Trinidad Events, Things to Do and Festivals 2014 / 2015

(Trinidad, Sancti Spiritus, Cuba)

Cubans are great lovers of festivals and events, with Havana being the centre of the activity and plenty going on elsewhere on the island as well, including plenty of things to do in Trinidad. Apart from the independence and revolutionary celebrations, many Cuban festivals centre on the unique traditional music and dance genres of the country, such as the bolero and Trova music.

Cuba has a long-standing and fascinating musical tradition going back hundreds of years and including early Spanish musical forms, such as the Baroque and Renaissance styles developed from historic European church music. In Trinidad, the biggest events include the Semana de la Cultura Trinitaria (Trinidad Culture Week) each January, both the Festival Internacional Boleros de Oro and the Fiestas Sanjuaneras every June, and the Moncada Day in July.

Trinidad Calendar of Festivals and Events 2014 / 2015

January

• Liberation Day / Triumph of the Revolution - January 1st, celebrated all over Cuba on New Year's Day, marking the Communist revolution in 1959. New Year's Eve's lively festivities carry over to Liberation Day, another national holiday and a great excuse to keep partying
• Semana de la Cultura Trinitaria (Trinidad Culture Week) - mid-January, honouring the anniversary of the city's founding, some 500 years ago

February

• Festival de Musica Antigua - held in Old Havana, this unusual musical event features medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music in honour of a celebrated 17th-century Cuban composer, Esteban Salas

March

• Santa Clara Festival de Musica - honours the great Cuban composer Alejandro Garcia Caturla and features works by young Cuban composers and performances given by artistes from all over the island

April

• Easter - now that religion has been legalised again, Easter is celebrated openly across the island, with the town's much-loved Easter Friday Way of the Cross procession back on the calendar
• Semana Santa - with literally thousands of people forming a colourful procession

May

• Independence Day - celebrated everywhere on May 20th, remembering this important day in 1902 - not to be confused with the Revolution anniversary festivities, as it commemorates the ending of Spanish rule in Cuba
• May Day / International Labour Day (Dia de los Trabajadores) - the international workers' holiday on May 1st is, unsurprisingly, massively celebrated all over the island, with workers marching to their main squares or revolutionary monuments. Expect lots of dance, music and song

June

• Festival Internacional Boleros de Oro - held all over the island in June to celebrate the renowned Cuban dance and musical genre, the bolero, world-famous since its development here in the 19th century
• Fiestas Sanjuaneras - late June, held each year during the last weekend in June, with galloping horsemen taking to the streets of the city centre

July

• Moncada Day - July 25th / 26th / 27th, the most significant date in the revolutionary calendar commemorates Fidel Castro's unsuccessful attack on Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba, widely regarded as the beginning of the revolution

August

• There are no notable festivals and events during the month of August

September

• Festival of Origins - held in nearby Matanzas, celebrating all about the island's diverse ethnic heritage. The Spanish, African, Haitian, Caribbean and Chinese influences on the indigenous culture of Cuba are discussed during seminars. For the less academically involved this is a lively gathering with pulsating drum rhythms, costumed parades and street parties

October

• Holguin Festival of Latin American Culture - held annually in Holguin to celebrate the multi-cultural Cuban population and its history and heritage. Expect musical and dance events, handicraft shows, street parties and lots more
• Independence Day (Dia de la Independencia) - October 10th, honouring this day in history in 1868, when Carlos Manuel de Céspedes started the War of Independence against the colonial Spanish

November

• International Choral Festival - staged each year in Santiago de Cuba, attracting choirs from across Europe and the Americas, as well as local entries. This famous six-day event includes both concerts and contests, and offers choral music from classical through modern to Cuba's traditional Trova songs

December

• Christmas Eve and Day (Navidad) - December 24th / 25th, in spite of communism, Christmas has always been a major festival for the Catholic Cubans and has involved religious celebrations, together with parties and family get-togethers. Nowadays, various towns hold parades as well, focusing on the Cuban love of dancing, music and fireworks