Havana's Salsa Festival Celebrates Orquesta Revé's 70th Anniversary

Havana is getting ready to move. From February 26 to March 1, 2026, the legendary Club 500 in Vedado will host the 10th edition of the Festival de la Salsa, celebrating a decade of live music and paying tribute to one of the most influential orchestras in Cuban music history: Elito Revé y su Charangón, which turns 70 this year.

A decade of making the world dance

Created by musician and producer Maykel Blanco, leader of La Salsa Mayor, the Festival de la Salsa has become one of the most important events on Cuba’s cultural calendar. What started as an initiative to bring together the country’s great orchestras has grown to attract dancers, DJs, and dance academies from around the world.

“Today it’s a reality that every year brings together musicians, dancers, and salsa lovers from all over the world,” Blanco told the Cuban News Agency.

Indira Fajardo, president of the Cuban Institute of Music, emphasized that the festival positions Cuban music across multiple platforms, bringing salsa to communities and art schools across the island.

Star-studded lineup

This year’s roster reads like a who’s who of living legends in Cuban music:

Friday, February 27 (opening night)

• Los Van Van — Cuba’s flagship band
• Manolito Simonet y su Trabuco
• Papucho y su Manana Club
• Yasser Ramos y Tumbao Mayombe

Saturday, February 28

• Juan Guillermo
• Adalberto Álvarez y su Son
• Maykel Blanco y su Salsa Mayor
• Alain Pérez

Sunday, March 1 (closing night)

• Alexander Abreu y Havana D’Primera
• Haila María Mompié
• Iván “el hijo de Teresa”
• Elito Revé y su Charangón — the guest of honor

The festival will also feature international dance academies including Tim’Bará (France), Proyecto Bantú (Mexico), and Compañía All Stars (Santiago de Cuba), offering workshops in casino, rueda, and other Cuban dance styles.

Orquesta Revé: 70 years of musical revolution

The story of Orquesta Revé is, in many ways, the story of modern Cuban salsa. Founded in 1956 by Guantánamo-born timbalero Elio Revé Matos (1930–1997), the group was born with a revolutionary idea: fuse the Havana charanga format with the rhythms of changüí from eastern Cuba.

The school of greatness

Orquesta Revé has been the most prolific training ground in Cuban popular music. Its alumni include:

• Juan Formell, who founded Los Van Van in 1969 along with Revé pianist Pupy Pedroso
• Chucho Valdés, before his legendary career with Irakere
• Juan Carlos Alfonso, founder of Dan Den
• Founding members of Ritmo Oriental and Orquesta 440

The birth of the Charangón

In 1982, Elio Revé made the boldest decision of his career: he added bongó, Cuban tres, and three trombones to the charanga format, creating a massive instrumentation he called the “charangón.” This fusion finally realized his dream of uniting Havana with Guantánamo in a single sound, laying the foundations for what would become Cuban timba.

The legacy continues

After Elio Revé’s tragic death in a car accident in 1997, his son Elito Revé Duvergel took the reins. A graduate of Cuba’s music school system who had been the orchestra’s pianist since age 20, Elito has maintained the group’s artistic standard at the highest level. In 2011, the album De qué estamos hablando won the Cubadisco Grand Prize — the first time a timba group had ever received that honor.

Today, known as “La Aplanadora de Cuba” (Cuba’s Steamroller), the orchestra remains an unstoppable force on Cuban and international stages.

A festival in challenging times

The 10th Festival de la Salsa arrives at a complex moment for Cuba. The recent postponement of the Havana Book Fair due to the energy crisis has highlighted the difficulties facing the cultural sector. However, as Culture Minister Alpidio Alonso declared: “There can be no cultural blackout.”

The festival is backed by the Ministry of Culture, the Provincial Directorate of Culture, Artex, the Paradiso agency, and MB Producciones, among other national and international sponsors.

Practical information

Cuban salsa doesn’t stop. While the world dances casino in academies from Paris to Tokyo, Havana remains the heart pumping the rhythm. This February, that heart beats with the force of 70 years of Charangón. 🎶