The doors have opened on the Youth Art Fund’s (Fondo de Arte Joven — FAJ) National Music Competition 2026.
Embracing and nurturing a new generation of musical artists, fostering the growth of talent and an extension of opportunity, the event is now in its third edition. Any Cuban musician between 12 and 18 can enter, whether trained in the country’s art schools or self-taught at home.
Launched in 2024 by the FAJ in alliance with UNICEF Cuba, the initiative fosters the professional development of young musicians, opening up a window of opportunity for new talent and affirming the value of music as a space for expression and learning for a new generation.
The competition is co-sponsored by UNICEF, the French Embassy and UNESCO’s Regional Office in Havana.
Cuba’s private sector steps in
Remarkably, two private companies in Cuba, Voltainos and Grupo Inmor, are also co-sponsors. Both have committed to donating a percentage of their profits to Cuban culture, as part of their social responsibility policy. This is a rare act on the part of the corporate sector at a time when very few stakeholders are investing in the development of culture on the island.
Both work on things Cubans think about every day: Voltainos sells renewable energy equipment, notably the NUS Electrics line of solar panels, batteries and inverters; in a country of daily blackouts, it is also what keeps the competition running, from rehearsals to the final concert. Grupo Inmor is building the largest drinking-water plant in the country, run entirely on renewable energy and built around circular economy principles. In today’s Cuba, that is a radically new way of doing business, and one where culture is not an afterthought.
How it works
Rules for entry are few, and simple. Contestants compete in three age groups, from 12 to 18. Applicants complete a form on the FAJ website and submit a link to their work: a video of themselves playing or singing, alone or with accompanying musicians; a complete work or a single movement, a song of their own, an improvisation. One take, no editing.
Entries go to a jury of Cuban and international professionals in the fields of performance, composition, education, musicology, music production, and cultural management, some of whom also sit on Grammy juries. They will select the finalists, then nine winners—three in each age group, announced on November 23.
Prizes for the winners include an all-expenses-paid trip to Havana, with an accompanying adult, to participate in the one-week FAJ Creative Exchange Program in December, featuring activities, rehearsal sessions, and master classes. The week ends on the stage of the theatre of the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, where the winners play alongside internationally accaimed musicians.
Since its first edition in 2024, the competition has sought to connect young creators with stakeholders committed to children and the development of the arts in Cuba. More than a hundred young musicians from across the island have taken part so far.
A Geneva NGO born in Havana
The FAJ supports and promotes the work of emerging artists taking their first steps in the art world. Launched in 2023 by the Swiss Confederation as an inclusive platform for the creative sector in Cuba, it became an independent Geneva-based non-profit in 2025, with a mandate that now covers the Global South.
The organization has since worked with artists from over 20 countries, from sub-Saharan Africa and the Maghreb to the Caribbean. Cuba is among its most challenging operating environments: an economy under severe strain, felt in the cultural sector as everywhere else.
The Fondo de Arte Joven National Music Competition closes November 1. All information on entry requirements is available on the FAJ website at: https://artejoven.org/fondo-de-arte-joven-y-unicef-cuba-convocan-a-la-tercera-edicion-del-concurso-nacional-de-musica-2026/
T.K. Hernández is co-founder and editor at Cuba Business Report. Her work has been published in various online news media. Hernández has supported fundraising for Cuba’s hurricane disaster relief campaigns and delivers medical supplies through the Not Just Tourists organization. She is a member of the Canadian Network on Cuba, The Writers Union of Canada, and ACES International Alliance of Editors. Ms. Hernández is the author of four books; most recently, “Sin título: The Art of Osmany Betancourt Falcón (Lolo) 2025.
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