Albacete Celebrates the 17th Cuban Culture Festival
Cuban rumba and the city of Matanzas take center stage at the 17th Cuban Culture Festival in Albacete, opening this Monday and running through October 20 across various venues in the Spanish city. The program boasts a diverse lineup of music, dance, film, literature, and activities for audiences of all ages.
The festival launches with the exhibition Carteles vs. violencia at the José Oliva Sociocultural Center, showcasing works by artists from CartelOn Gráfica Cubana and spotlighting the fight against violence toward women through powerful visual design.
Tuesday is dedicated to children, featuring the puppet show “Retablo de cuentos y canciones.” On Wednesday, a folklore masterclass will delve into rural Cuban traditions. Thursday’s agenda includes the screening of Una noche con los Rolling Stones, directed by Patricia Ramos, alongside a Cuban salsa masterclass and casino-style dance sessions.
The festival reaches its peak over the weekend with vibrant events. On Friday the 17th, the Noche cubana will feature a salsa workshop led by Marcos Hernández and a social dance party with DJ Nelson. The official ceremony for Cuban Culture Day takes place on October 18 at the Imaginalia Shopping Center Plaza, honoring pianist Javier Gutiérrez Massó (Caramelo de Cuba), and showcasing performances by Los Guaracheros (from Albacete), Candela Dance Group, singer Héctor Navarrete, Iván Borrel and his band, the Amigos de Cuba casino dance circle, and community entertainer Yoelkis Torres Tápanes.
Saturday will also include the Master Dance 2025 rhythm and dance showcase, workshops, craft fairs, dance sessions, board games, children’s drawing activities, and more. A lecture and demonstration on Rumba cubana will be conducted by Professor Miguel A. García Velasco. On Sunday the 19th, the program continues with Tardeo cubano, a dance session featuring a casino workshop by Orlando González and performances by Los Guaracheros.
The celebration concludes on October 20—Cuban Culture Day itself—with the presentation of “Azucareros, la leyenda,” a book by broadcaster and writer Miguel Ángel Viguera Rodríguez.
A Fixture on Albacete’s Cultural Calendar
Announcing the festival at a press conference organized by the Amigos de Cuba Cultural Association, Elena Serrallé, Albacete’s City Councillor for Culture, commended the group’s dedication and perseverance.
“To speak of this festival is to speak of commitment, consistency, and the devotion of a collective that has spent more than a decade bringing the richness of Cuban culture to Albacete,” Serrallé said, emphasizing the value of cooperation among public institutions, private entities, and cultural associations, according to the digital newspaper +quealba.
She continued, “Albacete is an open, plural, and diverse city that sees culture as a tool for connection, mutual understanding, and coexistence.”
In that spirit, she affirmed, “The Cuban Culture Festival is a perfect example of this—a bridge between two sister nations that share joy, music, and a passion for life.”
Translated by Luis E. Amador Dominguez
