team from Mexico.

After serving us our drinks, the waitress took our order from a pre set menu.

My husband chose fish while I ordered beef for dinner.

 The musical show started shortly after 9:30pm.

The place was getting full with more people arriving for the show.





















Apparently, the show assembled a lot of veteran singers in the earlier days and got them together for this show.

The M.C. spoke ins both English and Spanish so that we knew what was going on.

Apparently, the musicians performed songs from the 1950's and 60's.


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Not being familiar with Spanish hits from that era, we did not know the differences between these Cuban hits from the different ages anywhere.























One thing for sure, there was lots of audience participation and many had fun dancing out there with the performers and musicians.

It was a good experience spending an evening enjoying traditional Cuban food and the 50’s Cuban music and Jazz singing.




R.T.
At the Buena Vista Social Club Dinner Show
Old Havana, Cuba

Exploring Obispo Boulevard at Night, Old Havana, Cuba

 

Exploring the Old Havana streets on our own

Since we are staying at a resort outside of Havana, we usually leave our hotel after breakfast, board the hotel shuttle bus to town and get back to the resort before the end of dinner hour.

After saying good bye to Valentin and Danny at the bar, we wento explore the streets near the neighborhood.



This was our first night in Havana venturing out and exploring the dark streets on our own.

Statutes in a park near Obispo Boulevard

At the square near Obispo Boulevard we saw people sitting on the park bench relaxing and chatting with friends in the evening lights



This familiar scene reminded me of our visit to Italy a few years ago with families and seniors enjoying conversations in the parks.

Obispo Boulevard at night

We walked along Obispo Boulevard which was pretty bright compared to many other dark streets in the city.

We saw a few restaurants, some with outside seating and patio.

Menu princes of one of the restaurants in the area 

The prices of these restaurants seemed very reasonable.

Instead of eating at the dinner show, we could have dinner at one of the numerous restaurants first.

Obispo Boulevard is a  busy and lively street both during the day and at night.



















It is a popular street with tourists and the locals alike.

An Art shop on Obispo Boulevard, Havana, Cuba

The street is full of interesting shops selling various arts and crafts items.

One of numerous eateries on  Obispo Boulevard

 

 It also has numerous cafes and restaurants with musical bands and 
singing groups.

We also passed by a local artists' market with lots of booths selling crafts and artwork from local artists.

A local artisans' market

We were a bit late as the doors to the market were just closed.

Judging at the number or booths there, I could have spent a couple fo hours there looking at all the displays.


We have to remember this place and come back to see it next time we are here.

The Floridita  Club

Though we did not plan to visit this hip place, we did come across the famous Floridita Club with a long history in Havana. 

The Floridita  Club was founded in 1817, exactly a hundred years ago.












 

The Floridita  Club - a lively place with contemporary music

The group was playing really nice contemporary English songs which we recognized 

Inside the Floridita Club

No wonder the place was full of people and music lovers.



There were people lining up at the door trying to get inside as the bouncer would only let in a couple of people at a time.  



















It was a vibrant scene packed with people who seemed to be enjoying the music.


We were able to get inside to take a look.

Obispo Boulevard .at night

Since we already bought tickets for a dinner show which would be starting soon,  we needed to hurry and get back to the theatre.

However, we liked the music at the Floridita Club and will be back in the future to hang out longer and to enjoy it.

R.T.
Old Havana
Cuba

A Pleasant Encounter with Cubans in Havana

The Firefighting Station in Old Havana, Cuba

We bought tickets to a dinner show in Old Havana. However, dinner would be at 8pm while the show would start at 9:30pm.

 We had plenty of time before the show. We are aware that the streets are quite dark in Havana at night.

The Red Cross Building, Havana, Cuba

Therefore to make sure we knew where the dinner show was located, we arrived early to the neighborhood before dark to become familiar with the streets and the buildings.

The Marti Theatre, Havana, Cuba

We walked by some beautiful buildings and a theatre called Teatro Marti.






















Not sure where we were, we sat down on a park bench and looked at our map trying to get our bearing.

A small local bar and cafe in Old Havana

I guessed we stood out as tourists in the neighbourhood. No sooner had we sat down, a friendly gentleman came up to us asking if we needed help.

Decorations on the wall of this neighborhood cafe bar

Since we had a lot of time before the dinner show, we went into the coffee shop across from the park upon his recommendation.


It was a neighborhood bar/ cafe. We ordered drinks and a snack. This friendly gentleman, Valentin, introduced himself to us. Working part time in this bar, today was his day off . He told us about the neighborhood and about himself a little bit.  While we were sipping our drinks, another person came to serve us and Valentin disappeared for a little while.

Valentin bought me flower, cigar and a  local newspaper!

A little later, Valentin came back to the cafe bearing gifts for us - a |Cuban cigar and a flower he bought from his buddy's flower shop close by.

With our limited Spanish,  we  still managed to have a really good conversation with Valentin as he tried hard to converse with us. Realizing that we could read more Spanish than we speak the language, Valentin went out of the cafe and bought us a copy of the local newspaper.

Being aware that the average Cuban worker does not get paid a lot per month, we were deeply touched by his generous gesture and kindness towards us.

We enjoyed meeting and talking with local Cubans

Valentin brought along his friend, Denny, and introduced him to us. Danny owns a little flower shop in the neighbourhood.

They were delightfully hospitable to us. Danny's English was pretty good. We chatted for quite a while in this cafe.

Majeto - a popular drink in Cuba

Through our conversation, we found out that it was Valentin's birthday today. To return their kindness and warm hospitality, we bought both of them a drink to celebrate Valentin's 63rd birthday right there. 

With our limited Spanish, we were able to converse with the friendly Cubans!

Danny also took us to his little flower shop down the street and introduced us to his family there.



We had an enjoyable afternoon exploring the streets and buildings of Old Havana. 

However, we were most grateful that we had such a delightful encounter and interaction with the friendly local people in this historic city!

R.T.
Old Havana
Cuba
Week of Jan. 15, 2017

"Yate Granma" - Old Havana, Cuba

The Glass Building that houses the legendary yacht Granma

Old Havana has a lot of beautiful grand buildings. We visited two of these grand buildings today.

We passed by this glass building a couple of times but not sure what it was.

This is a glass building that houses the legendary yacht called Yate Granma which carried Castro and his followers and landed in Cuba to restart the revolution more than fifty years ago.

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This newer building sits right across from the Revolution Museum. We paid one admission fare of 8 pesos each for both museums which also included admission to this part of the exhibition.

This part of the museum exhibits some of the vehicles used in the Cuban revolution .

The legendary Yate Granma that carried Fidel & his men to restart the revolution 

The famous Yate Granma is housed in a glass building.

Built in 1943, with cabins for 20 people, the Yate Granma was used by Fidel Castro and his 82 men.

They boarded this yacht and sailed from Mexico to Cuba to restart the Liberation War.

They landed in Cuba on Dec. 2, 1956.

Dragon I - a tractor turned armoured vehicle used in the Cuban struggle.

We saw other vehicles used in the battle such as the Dragon I, an armoured vehicle made from a tractor by the Cuban workers of a sugar mill factory.

Another creative use of a farm tractor turned into an armoured vehicle by workers of the Cuban sugar mill.

The Camion Fargo

The Camion Fargo, a fast delivery business vehicle carried 42 of the 50 assailants who attacked the presidential palace in March of 1957.

The Land Rover jeep used by Fidel in 1958

The jeep Land Rover used by Fidel Castro at the last stage of the war in 1958.

Bullet holes are still visible on the vehicle.

We also saw some of the weapon used during the October Crisis in 1962.

The "King Fisher"

These buildings and exhibits are powerful reminders of the Cuban Revolution and what the Cuban people have achieved for themselves
over the years.



R.T.
Museo de la Revolution
Old Havana
Cuba
Week of Jan. 15, 2017

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