Wednesday, December 3  |  Miami and Havana, Cuba

We’ll catch our morning flight to Havana. After arriving in Cuba, we’ll ride to the hotel and pass through some traditional neighborhoods before stopping for lunch at a paladar, a small, family-run restaurant — the best way to experience truly authentic Cuban cuisine. We’ll check in to the elegant, modern Aston Hotel in the heart of the Malecón, the city’s world-famous promenade on the iconic Havana Bay.

In the evening, guests will enjoy “The Jews of Cuba,” a presentation by Cuban historian Dr. Maritza Corrales, author of The Chosen Island, whose life’s work has been a study of the history of the Jewish people in Cuba. Afterward, we’ll depart for dinner at another paladar (converted from a traditional Cuban home) for more “home-cooked” cuisine.

Meals included: lunch, and dinner
Accommodations: Grand Aston la Habana

Thursday, December 4  | Havana

After a breakfast buffet at the hotel, we’ll meet with former diplomat Camilo Garcia Lopez Trigo,   for a discussion on the United States and Cuba’s ever-changing relationship. Later, we’ll depart for Temple Beth Shalom, the heart of Havana’s Jewish community known as El Patronato. The synagogue in the Vedado district was once the center of Jewish life in Cuba. Designed by famed Cuban architect Aquiles Capablanc, it was built to symbolize prosperity and security for a community that then exceeded 25,000. Today, it contains a library, a nursery, and a main community center that holds educational activities to draw young people back to the community. We will meet with some of El Patronato’s leaders to find out more about present-day Jewish life on the island.

We’ll break for lunch on our own in La Habana Vieja (Old Havana), a neighborhood with a bustling food culture and many choices for authentic Cuban fare.  We’ll reconvene for a walking tour of the Jewish Quarter and two squares of the Old City: Plaza de Armas and Plaza de San Francisco de Asís. Plaza De Armas, the oldest of the city’s four famous squares, was originally laid out in the 1520s and much of the remaining architecture dates back to the 1700s. Sights will include the 18th-century Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, the 19th-century Greek-style Neoclassical El Templete, and the marble statue of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, Cuba’s first president and the revolutionary hero instrumental to the island’s independence. Named after the nearby Franciscan Convento de San Francisco de Asís, Plaza de San Francisco de Asís was built between 1575 and 1591. We’ll stroll its famously uneven cobblestones to view the plaza’s white marble fountain, Fuente de los Leones, carved by Italian sculptor Giuseppe Gaggini in 1836, and the much newer modernist bronze sculpture La Conversación. While touring both squares, we’ll learn about the families that forged the Jewish community of Cuba, find out more about the island’s present-day Jewish community, and, hopefully, interact with some everyday Cubans to learn about daily life here.

We’ll enjoy another authentic, delicious meal at a local paladar in the evening.

Meals included: breakfast and dinner
Accommodations: Grand Aston la Habana

Friday, December 5  | Havana

In the morning, we’ll head to the Centro Hebreo Sefaradi (the Sephardic Hebrew Center). Founded in 1954, it is the only remaining Sephardic synagogue still functioning in Havana. We will meet with one of the community leaders. to discover more about Sephardic history and present-day experience. Afterward, we’ll walk through a local market and chat with vendors and shoppers for some everyday, real-life interactions with locals. We have an included lunch and continue our program.

In the afternoon, we’ll sit in on a rehearsal of the Habana Compás Dance company. Called the “Cuban equivalent of STOMP,” Habana Compás (Havana Beat) combines Spanish folk music with Afro-Cuban rhythms and incorporates a blend of moves from ballet, folklore, contemporary, and flamenco. We’ll speak with the dancers after rehearsal to hear about their training and plans.

In the evening, we’ll return to Temple Beth Shalom for Friday night services, followed by dinner together at the Grand Aston La Habana.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Accommodations: Grand Aston la Habana

Saturday, December 6 | Havana

After breakfast at the hotel, we’ll meet with Marta Nunez Sarmieto, retired professor, sociologist, and researcher at the University of Havana’s Center for Studies of International Migrations (CEMI). Dr. Sarmieto will tell us about some of her work involving gender, employment, and media in Cuban society.

The rest of the day is reserved for rest and leisure. Guests may also explore neighborhoods in Havana on their own. Limited bus transportation will be available to take people to the Old City and the craft market. This is also an opportunity to check out and ride Havana’s many classic American cars. (Because of the US embargo and Castro’s ban on the importation of American automobiles, many of the Chevrolets, Fords, Pontiacs, Buicks, Dodges, Plymouths, and Studebakers imported during the first half of the 20th century have been maintained, restored, and rejiggered and still cruise around the island to this day.)

Meals included: breakfast
Accommodations: Grand Aston la Habana

Sunday, December 7  | Havana

We’ll begin the day at the Museum of Fine Arts (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La Habana), specifically focusing on the Palacio de Bellas Artes, designed by architect Rodriguez Picharco, opened in 1954, and dedicated to Cuban work. A private curator will give us a tour covering the many facets of Cuban art, including art by Guillermo Collazo and Raul Martinez, the “Andy Warhol of Cuba.” (Keep an eye out for the sculpture by noted Cuban modernist Rita Lonja outside the main entrance.)   We continue to the Jewish cemetery in Guanabacoa to pay respect and visit the Holocaust Memorial inside the gate. We continue with a visit  to a typical Cuban home to hear stories of the place and its residents to glimpse Cuba through the lens of one family’s history. Afterward, we’ll break for lunch on our own in the Old City.    

Later, we’ll tour the other two squares of Old Havana: Plaza Vieja and Plaza de la Catedral. Plaza Vieja (New Square), once the site of executions, processions, bullfights, and fiestas, was laid out in 1559. It remains the most architecturally eclectic with baroque-style mansions, arches, ornate stained-glass windows, and Gaudí-inspired art nouveau. At Plaza de la Catedral, most of the buildings and palaces surrounding San Cristóbal de La Habana Cathedral date back to the 18th century, including Palacio de los Marqueses de Aguas Claras Palace, Conde de Lombillo Palace, Marqués de Arcos Palace, and Condes de Casa Bayona Palace, which currently houses the Colonial Art Museum.

Meals included: breakfast
Accommodations: Grand Aston la Habana

Monday, December 8  | Havana

After breakfast at our hotel, we’ll visit the Jaimanitas home and studio of José Rodríguez Fuster. An award-winning Cuban artist specializing in ceramics, painting, drawing, engraving, and graphic design, Fuster has decorated over 80 houses in his fishing town with ornate murals and domes to suit the personality of his neighbors, making the town of Jaimanitas a unique work of public art. From there, we’ll head to the once run-down neighborhood of Lawton to visit the Muraleando Community Art Project, where professional artists have turned the trash into treasures since 2001 with murals, sculptures, and art pieces.   

We’ll break for lunch on our own before going to visit Hemingway’s House in San Francisco de Paula.  We end our day  by going to the  Plaza de la Revolución (Revolution Square) with some of the most iconic Cuban images, including the memorial for José Martí, the Cuban poet, philosopher, national hero, and symbol of Cuba’s bid for independence from the Spanish Empire in the 19th century. We’ll discuss his special relationship with the American Jewish community.

In the evening, the group will share a farewell dinner and closing ceremony.

Meals included: breakfast and dinner
Accommodations: Grand Aston la Habana

Tuesday, December 9  | Havana

After an early breakfast at the hotel, we will depart for the airport and return to Miami.

Meals included: breakfast

*Please Note: Daily schedule may be modified, subject to weather or unanticipated changes.