Despite recent efforts to (re)build a wall across the Caribbean, Cuba’s musical vortex keeps pulling Americans in. Pastel alleyways, pork-pie hats, ‘52 Chevys, and halls of faded grandeur provide the setting for a festival at which the glamour of foreign headliners (Joe Lovano, Dee Dee Bridgewater) is easily matched by the natives (Chucho Valdés, Roberto Fonseca, Gonzalo Rubalcaba). If you don’t feel like swimming around the wall yourself, festival-centered tours provide easy legal access. —E.E.
A Monthly Culture Matrix For the Cosmopolitan Traveler
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