A City of Music and Memory
Every March, Santiago de Cuba becomes the beating heart of Cuban music with the International Pepe Sánchez Trova Festival. Trova is not just a genre—it is Cuba’s poetry sung aloud, a blend of sentiment, storytelling, and rhythm that has shaped the nation’s cultural soul for more than a century.
This festival, founded in 1962, honors José “Pepe” Sánchez (1856–1918), a self-taught composer considered the father of Cuban trova. With his guitar and voice, he inspired generations of troubadours—musicians who carried their songs through the plazas and parks of Oriente province. Sánchez’s birthday, March 19, is now celebrated as Troubadour Day, the culmination of the festival.
The Evolution of Trova
Trova’s roots are deeply romantic, often centered on love, longing, and personal stories, sung by a solitary troubadour with guitar in hand. Over time, new currents emerged:
- Filin – trova fused with the soft pulse of the bolero, sensual and deeply emotive.
- Nueva Trova – post-Revolution artists brought political commentary, influenced by Brazilian, U.S., and British popular music.
At the festival, all these forms find a stage. Traditional voices stand beside the nueva trova, reminding us that music evolves but always remembers its roots.
A Living Celebration
For five days, Santiago overflows with concerts in theaters, music halls, plazas, and parks. Artists come from all corners of Cuba and beyond, their guitars echoing across the colonial streets. One of the most moving moments is the Ruta del Trovador—a parade that winds through the city and ends at Santa Ifigenia Cemetery, where Pepe Sánchez, Sindo Garay, and other great trovadores rest. Music becomes memory, and memory becomes song.
The Casa de la Trova, perhaps Santiago’s most iconic venue, also comes alive—its doors open to late-night sessions where locals, visitors, and musicians mingle until dawn. Here, trova is not a performance; it is an embrace.
My Cigar Ritual at the Festival
As with every Cuban festival, I mark these days with cigars that match the rhythm of the moment. In the afternoons, moving from square to square, I often choose a Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No. 1. Its smooth, aromatic draw pairs well with the warmth of the sun and the easy sway of filin. It is a cigar for strolling, for listening, for savoring.
But when the night deepens and the stage fills with nueva trova—lyrics of passion, protest, and poetry—I reach for the Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchill. Its generous format allows a long smoke, bold yet refined, perfect for leaning back with a glass of Santiago rum as guitars and voices carry into the night.
If you come, make your own choice with care. Stop at our cigar shop before or on your way to Santiago, and we’ll help you find the cigar that belongs to your moment. Perhaps a Montecristo Especiales No. 2 for its elegance, or a Partagás Serie P No. 2 for its fire. Every cigar adds its own verse to your story.
More Than a Festival – An Invitation to Belong
The Pepe Sánchez Trova Festival is not only for musicians. Travelers can join immersive workshops—learning trova rhythms, playing with local bands, or stepping onto the dance floor in professional salsa and rumba classes. For one week, you don’t just watch trova—you live it.
Through trusted partners, we offer travel arrangements, tours, and cultural immersions, making it easy for you to experience Santiago’s music and its cigar traditions together.
So whether you come this March or begin planning for the next edition, I invite you to join us in Santiago. Walk the Ruta del Trovador. Dance in the Casa de la Trova. Listen to voices that carry a century of history. And when the music pauses, light your cigar, sip your rum, and feel part of something eternal.
Because in Santiago de Cuba, trova is not just sung—it is lived, and it lingers, like smoke rising into the Caribbean night.
