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The capital of Cuba, Havana, on November 16, 2024, celebrates its 505th anniversary and for this an exciting campaign of events has been planned, divided into three stages: the first from April 9 to July 26, the second from July 27 to November 16, and the last from November 17 to January 8, 2025.

What better occasion to visit this wonderful and unique city.

At a press conference, the details of this initiative were presented, promising to enliven every corner of the city under the motto “Havana lives in me”.

During these months, a series of events will take place including music, sports, entertainment, dance, history, and literature, as well as tributes to prominent figures such as Commander in Chief Fidel Castro and historians Emilio Roig and Eusebio Leal.

Among the most significant events mentioned were the Havana Video Dance Festival and the Havana City in Motion Urban Landscape Dance Festival, the latter to be held from April 25 to 28.

Other activities will include the El Trompo Children’s Fair, the National Baseball Series at the Latin American Stadium, and activities for all ages at Lenin Park.

Additionally, from May 6 to 18, celebrations for International Museum Day are scheduled in the heritage network of the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, where visitors can enjoy exhibitions, conferences, room openings, mini fairs, and guided tours.

The Rutas y Andares Project will allow those interested to explore the streets of Havana in July and August through guided museum visits, walks in public spaces, thematic routes, virtual tours, and workshops.

Then, from October 9 to 20, Cuban Culture Day will be commemorated, classical music will find space with the Mozart Havana Festival, and the Cuban Book Institute will dedicate a Saturday of the month to honoring the date in its usual Saturday of the Book.

Added to these are other proposals such as the International Golden Boleros Festival, the 12th edition of the International Festival A Bridge to Havana, and the large casino wheel (a choreography where hundreds of coordinated people dance salsa) with which Cuba aspires to the Guinness World Records.

From November 2 to 17, a rich program will take place in museums and cultural centers to celebrate the new anniversary of the City of Wonders, which includes, as every year in the early hours of every November 16, the date on which the city was founded, the propitiatory rite of walking around the ceiba tree, hundreds of people visit El Templete of Havana to perform the ritual of walking three times around the ceiba tree, in the place where the first Mass was held and the first town council was founded.

Men, women, and children, Cubans from all over the country of different religious faiths, as well as tourists, walk three times around the ceiba tree counterclockwise, a tradition as old as the city itself, people caress it as if it were a deity, some people throw coins.

In some religions, wishes, aspirations, and conflict resolutions are expressed to this sacred tree.

We await you in Havana!