Toronto has a long-standing relationship with Cuban music, shaped in large part by the musicians who brought their talents to Canada and made the city their home. Over the years, Cuban rhythms have found a place in Toronto’s live music scene, influencing local performers and inspiring new bands along the way.
Now, The Jazz Room: Journey to the Heart of Cuba is celebrating that musical connection at Lula Lounge, a venue with its own history of championing Cuban artists. But how did the city become such an important stop for musicians from the island?
How Cuban musicians found a home in Toronto
A significant chapter in this story unfolded around the turn of the millennium, when a wave of Cuban musicians arrived in Toronto. Some had travelled to Canada as part of international tours with established Cuban bands, but chose to stay rather than return home. Their arrival brought an impressive depth of musical experience to the city’s salsa scene, with many having trained in Cuba’s highly regarded music education system
For these musicians, Toronto offered the opportunity to build new lives and careers. Some settled with their families, formed their own bands and began developing a sound that brought Cuban traditions into conversation with the city’s diverse musical influences. In an interview, Lula Lounge co-founder José Ortega described how this growing community helped strengthen Toronto’s existing Latin music scene, where salsa fans and dancers had already established an audience for the genre.
The impact can still be heard in the city today. Toronto is home to groups such as Café Cubano, one of Canada’s first all-Cuban full salsa bands, led by Cuban-born pianist Jorge Betancourt. The group has gone on to inspire other musical projects and remains part of the city’s timba scene. The connection that shows how music travels, carried across borders by the people who play it, then given a new home by the communities who embrace it.
The Jazz Room: Journey to the Heart of Cuba in Toronto
4 March 2027 18:00
Lula Lounge
Horns first, then the hits
First, the band. The Jazz Room: Journey to the Heart of Cuba puts saxophones, trumpets and vocals together for about an hour of live Cuban music, mixing well-loved classics with improvised solos so the night never sounds quite the same twice.
Then, the songs. The program travels from boleros to son and salsa, taking in “Chan Chan” (yes, the Buena Vista Social Club one), “Cómo Fue,” associated with Benny Moré, Trío Matamoros’ “Son de la Loma,” Celia Cruz’s “La Vida es un Carnaval,” and “Guantanamera” in Compay Segundo’s version, among others.
Lula Lounge, a Latin music stage on Dundas West
Lula Lounge opened in 2002 at 1585 Dundas Street West, a block and a half west of Dufferin in Little Portugal. Founded by Jose Ortega, Jose Nieves, and Tracy Jenkins, it started out as a Latin and Brazilian club whose weekly salsa nights gave rise to the 12-piece Lula All Stars orchestra, and it has welcomed Hilario Durán to its stage.
Getting there is straightforward: the 505 Dundas streetcar stops right outside, while the 29 Dufferin bus connects the venue with Dufferin station on Line 2. If you’re driving, there’s a Green P parking lot at 9 Bonar Place, around a four-minute walk away, as well as metered street parking along Dundas West.
The Jazz Room: Journey to the Heart of Cuba
4 March 2027 18:00
Lula Lounge
Toronto’s connection to Cuban music has been shaped by the musicians who brought it here and the audiences who kept it alive. At Lula Lounge, you can hear some of those same rhythms celebrated on a stage that has long made space for Latin music.
