Casa de la Trova, Santiago de CubaMusic houseSantiago de CubaCuba
Casa de la Trova
- Best time
- Afternoon, then again after dark
- Getting there
- On Calle Heredia, a block from Parque Céspedes and the cathedral
Why it’s in the log
Trova — the guitar-and-voice song tradition of eastern Cuba — has its home here. The building began as a small café on Calle Heredia that wandering musicians used, nicknamed La Trovita; after the revolution the trovadores were given more space and it became a Casa de la Trova, now named for Pepe Sánchez, the Santiago musician regarded as the father of the Cuban bolero. Sources disagree on the year it was formally founded, so we won't pick one.
Music runs for most of the day, every day. It is the best-known music house in the city and the busiest with visitors, but it is still where Santiago's trovadores come to play.
Go in the afternoon for the older players, and come back after dark.
