FOOD AND MUSIC
In Cuba, the music and gastronomy are strongly rooted to the origins of the population, their customs and their history. They are part of their identity.
Playing in every corner, Cuban sounds, guajira and bolero define the Cubans. With Buena Vista Social Club, Benny Moré, Pablo Milanés, Silvio Rodríguez, Chucho Valdés or the contemporary and younger Buena Fe, from the moment the travellers arrive at a Hostel in Cuba, the music starts playing.
In Havana, it is enough to read the “Cartelera”, a publication with all the information about musical shows in the city.
In Vedado, the area where Hostel Havana Colina is located, you can’t miss the nightlife in El Gato Tuerto or La Zorra jazz club and Cuervo y El Hurón Azul. There is also Havana Café, a bar next to Meliá Cohiba Hotel, that offers very good musical shows depending on the night of the week, as well as Cabaret Turquino, in Havana Libre. In Miramar, an area of elegant mansions where foreign embassies dominate, it is recommended to visit the Casa de la Música and, for bolero lovers, Dos Gardenias.
Those who want to listen to some music closer to Hostel Havana Lido, in the old town, should take into account that many bars and restaurants usually have music bands that play live.
There are very good shows in La Casa de la Música (Havana Vieja headquarters) or La Casa de la Trova, a monument to music improvisation.
If you want to dance non stop, then head to El Chévere, Pico Blanco or La Pampa clubs, all of them in Vedado.
Birthplace of countless music genres, Santiago de Cuba is the city of Cuban music. Those travellers who stay in Hostel Santiago de Cuba Libertad or in Hostel Santiago de Cuba San Juan, will find some of the best musical shows in La Casa de la Trova, in Calle Heredia, or in La Casa de la Música. If you are staying in Hostel Libertad, one of the closest places to enjoy shows is El Patio de los Dos Abuelos, in Plaza de Marte.
Both in a traditional restaurant and in a paladar (family type eatery, private restaurant), Cuban food is a good mixture of African tastes, Spanish dishes, local and Caribbean products and Asian cuisine. One of the main Cuban dishes is ajiaco criollo, a kind of stew that mixes vegetables (yucca, banana, sweet potato), meat (beef or pork) with broth, lemon juice and chilli.
Ajiaco’s recipes vary depending on the regions where they are cooked. However, the best known dish is “moros y cristianos”, a mixture of rice with black beans, similar to the oriental congrí, except this one includes pinto beans (porotos). Another typical Cuban dish is “ropa vieja”: frayed meat with gravy, bananas, rice and black beans. None of the Cuban tables is without tostones, bananas cut up into pieces, squashed and fried.
Because Cuba is one of the main countries that produce sugar cane, rum has won a place in the Cuban cocktail bars famous all over the world. Why not start then with a Cuba libre, white rum and cola soft drink. Cubanito, Daiquiri, Havana Especial and, of course, Mojito are some of the best known drinks of the island.
Whether you are in La Bodeguita del Medio, in El Floridita, in the bar of a Hostel in Cuba or leaning on the Pier, raise your glass and make a toast to your return to the island.
