Organisers of the XXX Longina Festival have published the official programme for Longina Festival 2026, which will take place from 7 to 11 January in Santa Clara, with satellite activities in Caibarién, Santo Domingo and Manicaragua. The five-day event focuses on poetry, songwriting and dialogue under the banner of the canción de autor, reaffirming Santa Clara’s role as a centre for trova and the new song in central Cuba.
Longina Festival 2026 Programme
The festival opens on Wednesday 7 January at Galería Pórtico in Santa Clara with the exhibition Carto by photographer Kaloian Santos Cabrera, documenting a tour by the celebrated Cuban songwriter Silvio Rodríguez. This year’s edition is dedicated to Rodríguez, and the programme places his work and influence at its heart.
On Thursday 8 January at 11:00 a.m., the festival will host one of its most anticipated events: an exchange between Silvio Rodríguez and a selection of contemporary singer-songwriters at the Martí Library in Santa Clara. That session will be accompanied by another exhibition, Retratos, which presents Rodríguez’s work as a photographer.
The musical line-up combines established figures with emerging talent. Confirmed performers include Amaury Pérez Vidal, Tony Ávila, Marta Campos, Adrián Berazain, Rey Montalvo, Ariel Barreiros, Pedro Berttán and Lucía Travieso. International guests add a transnational dimension to the bill, with Ella Trova from Colombia, Ernesto Luis from Venezuela, Xóchitl Ramos and Darío Parga from Mexico, Anita Tripodi Paz from Argentina and Tobias Thiele from Germany.
Nightly “descargas” at the Casa del Joven Creador will inject informal energy into the festival, featuring acts such as La Caña Santa, Enrique Téllez and Javier Saldivar. The festival closes on Sunday 11 January in Santa Clara with a headline performance by Tony Ávila and his group at Luna Naranja, followed by a late-night descarga led by Víctor Marín and Iwá Pelé.
Attendees and local observers highlighted the festival’s ability to bridge generations and styles. María de las Mercedes Acea López, a university student from Cienfuegos who has attended Longina for a decade, told ACN that the festival is “more than an event; it is an annual reunion with the roots and genuine emotion of song.” Retired teacher Carlos Abreu Martínez of Santa Clara praised the programme’s diversity, noting that audiences can attend a substantive conversation with leading artists and later enjoy a vigorous youth-led descarga in the same day.
Auspiced primarily by the Asociación Hermanos Saíz (AHS), the Longina Festival honours the legacy of Manuel Corona, the celebrated trovador from Caibarién whose composition gave the festival its name. Over three decades, the event has consolidated its role as an essential platform for the promotion and appreciation of trova and new song in Cuba.
With exhibitions, workshops, artist dialogues and both formal and informal performances, Longina Festival 2026 offers multiple entry points for listeners and creators. The programme emphasises dialogue between generations and cross-border collaboration, underlining the festival’s continued cultural relevance in central Cuba.
Key Takeaways:
- Longina Festival 2026 programme announced for 7–11 January, with events across Santa Clara, Caibarién, Santo Domingo and Manicaragua.
- Festival dedicated to Silvio Rodríguez, featuring exhibitions, a songwriter exchange and performances by domestic and international artists.
- Highlights include gallery openings, nightly “descargas” at the Casa del Joven Creador and a closing concert by Tony Ávila.
