Havaneres are old sailors' songs that Catalan crews once carried back from Cuba, and the coast still sings them on summer nights. This one unfolds at the harbourside plaça in L'Estartit, with the boats of the local nautical association just behind you and the group Terra Endins leading the tunes. The songs are slow and a little melancholy, full of distant ports and women left on the quay, and you don't need a word of Catalan to feel where they're going.
Part of the tradition is the cremat: a pot of rum, coffee, sugar and citrus peel set alight, stirred until the flames die down, then ladled out warm. It's free, it's outdoors, and it runs late, so bring a jumper for when the sea breeze picks up. A proper local evening rather than a tourist turn.
