UNESCO Cities of Music

Santiago de Cuba

In Santiago de Cuba, a city of diverse cultural confluences, music is one of the most widespread artistic expressions. For residents it is a tool for urban development, furthering social integration, multicultural dialogue, the creation and development of social identity. It encompasses various aspects, from listening to recorded music to enjoying live music. The city’s spirit has the essential elements of a Creative City of Music. The diversity of its rhythms and genres has international prestige, represented by the work of the city’s vast music sector comprising professional musicians, numbering over 1600, and its 102 music-centric cultural institutions. The city’s music industry also boasts artist agencies and record companies, musical instruments manufacturers, record stores and freelancers in the field. Santiago has the infrastructure necessary to further develop the local music value chain, via the production generated by diverse relevant parties. The city annually hosts numerous intangible cultural resources, fairs, parties, festivals and events including Carnival of Santiago, ‘Pepe Sánchez’ Trova Festival, International Choir Festival, MatamoroSon Festival, Boleros de Oro Festival, Caribbean Festival, Jazz Festival, and Cubadisco Fair.

As a Creative City of Music, the following steps will be important:

• Promoting Santiago’s music by reinforcing the organization, creation, production, distribution and dissemination of cultural activities, goods and services;
• Exchanging knowledge, experiences and good practices among actors of the creative music industry at the local and international levels;
• Reinforcing international cooperation among the Creative Cities of Music;
• Creating spaces for music recording, thereby offering more opportunities to women and other marginalized demographics, the public and private sectors, and civil society; and
• Maximizing developmental potential across musical genres by creating workshops for different social groups, promoting global participation in the cultural life of the city.

Belfast

Music has been a constant thread throughout Belfast’s history and is embedded in the daily lives of its people. The city is home to large cultural assets including 18 theatres, 28 arts centres, 60 galleries, over 90 playing fields, 15 museums, 6 stadia, 22 libraries, 80 heritage sites, and 71 open spaces and public parks. Belfast hosts 80 festivals per year and is home to Nobel Laureates and Oscar winners. The city has over 80 music venues from the 11,000 capacity SSE Arena and the historic Ulster Hall with the famous Mulholland Grand Organ to the prolific Grand Opera House. Belfast’s entertainment and conference venue, the ICC, and other small to medium sized venues offer audience and participation-based engagement. Belfast’s music heritage is reinforced by traditional Irish cultural organizations as well as a network of community-based flute and pipe bands. Diverse cultures are supported by a host of organizations and support agencies, and the sector is formed of all age groups. Economically, the music sector generated a direct output of USD 240.96 million in 2019 and a direct Gross Value Added of USD 112.85 million. 1,781 jobs, equivalent to 1.16% of the total workforce in Belfast, are supported by the music sector. The city of Belfast is dedicated to working with the music sector to develop a strong model for safe, inclusive, and accessible music experiences for audiences and musicians, through a series of well-being initiatives reaching 15,000 people.

As a Creative City of Music, the following steps will be important:

● Launching a dedicated music support service providing professional development, networking and music entrepreneurship advice, reaching more than 1500 musicians and music businesses annually;
● Transforming multiple vacant and public spaces for cultural use by collaborating with the film and design sectors;
● Working with other Creative Cities to deliver shared music and learning opportunities;
● Hosting a Global Summit on Sustainability reaching 2,000 delegates worldwide; and
● Creating new music stories with an international community of 350 young people.

Batumi

Batumi, with its geopolitical location and natural, historical and cultural assets, has enormous potential with regards to the development of the music industry. The city hosts six international Music Festivals annually, namely The International Black Sea Jazz Festival, The Night Serenades, The Black Sea Sound, The Batumi Black Sea Music and Art Festival, The Garakanidze Batumi Folk and Spiritual Music Festival, and The Batumi Art Festival. In addition to various local music concerts, festivals, competitions, and fairs, the city hosts international projects that promote cross-sectoral cooperation in the cultural industry. The Batumi International Film Festival, The Black Sea Wine Festival, Batumoba, Oktoberfest Gandagana, Summer Season Opening Fest, and the Batumi Kite Festival all incorporate music as an integral part of the celebrations. Moreover, Batumi boasts numerous cultural facilities, allowing for the creation of music and performances. Apart from the traditional concert venues – concert halls, theaters, and music centres, the city offers various unique cultural spaces. As an example, recently the Petra Fortress has become a tourist site of international importance and a concert venue, which was renovated with the provision of adapted paths, a visitor centre, and exhibition centres. It can accommodate around 2,000 visitors for concerts and offers unique cultural experience.

As a Creative City of Music, the following steps will be important:

● Strengthening international cooperation between UNESCO Creative Cities Network member cities, through the organization of various multilateral music festivals and events;
● Improving access to and participation in cultural life, notably for marginalized groups, by increasing state funding for affordable and free cultural events;
● Facilitating research on challenges and the potential of music through the organization of an international conference for sharing knowledge and expertise about the music industry and creativity;
● Increasing the importance of creativity in the city’s urban development through increased public-private partnerships; and
● Developing a Music and Art Education Hub to offer quality, affordable music education, and increasing the interest of youth in creativity.

Huancayo

Huancayo is located in the centre of Peru, 3200 meters above sea level. It is known as the ‘Trade Fair Capital’ of the country, and according to a population research carried out by the Catholic University of Peru, it is considered ‘Peru’s Happiest City’ owning to the convergence of festivals and job satisfaction that are part of its residents’ everyday life. This festive spirit draws on a long historical tradition of the feasts and music resulting from several cultures coming together. Huancayo is a city of musicians, and the cradle of several, widely diverse musical genres, some of which have even transcended the country’s borders, such as chicha, huayno, or huaylarsh. Moreover, Huancayo hosts a musical cluster where several actors gather and offer goods and services to the different music genres. During the high season, the space known as ‘Inmaculada Park’ becomes a place where musicians from further afield flock to the city to offer their services. Similarly, people from other Peruvian cities visit this venue to engage musicians. In addition, other creative fields are also successful in Huancayo, such as film-making, photography, and the publishing industry. Moreover, the city has several intangible components recognized by the Peruvian State as Cultural Heritage of the Nation, including some traditional musical instruments.

As a Creative City of Music, the following steps will be important:

Developing public policies for the music sector including a proposal for a post-COVID reactivation, with a proposed investment for cultural public infrastructure;
Ensuring the population’s access to the cultural public infrastructure, and also better conditions for the musicians;
Offering professionalization platforms through the creation of the Professional Music Career, and management backstopping by the Municipality; and
Ensuring exchanges with other member cities of the Network by enhancing existing cooperation and exchange programmes in the Network with new events and activities.

Xalapa

With a population of half a million inhabitants, the city of Xalapa is a dynamic and student city, with 900 students annually who are drawn to the city to study music at a higher level. The city is distinguished by having a strong creative vocation focused on musical culture, which is illustrated by the training and promotion opportunities and facilities provided by the Veracruzana University, private universities and the musical initiation centres of State and Municipal governments. Each year, more than 10,000 musical shows are performed in the city, with an average annual audience of more than 300,000 people, equivalent to 70.6% of the local population. Xalapa has a formal musical structure composed of groups and quality facilities for different genres including classical music, jazz, jarocho and huasteco, salsa, rock, danzón and bolero. The city is also home to 50 public and private stages. However, the most symbolic and valuable music capital rests on its 2,500 musicians who, with their practice and exchange of knowledge on a daily basis, continuously display the soundtrack of the city.

As a Creative City of Music, the following steps will be important:

• Developing musical culture and nurturing creative musical movements with local, national and international influences;
• Mobilizing and promoting various musical groups and genres, from chamber music groups to regional and popular music;
• Creating both public and private venues and spaces for musical training and recreation, notably with local and state institutions for the dissemination of music and its various sub-fields;
• Providing a conducive environment in music for students from the country and abroad, as well as for researchers specialized in various music genre with opportunities to participate in the Network’s activities; and
• Developing specialized and research publications in the field of music.

Recife

Recife is one of the oldest cities in Brazil with almost 500 years of history. With approximately 1.6 million inhabitants, the city is also one of the most populous nationally. Tradition, creativity, and cultural diversity are great identity markers for Recife’s residents in which music plays a strategic role by mobilizing a wide network that involves cultural actors and services. Recife is renowned for its street Carnival. The annual Galo da Madrugada, is the largest carnival group in the world. The event brings together unique musical expressions such as frevo and maracatu, as well as movements that are well known internationally, for instance Manguebeat. The city has a long history of musical innovation with Frevo, a 19th century Recifian rhythm, inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Furthermore, Recife’s annual Abril Pro Rock is the first independent music festival in the country, leading to the creation of many more festivals including Porto Musical and Rec’n Play, which nurture a favorable environment for business and innovation in the field of music.

As a Creative City of Music, the following steps will be important:

• Creating governance mechanisms for the cultural sector;
• Raising creativity as a recognized strategic factor for the city’s urban sustainable development, present in local long-term plans;
• Strengthening Recife’s culture and creative economy, stimulating new partnerships involving the public and private sectors, as well as international cooperation with other Creative Cities of Music;
• Promoting professional training to enrich the production, distribution and especially dissemination of cultural manifestations, thereby broadening opportunities for professionals in the music sector, especially those from marginalized communities; and
• Fostering urban and cultural activity development in the city centre to improve access to and participation in local cultural life.

Havana

Havana, with a population of 2,154,454 inhabitants, is Cuba’s leading tourist destination and a fundamental hub of creativity and music production. The Old City of Havana and its system of fortifications were declared World Heritage Cultural Site by UNESCO in 1982 for their rich historical, architectural and cultural heritage, a fusion of European, African and indigenous contributions. Havana is characterized by a soundscape that resonates with the rhythm of music.

Music therefore contributes significantly to the city’s economy, generating substantial economic income and many jobs, with cultural production representing up to 4% of its GDP. Havana boasts artists, groups and communities involved in music creation both professionally and as amateurs, the latter working for example in the city’s cultural programme with an output of 2,210 cultural activities each year.

In the new context of updating the Cuban economic model, cultural industries appear as sustainable and resilient alternatives to crisis contexts. The CubaDisco International Fair Symposium, the JoJazz Contest, the Drum Festival Master Classes and Lectures, the Cuban International Hip-Hop Symposium, Fanfare Meetings and the Musicology Colloquium at Casa de las Américas are among the many musical events hosted by the city.

The Cuban Institute of Music, with its policy of developing musical talent, implements a dozen programmes that cover the entire technical and artistic spectrum. An information and analysis system provides detailed statistical mapping of all actors in the chain and plays a role in auditing and decision-making. Finally, a technological platform for Cuban music is under development, which will make it possible to digitally promote and market the vast existing catalogue.

As a Creative City of Music, Havana envisages:

launching a local development project aimed at culturally revitalizing the whole of Avenida Línea, one of the city’s most important arteries, in the fields of performing arts, visual arts, dance and music;
strengthening the music industry by harmonizing its products with international standards, improving mechanisms for the promotion and distribution of Cuban music, and developing the skills of different actors;
initiating a programme for the development of music creation with the aim of improving the dissemination of composers’ work;
creating a programme for the development of musicology by equipping it with the theoretical and practical tools needed to impart an understanding of how the city music functions and evolves; and
launching a programme for the development of music education at all levels to help individuals make progress in their personal and professional development.

Santo Dominigo

Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, with a population of 3.6 million inhabitants, is one of the cultural epicentres of the Hispanic Caribbean, known for its vibrant and diverse musical heritage: Merengue, bachata, son, salsa, classical, latin Jazz, pop, rock, hip-hop, perico ripiao, urban music, tropical fusion and many other traditional and contemporary rhythms. Today Santo Domingo boasts more than 2,000 companies dedicated to this sector, with a productive population equivalent to 12.5%, registering 468,324 people employed in cultural and creative activities.

Santo Domingo is a city with no fewer than seven major music festivals. Of these, the most famous is the spectacular Fundación Sinfonía: Santo Domingo Music Festival. Founded in 1997, the festival, a biennial event, presents musicians from the National Symphony Orchestra as well as celebrated orchestras from the United States of America and Europe. This world-renowned exposition has placed the Dominican Republic on the music world map. For Santo Domingo’s youth, every year the streets come alive with the Barbarella electronic music festival. Headlining world famous actors and award-winning DJs, this is one of the Caribbean’s most anticipated electro festival. In 2018, the city saw the launch of the Isle of Light Festival, an indie and electronic music festival. Featuring a scenic setting and top tier stage production, the festival has become the premier musical gathering on the island, with many international, top award-winning artists headlining, as well as showcasing new musical talent from the region.

Throughout the year, the local government sponsors events that promote the participation of professionals in the field of music. On a national level, Proyectos Culturales is a programme of decentralization of cultural policies within the Ministry of Culture, with the aim of allowing creators and cultural managers to propose and manage their own projects. Through this programme, the city has benefited in the development of folk groups, dance companies and the craft of musical instruments.

As a Creative City of Music, Santo Domingo envisages:

promoting creativity and innovation as an axis of sustainable urban development and social inclusion for metropolitan planning in Greater Santo Domingo;
strengthening the musical education and entrepreneurship for activating culture industries and tourism supported by heritage;
establishing cross-cutting projects with the participation of all sectors, with emphasis on youth and vulnerable groups, through the promotion of peace and social integration in the local communities;
developing a world-class creative pole of the Caribbean music industries; and
creating a local Network of Creative Cities to share experience and learning among other Dominican cities and with the UCCN members worldwide.

Essaouira

Since the 7th century B.C., the city of Essaouira has been an important regional centre for creativity. The UNESCO World Heritage listed Old Medina of Essaouira boasts exceptional spaces for cultural expression, where music takes on its full meaning.

Essaouira is a major centre for intercultural dialogue and a symbol of tolerance, and is renowned for many cultural initiatives of both regional and international scope, serving to promote inclusion for the city’s residents and for the province. Young people are active participants in the cultural and music industry of Essaouira. Currently, there are twelve regular music festivals and eleven music event companies created by young people from the city. T

he role of music has its roots in a historical tradition of mixed identities – Jewish, Muslim, Christian and animist, which is reflected in numerous major events. Among these are the Gnaoua World Music Festival and the Atlantic Andalusia Festival. Soon to be completed is the Mohammed VI City for Arts and Culture project, designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. Other creative projects, such as the Studio des Arts, and the transformation of the former municipal library and the former Danish Consulate, have also been carried out by the city, in a spirit of innovation and development.

A large part of the annual cultural budget is allocated to support the music industries through numerous grants, especially for hosting of international events. The city is also developing projects with international artists in order to provide the city’s artists with opportunities for inspiration and networking.

Added Value:

As a Creative City of Music, Essaouira envisages:

inaugurating a Cultural and Creative Industries Department with the objective of developing creativity centres, strengthening creation and production at the local level and supporting young entrepreneurs;
digitizing the musical heritage of the city in order to increase distribution and playing of music, preserve the city’s musical heritage, and facilitate its access;
creating a travelling conservatory for schools in the city’s hinterlands to improve access to and participation in the cultural life for disadvantaged people;
creating an online radio station, coordinated by the city of Essaouira, exclusively dedicated to traditional music from around the world, particularly African music;
developing the artistic programme of the General Assembly of Corporate Citizens, which brings together international artists from different creative sectors each year, by showing art installations to residents, and from 2020, highlighting a different African country each year; and
creating an international school of traditional music and dance to boost creativity within the Network, and foster cooperation with Africa, particularly South-South cooperation.