On a summer night in a Costa Brava village, in the square or by the water, there's a group of three or four people singing slow songs about the sea and about Cuba, and a big pot where someone is setting rum and sugar alight. That's a cantada d'havaneres with rom cremat, and in Cadaqués it's done the way it is all along this coast. It's a custom born of a real story of crossing the Atlantic and back, and today it's probably the loveliest way there is to spend an August night here.
Songs that came from Havana
Havaneres originated in 19th-century Cuba, specifically in its capital, Havana, which gives the music its name. They were born there, and it was the influence of the indianos — those who went to the Americas and came back — that brought them to Catalonia, especially among fishermen, who sang them in the taverns.
It's the exact same current that built the indiano houses along the Cadaqués seafront: the same traffic of people, money, and ships, just in its intangible form. Those who came back brought brick and tile, and they brought songs. The songs have lasted longer.
What rom cremat is
Rom cremat is a drink made with rum, coffee, sugar, and spices. It's prepared in a large pot or pan, set alight, and left to burn while it's stirred, then served hot. It's associated with fishermen and believed to originate on the Costa Brava.
The tradition of pairing havaneres with rom cremat grew out of that same fusion and remains one of the central moments of the night. And it works for a very practical reason as well as a symbolic one: a cantada happens at night, outdoors, by the sea, and at eleven at night on the Costa Brava it gets chilly.
A custom that grew huge
Over time this singing tradition took root in coastal villages to the point that today few local festivals in Catalonia go by without a cantada d'havaneres. The first Cantada d'Havaneres de Calella de Palafrugell was held in 1966, gathering many havaneres sung all along the Costa Brava, and it's the one that popularised the format.
Many groups perform regularly at the cantades in Calella de Palafrugell, l'Escala, Cadaqués, and other coastal villages. In other words: it's not a recreation staged for summer, it's a living circuit with its own groups, repertoire, and audience, much of which knows the lyrics by heart.
How to go to a cantada
Standing or sitting on the ground, no booking required, and arrive early if you want a spot. Cantades are usually free and outdoors, and the point is that people sing along from below — it's not a concert you listen to in silence, it's a place where you sing.
They're scheduled mostly in summer, as part of local festivals and municipal programmes, so check the village schedule around those dates. For anyone spending time here, it's the plan that mixes best: there's nothing to understand, it costs nothing, and by the second song you're already in it. You leave a cantada with the exact feeling of having been part of the place, not just visiting it.