A Fortress of Stories
Each February, Havana’s International Book Fair transforms the historic fortress of San Carlos de la Cabaña, perched high above Havana Bay, into one of the largest book celebrations in the world. Since its first edition in 1982, the fair has grown into Cuba’s premier cultural event, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors each year—Cubans and foreigners alike, all bound by a love of books, ideas, and the rhythms of the island.
Walking through La Cabaña, with its stone walls and sweeping views of the city, you feel as if history itself leans over your shoulder while you browse the stalls. Publishers from Cuba and abroad line the corridors, students carry armfuls of books, and the sound of a poetry reading drifts into the salt air from an open courtyard.
Beyond the Pages
The Havana Book Fair is not just about books. It’s a festival of culture. Expect lectures by authors, theater and dance performances, art exhibitions, and evening concerts that light up the Havana night. Children gather for story sessions, academics fill lecture halls, and families wander together—each leaving with at least a book or two under their arm.
Unlike the grand trade fairs of Frankfurt or London, Havana’s edition lives outdoors, inside colonial fortresses and cultural houses across the city. In recent years, venues like Pabellón Cuba, Casa del Alba Cultural, and the Dulce María Loynaz Cultural Centre have expanded the celebration, offering new stages for art, literature, and music.
After its first ten days in Havana, the fair spreads across the island, moving west and east until it concludes in Santiago de Cuba by March. In that journey, the event becomes more than a festival—it becomes a national pilgrimage of literature.
Guests of Honor, Voices of the World
Every year, the fair honors a guest country and celebrates Cuban authors. In past editions, nations from Vietnam to South Africa, Spain to Venezuela have stood as honored guests, sharing their literature with Cuban readers. The fair has also paid tribute to Cuban intellectuals such as Ana Cairo Ballester and Eugenio Hernández Espinosa, weaving their legacies into the larger story of Cuban letters.
More than 100 publishing houses regularly present their catalogs, including Casa de las Américas, and in some editions over 1.7 million books have been sold at accessible prices, making literature available to all. International writers such as Alice Walker have walked the fortress halls, and foreign publishers have found Havana to be a bridge—not only to Cuban readers but to authors from across the globe.
Cigars, Rum, and the Written Word
For me, visiting the Havana Book Fair is never complete without the quiet ritual of selecting the right cigar for the day. The fair is long, the days filled with talks, music, and endless rows of books. In the early afternoon, when the sun is warm and the fortress walls echo with laughter, I like to carry a Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill. Its balance of elegance and flavor makes it the perfect companion for strolling the fair, listening to a poet read verses beneath the shade of the stone arches.
But when evening falls and a concert begins on the fortress grounds, I reach for something richer—a Montecristo Edmundo. I light it slowly as the music swells, its earthy sweetness pairing beautifully with a glass of añejo rum. The smoke rises into the Havana night as the city glows across the bay, and in that moment, book, music, and cigar become one memory.
If you join us, I encourage you to do the same. Stop at our cigar shop before or on your way to the fair and choose your smoke with care. Perhaps you’ll prefer the creamy Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No. 2, or the commanding Partagás Serie E No. 2. Whatever you carry, it will become part of your Havana story.
Travel with Ease
We make it simple for you to attend. Through trusted third parties, we offer travel agreements and guided tours, including special itineraries for cigar lovers. Imagine spending the morning at the fair, the afternoon walking the tobacco fields of Pinar del Río, and the evening enjoying a cigar hand-rolled by a master torcedor while listening to Cuban trova. That is Cuba as it is meant to be lived—through its words, its smoke, its music.
An Invitation to Join
The Havana International Book Fair is more than an exhibition—it is a festival of knowledge, art, and community. It is Cuba opening its pages to the world. Whether you plan to come this February or are already looking ahead to the next edition, I invite you to step inside the fortress, walk its cobblestone paths, and let yourself be carried by the rhythm of words and music.
Come with your family, your friends, or even alone—you will not leave without stories to tell. Bring home a book, a memory, and perhaps the lingering taste of a cigar smoked at sunset over Havana Bay.
Because in Havana, the written word is celebrated not only in print, but in song, in laughter, and in the gentle curl of tobacco smoke rising into the Caribbean night.
