| | ACTIVITIES and EVENTS
Activities Events
|  | Activities | | | There are terrific hiking and trekking possibilities on the Cuban island. Marked walking trails, maps and professional guides are almost nonexistent but local residents will usually guide you for just a few dollars. Horseback riding is also popular among visitors, and special tourist ranches have been established at Baconao and Trinidad. The northeasterly tradewinds bring good swells between December and April, but surfers will have to bring their own boards as none are locally available for rent. Cuba is endowed with wonderful areas for scuba diving and snorkelling, and the 30-odd dive centers across the country offer organized dives, courses and equipment for hire. Deep-sea fishing is also popular in Cuba's waters.
|  | Events | | | The Havana Carnival in late February and early March features parades in front of the Capitolio or along the Malecón on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. The Jornadas de la Cultura Camagneyana is scheduled for the first two weeks of February, and the Havana International Jazz Festival happens every second year in February. April sees the Semana de la Cultura celebrated in Baracoa and the Electroacoustic Music Festival in Varadero. The first week of May has the Romería de Mayo in Holguin, and at the end of June Trinidad hosts the Fiestas Sanjuaneras. Carnival is celebrated in Santiago de Cuba during the last two weeks of July and the first week of August to coincide with the holidays around July 26. Carnival marks the end of the sugar harvest and originated as a period in which the slaves were allowed to celebrate. For those 10 days the drum is king. The Festival of Caribbean Culture is celebrated in June or July, October has the 10-day Havana Festival of Contemporary Music and the Semana de la Cultura Trinitaria happens in Trinidad in late November. The International Festival of Latin American Film is held in Havana in December of each year. Public Holidays
1 January - Liberation Day
1 May - Labor Day
25-27 July - Celebration of the National Rebellion
10 October - Day of Cuban Culture
Note that Christmas Day has been observed as a public holiday since the Pope's visit in 1997. |
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