Havana Jazz Plaza 2026: Jan 25 to Feb 1 Concerts, Colloquia

Havana prepares to swell with jazz, study and cultural tourism as the Festival Internacional Jazz Plaza runs from Jan 25 to Feb 1, 2026. The weeklong program will stage concerts, workshops, colloquia and tributes across major venues including the National Theatre, Fábrica de Arte Cubano and Teatro Alicia Alonso, aiming to connect performing musicians, students and international visitors.

Organizers and Cuban cultural institutions have released a program that couples nightly performances with academic activity. The Leonardo Acosta Colloquium, coordinated with the Unión Nacional de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba (UNEAC), will bring scholarly panels and discussions into the festival schedule, providing a platform for research, critical debate and historical perspective on jazz in Cuba and the broader Caribbean. Musicians and scholars will be able to exchange methods, repertoire and archival knowledge in sessions designed for both practitioners and listeners.

Concerts will occupy formal stages and more informal spaces, with tributes and curated programs planned across Havana’s theaters and cultural centers. Workshops promise hands-on opportunities in improvisation, arranging and ensemble practice - practical sessions that local players and visiting students can use to sharpen technique and expand networks. Expect late-night jam sessions and descarga formats that sustain Havana’s tradition of spontaneous musical collision, as well as staged performances that highlight composed repertoire and cross-genre experiments.

The festival’s calendar also folds in cultural excursions timed to the weeklong event. Several travel and cultural tour operators are offering packages that bundle concert tickets, guided walks and curated Havana experiences for visitors aiming to combine sight-seeing with the music program. For local musicians and cultural workers, the festival presents opportunities to perform, attend masterclasses and meet promoters and presenters who travel for Jazz Plaza.

Practical considerations are straightforward: secure tickets or package bookings early, confirm schedules for the National Theatre, Fábrica de Arte Cubano and Teatro Alicia Alonso, and check colloquium session times if planning to attend academic panels. Venues vary in formality and capacity, so plan for both seated concerts and standing-room events in club-like settings.

Havana’s Jazz Plaza remains a moment when community, scholarship and performance intersect. For performers it is a chance to test new material and build collaborations; for audiences it is a week to hear a spectrum of styles from arranged big-band sets to intimate improvisations; for the city it is an annual pulse of cultural exchange that draws attention and foot traffic to venues across town. Expect music, debate and the kind of spontaneous encounters that keep Havana’s jazz scene alive, and plan ahead to make the most of it.