International Jazz Plaza Festival heats scene in Cuba

Havana, Jan 24 (Prensa Latina) Venezuelan-US pianist and composer Edward Simon will join the Havana Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Daiana Garcia, for a concert at Saint Francis of Asis Convent Minor Basilica in Havana.

January 24, 2026
08:29

The performance, in the afternoon, will feature Cuban virtuoso musicians Oliver Valdes, Jorge Reyes, Yosvany Terry, Yaroldy Abreu, Roberto Alvarez, and Alejandro “Coqui” Calzadilla, in what will be a prestigious prelude to the International Jazz Plaza Festival, which will open on Sunday.

The Theater of the National Museum of Fine Arts (MNBA) in Havana will host this Saturday the concert “Yohana Pena and Jose Portillo: Habana Filin,” as a tribute to Jose Antonio Mendez, a pillar of this Cuban musical style. Special guests will include artists Lazaro Rivero “El Fino” and Juan Carlos Rojas “El Peje.”

Renowned Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca will perform this day at the Cespedes Park in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba with the Steel Band del Cobre, another top-tier offering from the Jazz Plaza Festival.

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