Harlem/Havana Cultural Exchange Brings Cuban Fashion, Food, Music

HARLEM, NY — This week Harlem will be infused with Cuban culture in the form of concerts, Cuban food tastings and fashion shows. The inaugural Harlem/Havana Cultural Exchange kicked off Sunday with a two-hour performance at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, but the exchange will hit up various neighborhood institutions throughout the next week.

Cultural exchange events will be held until Sunday, August 21 as part of a two-part endeavor to bridge the culture gap between the United States and Cuba. The Harlem/Havana program was announced in June. In February of 2017, the United States will send a cultural delegation to Cuba in return for the events that Cuban musicians, artists, chefs and fashion designers will put on this week.

Several Cuban entertainers will come to Harlem Week:

• Cesar Lopez & Habana Ensemble.
• Jorge Luis Pacheco y su Grupo.
• Roca Salazar "Choco".
• JJ Folkloric Dance Company.
• Fashion Project Arte y Moda.
• Chef Raul Colon.
• Information on these entertainers can be found here.

Here's a full schedule of the remaining Harlem/Havana events coming up this week:

Tuesday, Aug. 16 - Monday, Aug. 29

• 11 a.m.-6 p.m.: Pop-Up Art & Photographic Exhibit — Harlem Hospital Mural Pavilion.

Tuesday, Aug. 16

• 7 p.m. & 9 p.m. (two shows): Red Rooster salutes Harlem/Havana — Red Rooster 310 Malcolm X Boulevard.

Wednesday, Aug. 17

• 7 p.m.: Jazzmobile salutes Harlem/Havana — U.S. Grant National Memorial Park
  West 122nd Street & Riverside Drive.
• 7 p.m.: Sylvia's restaurant salutes Harlem/Havana — Sylvia’s Restaurant 328 Malcolm X Boulevard.
• 7:30 p.m.: Apollo theater salutes Harlem/Havana — Apollo Theater 253 W. 125th St.

Thursday, Aug. 18

• 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Macy's presents Harlem/Havana — Macy’s on 51 W. 34th St.
• 5:30 p.m.: SummerStage in Harlem salutes Harlem/Havana Afro-Cuban Jazz Night — Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Plaza
• 6:30 p.m.: NJPAC salutes Harlem/Havana — 15 Washington Place, Newark, N.J.

Friday, Aug. 19

• 6:30 p.m.: National Jazz Museum in Harlem salutes Harlem/Havana — 58 W.129th St.
• 6:30 p.m.: Harlem’s Floridita Cuban Restaurant Salutes Harlem/Havana — 12th Avenue and West 125th Street.

Saturday, Aug. 20

• 12 p.m.: Dance Theatre of Harlem salutes dance in Harlem & Havana — 466 W. 152nd St.
• 2-3:30 p.m.: Harlem Week salutes Harlem/Havana with "Fashion Flava" show — West 135th Street between Frederick Douglass Boulevard and St. Nicholas Avenue.
• 3:30-5 p.m.: Harlemusicfest salutes arlem/Havana at "Uptown Saturday Concert" — West 135th Street between Frederick Douglass Boulevard and St. Nicholas Avenue.
• 7 p.m. & 9 p.m. (two shows): Ginny’s Supper Club salutes Harlem/Havana — Ginny’s, Malcolm X Boulevard between West 125th and 126th streets.

Sunday, Aug 21

• 11 a.m.: First Corinthian Baptist Church salutes Harlem/Havana — Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd. and West 116th Street.
• Harlem Day salutes Harlem/Havana Music & Cultural Festival
• 2-6 p.m.: YMCA Stage Harlem Music Fest — West 135th Street between Malcolm X & Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. boulevards.
• 3:30-5 p.m.: 5th Avenue Main Stage Honoring Congressman Charles Rangel — West 135th Street between 5th Avenue and Malcolm X Boulevard.
• 4-7 p.m.: St. Nicholas Avenue Main Stage Harlem Music Fest — West 135th Street between Frederick Douglass Boulevard and St. Nicholas Avenue.

[Photo: Nick Kenrick via flickr]