Carlos Acosta's guide to Havana: dancing, the seawall of the Malecón and the Meliá Cohiba hotel

Havana. It’s wherever I’m from and going backmost is each astir returning to the source. The infinitesimal I get there’s the odor and the vigor of the tropics, the humidity … it welcomes me. Walking astir the city, euphony is everyplace — it’s astir similar each flat is its ain discotheque. In 1 there’s salsa, the adjacent there’s reggaeton, past a bolero — it’s a madhouse from that perspective. People are ever dancing successful the street, cipher walks connected the sidewalks, everyone walks connected the street.

Then there’s the seawall of the Malecón, which is astir 5 miles agelong and has its ain ecosystem. People are selling you stuff, others are fishing. Musicians volition spell and practise their instruments — trumpets, trombones — due to the fact that nary 1 bothers them. There are truthful galore stories to archer there.

I spell backmost to Havana 3 oregon 4 times a year. I’ve conscionable been to invited the first-year intake of dancers for Acosta Danza, the creation institution I acceptable up. It turns 10 adjacent year, truthful we are going backmost to observe with shows successful the city. I’m going to beryllium dancing arsenic well. Havana is simply a compass for me, I person to spell backmost to retrieve wherever I travel from. With the beingness I unrecorded it’s casual to suffer your head, to get caught up successful the clamour, the meetings, the champagne. But each truthful often it’s bully to instrumentality to say, “this is wherever I started” and support my feet connected the ground. As good arsenic the creation company, I besides travel to spot my family.

I person a location successful the westbound of the city, successful a bully portion adjacent to the oversea — well, everyplace is adjacent to the oversea — and adjacent Marina Hemingway, wherever radical spell astatine the weekends. There are sportfishing marinas, bully hotels and a precise celebrated arts schoolhouse — the Instituto Superior de Arte. It’s an astonishing structure, this fantastic schoolhouse built successful the Sixties.

The top, apical spot to devour is La Guarida, successful the Centro Havana district, and it’s astir apt the astir celebrated edifice successful Cuba. The Spanish king, presidents — everyone has to marque a halt determination erstwhile they visit. It has this beauteous terrace and the nutrient is wonderful. There’s different 1 called Chachachá, which is making a splash successful the edifice scene, positive there’s Fangio, astatine the Claxon Hotel successful midtown. It celebrates erstwhile Havana utilized to person the Formula One Grand Prix successful the Fifties, connected the Malecón, with large drivers similar Juan Manuel Fangio — determination was a celebrated incidental erstwhile helium was kidnapped. You spot a batch of memorabilia of those classical cars of the clip — Jaguar, Maserati, Ferrari. It has a beauteous terrace wherever they play jazz astatine night.

Ropa vieja, a crockery of shredded beef. The etymology of the sanction is aged clothes. It’s precise hard to find it successful the UK, unless you spell to a Cuban restaurant, but successful Havana it’s everywhere. As good arsenic the meat, the ingredients see herb condiment and olives. You premix it with brownish rice, plantains and avocado salad. Cubans person immense avocados, they’re much similar watermelons, precise meaty. Man, I’m bare now.

Go to La Guarida for food. If you privation to spot something, cheque retired the Ballet Nacional de Cuba oregon Acosta Danza, of course. There is besides the Museo Napoleonico, a postulation of Napoleon memorabilia — including letters and apparel — successful midtown. Then determination is La Vitrola, a backstage nightclub-restaurant-disco. It’s successful the neighbourhood of Vedado; it greets you with immense classical cars and a Harley Davidson hanging from the ceiling. The nine has a 14-piece set and it’s ever truthful busy. That’s wherever you spell to bent retired with the locals.

I would spell to El Faro del Castillo del Morro, the lighthouse, and from determination you’d spot Havana astir from the sea. It’s a large happening to do.

There’s a seafood edifice called Santy El Pescador, which is connected a sportfishing marina adjacent to wherever I live. It’s peculiar due to the fact that there’s nary paper and you don’t cognize however overmuch thing costs. You devour what you’ve been given. It’s a food edifice — sushi, sashimi with the drawback of the day. It’s been similar that for years. But it’s precise bully caller food and precise local.

I locomotion the streets astir the metropolis — I’m ever precise funny to spot what caller places person emerged. I conscionable privation to instrumentality the pulse of what’s going on. There is an unthinkable bar-restaurant called Yarini, named aft a celebrated Cuban pimp from the aboriginal 20th century. It has large unrecorded music. I similar to spot what’s new, who the caller musicians are, what the wellness is of Cuban euphony — salsa and timba…

I person a mate — I wrote astir him successful my autobiography — whom I met successful London a agelong clip ago, erstwhile I archetypal joined the Royal Ballet, past helium went backmost to Cuba. So I ever effort to bent retired with him. He speaks English and knows London, truthful the speech isn’t conscionable Cuba-centric. His sanction is Othello.

I don’t truly store successful Cuba. There is an creation just wherever I bargain stuff, adjacent to the historical town. It’s called La Lonja del Comercio, successful Old Havana, and determination is simply a immense warehouse wherever radical merchantability their creation and souvenirs. So we spell determination to bargain Christmas presents for household present successful the UK. There are a batch of large artists there, truthful I bring creation back, and of people boxes of cigars and rum — radical admit it.

Of people I ever bring backmost boxes of cigar and rum — radical admit it

There are a few. There is 1 edifice successful the metropolis wherever you tin spell to the apical level and it has an infinity excavation and you person a striking presumption of the lighthouse and the Malecón. This clip I went to a spot person to the Almendares river. It’s a cigar club, and it was 1 of those Fifties buildings, but erstwhile you get to the penthouse it’s a 360-degree terrace. It’s a large spot to person a mojito and a cigar. I’m looking guardant to taking my household there.

I bring porridge due to the fact that I similar it, and I won’t beryllium capable to find it successful Havana.

Any Cuban opus — I perceive to Latin euphony a batch and I’m precise fond of a set called Havana D’Primera. In the wintertime successful the UK erstwhile it’s acheronian I request that Cuban connection, truthful I perceive to the music.

When my eldest girl was two, she pulled boiling beverage disconnected the array and it went connected her face. We rushed her to infirmary and she was determination for 5 days; that was the scariest clip of my life. She’s wholly good present but it was a precise aggravated 5 days. They looked aft her well.

When my eldest girl was two, she pulled boiling beverage disconnected the array and it went connected her face. We rushed her to infirmary successful Havana

I sometimes spell to the Meliá Cohiba hotel. Mostly I bash a batch of Tabata workout, which tin beryllium done anywhere.

Carlos Acosta’s Nutcracker successful Havana runs astatine the Queen Elizabeth Hall from December 10 to 15, southbankcentre.co.uk