Cuba Educational Travel AND The Trombone Shorty Foundation Present:
JANUARY 15-19, 2026
esto es lo que hay
A Cultural Exchange Like No Other
A Cultural Exchange Trip and Music Festival that celebrates the music and culture of the United States and Cuba. Led by Cimafunk, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Getting Funky in Havana means:
Impactful school visits, youth performances, and workshops
Engaging with Cuban artists, entrepreneurs, and members of the cultural community
Intimate jam sessions; rooftop and living room performances
Behind-the-scenes cultural experiences and informative panel discussions
VIP access to large, outdoor concerts by Cimafunk, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, and top Cuban and New Orleans artists that are free to the Cuban people
Making a difference: the project supports Havana and New Orleans youth musicians, schools, and community programs. You become part of the New Orleans-Havana cultural bridge.
The Artists
Cimafunk
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
+ More to be announced soon
Past Artists Include: Alian Perez, Alexander Abreu & Havana D’Primera, Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph, Big Chief Juan Pardo, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Big Freedia, Brenda Navarette, ChikSoul, George Clinton, Ibeyi, Interactivo, Ivan Neville, Julius Rodriguez, Keyon Harrold, Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, Los Van Van, Mannie Fresh, Maurice “Mobetta” Brown, Michael Brun, Nik West, Paul Beaubrun, Pedrito Martinez, PJ Morton, Robert Randolph, Rolando Luna, Samuel Formell, Taj Majal, Tank and the Bangas, The Soul Rebels, Valerie June, Wampi, X Alfonso, Yissy Garcia, Yola
Dates: January 15-19, 2026
“A week full of high emotions, amazing music and a constant reminder that Havana and New Orleans are, in fact, connected by a history that goes back centuries.”
The exchange is organized by Cuba Educational Travel and the Trombone Shorty Foundation, organizations with long histories of cross-cultural exchange, community engagement and arts development. It is supported by the Gia Maione Prima Foundation, a foundation dedicated to fostering music and the arts at a youth and community level, as well as Horns to Havana, a New York based group that has been working with music schools in Havana for the past 10 years.
Cimafunk, the groundbreaking Afro-Cuban funk artist, serves as the local host along with other members of Havana’s booming music community. The program includes visits to local schools and community projects and is heavily focused on supporting the Cuban people. A fundamental part of the exchange is the delegation of a dozen young New Orleans musicians from the Trombone Shorty Foundation, who will work with their Cuban peers and shadow professional artists during the visit.
Cultural exchanges by day, jazz & funk concerts by night
Getting Funky in Havana Program Highlights
Hang with Cuba’s hottest artist Cimafunk, New Orleans great Trombone Shorty, and other legends (last year included Taj Majal, George Clinton, Big Freedia, Robert Randolph, Valerie June and many more) that join Getting Funky in Havana each year.
Nightly once-in-a-lifetime “Getting Funky In Havana” concerts, where you’ll share music and magical moments under the start with thousands of Cubans.
Behind the scenes art studio and gallery visits. Take part in a Cuban music and dance workshops. Choose from activities like AfroCuban percussion classes, architecture walking tours, conversations with independent journalists and entrepreneurs, and more.
Get off the beaten track and into the community, meeting Havana’s movers and shakers that power the cultural community and growing private sector.
With your trip, you support the students of the Trombone Shorty Foundation, Cuban music schools, New Orleans- and Havana-based musicians, and strengthen the New Orleans-Havana cultural bridge.
Join Us
Support the Mission
Your travel to Cuba is compliant with U.S regulations. The “People-to-People” travel category, authorized by the U.S. Treasury Department, requires U.S. travelers maintain a full-time schedule of activities that involve meaningful interaction with the Cuban People.
Travelers help subsidize musician and student travel and support cultural projects in New Orleans and Havana. We’re grateful to travelers for taking part in a life-changing cultural trip that empowers the arts and artists in both countries.
A New Orleans Welcome for Cimafunk. Photo: Erika Goldring
NOLA Jam Session with the Soul Rebels and Cimafunk. photo: Erika GOldring
Cimafunk sells out Tipitina’s. Photo: Erika Goldring
Cimafunk Ft. The soul rebels and Tarriona “Tank” Ball: Caliente
Filmed in Havana, Cuba during Getting Funky 2020
¡A calentar!
January 2020, 2023, 2024, 2025 - We Got Funky In Havana!
From The Archive:
Tank and the Bangas perform at La Tropical. Photo: Daniel Perez Rigual
The Soul Rebels take part in Second Line Meets Conga Parade in Old Havana. Photo: Rolando Cabrera
Image from Second Line Meets Conga. Photo: Jafar Pierre.
Tank and the Bangas, The Soul Rebels, Cimafunk perform for a large crowd in Havana. Photo: Wajiros Films
Cimafunk performs at Getting Funky Finale. Photo: Daniel Perez Rigual
The Soul Rebels in Havana. Photo: Giselle Gallego
Chief Monk Boudreaux at Second Line Meets Conga Parade. Photo: Jafar Pierre
Trombone Shorty performs at La Tropical. Photo: Danny Perez Rigual
Trombone Shorty meets with Cuban students of the Amadeo Roldan School.
“I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world, to experience this here in Cuba. The meeting of the cultures, we have the Cuban musicians jamming out with us...We’ve got the kids here from the foundation playing the second line, along with the Soul Rebels brass band helping us out and it’s just a beautiful thing. It’s unbelievable.”
Press
WWL: 'Us and the Cubans, our music and our people are the same'
When a group of New Orleans musicians made the trip to Cuba, there was no need for an interpreter.
