We are happy to announce that Havana Music Tours is a proud sponsor of the Havana Film Festival in New York. The nonprofit film festival has been around for 20 years and they are doing great with helping to promote Latin American cinema. Showcasing talents from countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Spain and the United States. The festival promotes award winning full length films, animation, shorts, documentaries, and classics. All of which help to expand the fascinating latin culture to the world. We highly recommend going to see the festival in New York April 5th-16th, 2019. If you are able to go April 13th, you may be lucky to catch a Havana Music Tours video shortly before cuban music documentary, Eliades Ochoa. 🙂
About HFFNY:
“HFFNY has paid tribute to some of the most important directors and actors including: Fernando Birri (Argentina), Walter Salles (Brazil), Silvio Caiozzi (Chile), Victor Gaviria (Colombia), Humberto Solas (Cuba), Juan Carlos Tabio (Cuba), Luis Alberto Garcia (Cuba), Jorge Perugorría (Cuba), Tomás Gutiérrez Alea (Cuba), Arturo Ripstein (Mexico), Jacobo Morales (Puerto Rico), and Estela Bravo (U.S.).
We continue forging a close relationship with our community, providing a multi-cultural experience to different age groups. Our special events, including retrospectives and panel discussions with notable local and international directors, actors, and producers, provide our audience with educational opportunities as well as a behind-the-scenes look at an industry that continues to gain recognition on a global level. By collaborating with other institutions and festivals, HFFNY is able to bring to NY the work of the most dynamic international Latino filmmakers.”
Film Fest schedules below. For more info please visit https://hffny.com/2019
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There are many different ways to travel to Cuba. The “best way” is different for each person. This blog post will give you some insight into what I know about travel to Cuba. Including how traveling to Cuba differentiates from other international travel destinations.
The first thing that you should know is that travel to Cuba is legal for Americans. I know I am writing from a tour agency’s blog, but ultimately, I think you should travel to Cuba in any way that fits you best. For example, maybe you don’t like to be risky in a place that you don’t know…? Or perhaps you prefer the freedom to explore on your own versus being on tour.
This blog will break down the differences between the few and give some information to help you decide which travel option is the best for you. Traveling on your own time and exploring freely definitely has its benefits. You could stop at a specific store you want or spend more time inside a cafe or restaurant. Honestly, I like to do that too. This sort of freedom can give you a bit of space to discover something new when you arrived versus when you were initially making all of your reservations.
How can you travel to Cuba?
Despite any misinformation you may have heard, you can travel to Cuba on your own without a tour or cruise ship. However, there may be some significant benefits to traveling with a tour in Cuba (at least on your first visit). I will expand on that later in this article.
U.S. travelers must make sure their trip fits an applicable OFAC authorization and must follow that authorization’s conditions. Support for the Cuban People is one commonly used general-license category for qualifying independent travel, but it is not the only category that can authorize individual travel; the correct category depends on the traveler’s actual purpose and activities. Effective September 30, 2026, new Group People-to-People educational travel is no longer generally authorized. Support for the Cuban People remains available when the traveler’s actual activities satisfy § 515.574. Privately owned casas are a common lodging choice, but the legal restriction is not simply “no hotels”: U.S. travelers must avoid lodging properties and transactions prohibited under current U.S. sanctions rules.
The itinerary, recordkeeping, and transaction restrictions depend on the authorization being used. For Support for the Cuban People, travelers must maintain the required full-time schedule of qualifying activities and meaningful interaction, and U.S. travelers should check current OFAC restrictions and prohibited-accommodation guidance before making reservations or payments. A structured tour can simplify planning, but independent travelers remain responsible for satisfying the requirements of the authorization they rely on.
A structured cultural tour can make the logistics, documentation, transportation, and daily schedule much easier—especially on a first visit. Private/custom travelers may use Support for the Cuban People when their actual activities satisfy that authorization, and Havana Music Tours designs its new scheduled cultural programs around that same § 515.574 framework. Either way, I recommend giving Havana enough time to experience its different neighborhoods, music scenes, and cultural traditions.
The honest case for a Cuba tour is that any Tour, especially ours, is not necessarily relaxing; they are very interactive, busy, and full of different experiences. We at Havana Music Tours allow free time to explore within your itinerary.
Let’s go to Cuba!
The ultimate way to experience Cuba is witha cultural tour like ours. Yes, we are biased, but it is true. From the many testimonials on TripAdvisor, you can read that our guests have a blast. Our tours allow you to “skip the line” and experience the best of Cuba in a short amount of time.
I want to quote one of our guests, Fred, “Even if you speak Spanish fluently (unlike me) or are good at ferreting out obscure events in strange places (which I generally can), there is still no way you will find half of what Mr. Chaz Chambers can introduce you to.” Especially if you are a Cuban music lover, you can’t afford to miss what we have found for you.
https://havanamusictours.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cuba-travel-vintage-car-scaled.jpg19182560Editorial Teamhttps://havanamusictours.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/final-e1675339047365-300x161.pngEditorial Team2019-03-01 20:53:052026-09-29 14:33:07What Is the Best Way to Travel to Cuba?
Join “Car Pooling with Ben” as Chaz tells Ben about the situation of traveling to Cuba and the growing interest in people wanting to explore Cuban culture and specifically its music with Havana Music Tours.
https://havanamusictours.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/IMG_7787.jpg619622Editorial Teamhttps://havanamusictours.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/final-e1675339047365-300x161.pngEditorial Team2017-11-15 11:52:192026-09-26 21:05:42Havana Music Tours Featured on an Episode of “Car Pooling with Ben”
The famous El Malecón stretches five miles along the coast in Havana, Cuba. It is where the sea meets the city and all the priceless fun occurs with the Cuban people and the distant tourists. There, you can really experience the excitement and free spirit of Cuban culture. People are walking around playing traditional Cuban music (Afro-Cuban rumba, bolero, guaguancó, and more.) You will find diverse groups of people dancing, singing, drinking some Havana Club, or maybe even enjoying a Bucanero Cerveza (Cuban beer).
Malecón was originally designed as a protection of the city from the water. (Who would have guessed that it would become one of the coolest nighttime hangout spots in the whole city.) Construction of the wall that lines the sea began around 1901 and some parts were even developed up until the early 1920s. The final parts were constructed in the late 1940s and early 50s, before the famous Cuban Revolution.
Your tour leader will make sure that each itinerary has a nighttime visit to El Malecón around sunset. There are a series of small restaurants and bars to grab food and drinks. Sometimes there are even pop-up tents selling street food, water, sodas, and beer. You will see plenty of vintage cars driving by as you observe the classic architecture, unlike any other city. It is not only blissful, but it will bring you back to an era that emulates the 1950s. Each area you walk along has something fun and inspiring happening.
Havana Music Tours has a selection of tour dates that are very flexible for anyone’s schedule. We also have some of the most unique itineraries in comparison to any other tour operator. We are simply a music-loving company that has a passion for international travel. The music in Cuba has famously influenced jazz musicians in America, Latin America, and the rest of the world for decades.
https://havanamusictours.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/FullSizeRender-23-scaled.jpg17012560Editorial Teamhttps://havanamusictours.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/final-e1675339047365-300x161.pngEditorial Team2017-09-06 11:48:302026-09-26 21:05:22What is El Malecón, La Habana, Cuba
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