Brutal Fest’s 2014 Cuba Festival

A festival that insisted on letting the world know that Cuban music is not only salsa and reggaeton, but also has a heavy metal tradition with enthusiastic fans.

Brutal Fest takes place twice a year is the most important international metal music festival in Cuba. It consists in a 10-day tour of Cuba with both Cuban and 6-7 international bands. Organized by the French Brutal Beatdown Record Label in association with the Agencia Cubana de Rock (Cuban Rock Agency) and the Instituto Cubano de la Música (Cuban Institute of Music), this year’s festival will include INSANITY (Switzerland), CARNAL DEMISE (Finland), DEAD COWBOY’S SLUTS (France) and NEID (Italy).

Fri, Aug 15: Holguín
Sat, Aug 16: Bayamo
Sun, Aug 17: Santiago de Cuba
Tue, Aug 19: Camagüey
Thu, Aug 21: Santa Clara
Fri, Aug 22: Habana
Sat, Aug 23: Habana
Sun, Aug 24: Pinar del Río

Fans will enjoy the most radical sounds of contemporary metal such as grindcore, death metal, hardcore and black metal. And like the name of the CD launched in 2008, this is Not Salsa, Just Brutal Music.

Since 2012, Tattoo’s Party runs parallel to Brutal Fest and is held at Maxim Rock in Havana, headquarters of the Cuban Rock Agency and Brutal Fest. This tattoo convention and contest is organized by Brutal Beatdown Recs, Toy Store Producciones and the Cuban Rock Agency and has been gaining in popularity ever since.

The event is organized by the French Brutal Beatdown Record Label with the collaboration of the Cuban Rock Agency and the Cuban Institute of Music. It is also sponsored by the Institute Français, the French Embassy in Cuba, Havana Club Internacional, Cuba Autrement and Los Portales.


  • Mayo Teatral

    Mayo Teatral  LH 4

    The forerunner was the Festival of Latin American Theater sponsored by the Casa de las Americas in the early 1960s and by 1964 attaining international characteristics. By the end of the 60s it had sto …

    Havana’s 2014 International Book Fair

    Havana’s 2014 International Book Fair  LH 4

    Havana’s International Book Fair opened its doors in February with its usual flair to once again become that huge annual event celebrating the mythical power of books. Perched on the ramparts of the M …

    November 16, 1519: Havana’s birth

    November 16, 1519: Havana’s birth  LH 4

    Havana, November 15, 2010. Hundreds of people wait at the door of the former Palace of the Captains General, today Museum of the City, for a curious procession to begin. The motley crowd is composed o …

    The Feria Internacional del Libro

    The Feria Internacional del Libro  LH 4

    The Havana Book Fair is one of the most popular fairs in Havana drawing tens of thousands of people within the walls of the La Cabana Fortress. Don’t be put off by what can at times seem like a mob sc …

    The Elsinore Theater Festival

    The Elsinore Theater Festival  LH 4

    The Elsinore Theatre Festival has been held in Cuba every year for over 30 years. The staging of plays in theaters and open spaces, set design, dramatic texts, criticism and research related to the wo …

    The Havana Club International Cocktail Grand Prix

    The Havana Club International Cocktail Grand Prix  LH 4

    Cuban classic cocktails have been and still are the finest global ambassadors of modern cocktail making. Combining the best elements of classic Spanish bartending, a vibrant multi-cultural heritage, a …

    No Salsa Please – This is a Proyecto Analógica

    No Salsa Please – This is a Proyecto Analógica  LH 4

    If you think that young Cubans are all listening to an old guy playing a guitar or dancing salsa to Los Van Van, you may want to think again. The electronic dance scene is very much alive and kicking …

    Festival Internacional de Guitarra de La Habana

    Festival Internacional de Guitarra de La Habana  LH 4

    Much to the delight of its numerous followers, the International Guitar Festival of Havana is coming back after far too many years of silence. It was founded in 1982 by the superb guitarist, composer …

    Havana Howlers 7’s Rugby Tournament

    Havana Howlers 7’s Rugby Tournament  LH 4

    Lets be honest, Havana is not known for it’s rugby so it was something of a surprise to see rugby posts erected and some pretty formidable looking men (and woman) limbering up last weekend at the Edua …

    Cubadanza

    Cubadanza  LH 4

    The two-week long International Workshop on Cuban Modern Dance, Cubadanza, aims at professional dancers and students, teaches different Cuban popular rhythms and dances from which Cuban modern dance d …

    « 4 of 8 pages »