Conan O'Brien Is Cuba's Leading Man

Conan O'Brien takes his TV show to the island country of Cuba for a first of any production company since the U.S. embargo began, in 1962.

O’Brien travelled to Cuba in February, on a mostly low-profile trip taken with his producer, his head writer, and a camera crew. He was delayed for a few hours upon arrival at the airport near Havana, he told the Los Angeles Times, but was subsequently allowed to travel and film freely for the next four days. The goal was simple: “To meet the people, and try and make friends,” as O’Brien says in the special’s opening voiceover.


He has, let’s say, mixed success. During a Spanish-language class, he becomes upset when the teacher impugns his eighth-grade-level pronunciation; on a tour of the Havana Club rum distillery, he badgers the young guide to move things along to the tasting session at the bar; he commandeers a salsa band, singing gibberish. “Old women love me here, dogs hate me,” he says.

He badgers people on the street; tries to convince a bunch of children that he is, in fact, a talk-show host in the United States (“That’s a lie,” a little girl replies); and struts around in a white-linen suit and cream-colored panama hat. Nobody does the American idiot abroad better, and for that reason alone O’Brien is a fair pick for cultural ambassador to the people of Cuba.

Cold Open, with Cuban Andy





Conan Visits The Havana Club Rum Museum





Conan's Havana Rooftop Sunset





Conan Takes A Cuban Spanish Lesson





Conan Learns To Dance Cuban Rumba





Conan Joins A Cuban Salsa Band





Conan Dines At A Cuban Paladar





Conan Visits A Cuban Cigar Factory





Conan Visits Havana's El Malecón





Conan Says Goodbye To Cuba