25 Best Performing Arts in Cuba

The open-air theater just north of Parque Martí, has live music and varied shows nightly at 10.

When they're not on tour, the highly regarded Afro-Cuban Ballet Folklórico Cutumba rehearses mornings from 9 to 1 from Tuesday through Friday. They present a show most Saturday evenings.

Housed in a stunning pink mansion in leafy Vedado, this is the place to come to hear excellent groups performing Afro-Cuban and other traditional music. It's open on Saturday night only and the cover charge depends on the band playing.

has a full and ever-changing roster of events, including comedy shows, which take place on weekends at 7 pm.

The "House of Culture" hosts several concerts a week at 9 pm and a street concert every Sunday at 4 pm.

This is a good place to hear traditional Cuban music and has a great authentic vibe. The best time to come is on Friday starting at 6 pm.

At the Casa de la Trova on the west side Parque Ignacio Agramonte, local musicians perform Cuban son in an 18th-century courtyard every day but Monday from 2 to 5 and 9 to midnight.

This spot hosts live-music shows starting at 10 pm Wednesday through Saturday and on Sunday afternoons.

The folksy trova combines African rhythms with Spanish guitar, and the lyrics explore themes of romance or social protest. The Casa de la Trova has daily shows where groups play in one of four shifts: 10 am–2 pm, 3–7, 8:30–10, and 10 pm–2 am. Former Beatle Paul McCartney once visited; his autographed picture hangs on the wall here.

The cultural center here has high-season courtyard concerts by musicians from Camagüey. It functions as a dance club other nights.

Just off Parque Céspedes, this bar serves cheap drinks on its outdoor terrace; sometimes there's live music here weekend evenings.

This large complex, which also contains a variety of restaurants, always offers some type of musical event. The Video Bar is open from 10 pm and offers music and comedy nights for an entry fee of CUC$5, while the Salon Boleros opens nightly at 10 pm for boleros-style music.

Also known as the Teatro García Lorca, the theater has a spectacular Baroque facade with white marble angels dancing gracefully on its four corner towers. It's a beautiful place to see operas, jazz shows, symphony performances, and plays. In addition, the National Ballet performs here under the direction of Alicia Alonso, who is now in her nineties but is still Cuba's honorary prima ballerina. There are two theaters here: the Sala García Lorca and the Sala Antonin Artaud, which is known for its avant-garde theater productions. At the time of writing it was closed due to ongoing renovations.

Early in the evening, a band plays at the bar-café on the porch of the Hotel Casa Granda. Its rooftop bar occasionally has live-music shows and is also a nice spot for a drink.

The open-air ruins of this theater have a nightly folk-dancing and music show at 10. Daily percussion and dance lessons are also on the menu here.

This exquisite, Neoclassical concert hall is named after a 19th-century violinist/composer who was exiled for his nationalist leanings. It was the first place that danzón, Cuba's national dance, was performed. The building has been under restoration for two years and should open by January 2016, as a venue for concerts and cultural events.

Home of the Sinfónica Nacional (National Symphony), which is currently directed by Enrique Perez Mesa, the performances here are much better than the ages and outfits of the musicians (who look for all the world like a high school band) would suggest. Listen to them deal with Handel's Water Music or Prokofiev's 7th, especially the allegro movements.

The Teatro Heredia hosts performances of classical and Cuban music and opera as well as poetry readings.

Home of the Danza Contemporánea de Cuba, this is the standard venue for contemporary theater, as well as for dance.

Cuba's most important theater is used for classical music and ballet performances, as well as for contemporary theater and dance productions.

The impressive Teatro Principal two blocks northwest of the Plaza de los Trabajadores hosts monthly performances by the city's renowned Ballet de Camagüey—consider yourself blessed and grab tickets if you're lucky enough to be in town when they're here—and regular concerts by the city's fine symphony orchestra.

The city's stately theater hosts frequent concerts and dance performances. Ticket prices are a bargain compared to what you'd pay back home to see a similar production. If you're in town when the Cantores de Cienfuegos, the city's famed a cappella group is performing, grab tickets.

This theater stages plays by contemporary playwrights.

Sibling of the Havana original, the Tropicana puts on a full cabaret, with dozens of dancers—men in Spandex, women in feathers and jeweled bikinis—floating through the colored lights and tropical decor. It's undeniably touristy and Vegas-like. You'll come away entranced by the spectacle or a tad bored. It depends on your tastes. Most hotels offer cabaret packages for CUC$40 per person (including transport, entrance, and one drink).