Wifredo Óscar de la Concepción Lam y Castilla, better known as Wifredo Lam, was a Cuban artist who sought to portray and revive the enduring Afro-Cuban spirit and culture. Inspired by and in contact with some of the most renowned artists of the 20th century, including Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, Lam melded his influences and created a unique style, which was ultimately characterized by the prominence of hybrid figures. This distinctive visual style of his also influences many artists. Though he was predominantly a painter, he also worked with sculpture, ceramics and printmaking in his later life.
Bongos are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. The pair consists of the larger hembra and the smaller macho, which are joined by a wooden bridge. They are played with both hands and usually held between the legs, although in some cases, as in classical music, they may be played with sticks or mounted on stands.
Lydia Cabrera was a Cuban independent ethnographer, writer, and literary activist. She was an authority on Santería and other Afro-Cuban religions. During her lifetime she published over one hundred books; little of her work is available in English. Her most important book is El Monte, which was the first major ethnographic study of Afro-Cuban traditions, herbalism and religion. First published in 1954, the book became a "textbook" for those who practice Lukumi and Palo Monte both religions reaching the Caribbean through enslaved Africans. Her papers and research materials were donated to the Cuban Heritage Collection - the largest repository of materials on or about Cuba located outside of Cuba - forming part of the library of the University of Miami. A section in Guillermo Cabrera Infante's book Tres Tigres Tristes is written under Lydia Cabrera's name, in a comical rendition of her literary voice. She was one of the first writers to recognize and sensitively publish on the richness of Afro-Cuban culture and religion. She made valuable contributions in the areas of literature, anthropology, art, ethnomusicology, and ethnology.
Son cubano is a genre of music and dance that originated in the highlands of eastern Cuba during the late 19th century. It is a syncretic genre that blends elements of Spanish and African origin. Among its fundamental Hispanic components are the vocal style, lyrical metre and the primacy of the tres, derived from the Spanish guitar. On the other hand, its characteristic clave rhythm, call and response structure and percussion section are all rooted in traditions of Bantu origin.
Afro-Cubans or Black Cubans are Cubans of full or partial sub-Saharan African ancestry. The term Afro-Cuban can also refer to historical or cultural elements in Cuba associated with this community, and the combining of native African and other cultural elements found in Cuban society, such as race, religion, music, language, the arts and class culture.
Abakuá, also sometimes known as Ñañiguismo, is a Cuban initiatory religious fraternity founded in 1836. The society is open only to men and those initiated take oaths to not reveal the secret teachings and practices of the order. Members are typically known as Abanékues and are divided amongst lodges or chapters called juegos. Abakuá derives largely from the Ékpè society of West Africa, but displays adaptations like the inclusion of Roman Catholic symbolism.
Irakere is a Cuban band founded by pianist Chucho Valdés in 1973. They won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Recording in 1980 with their album Irakere. Irakere were innovative in both Afro-Cuban jazz and Cuban popular dance music. The group used a wide array of percussion instruments like batá, abakuá and arará drums, chequerés, erikundis, maracas, claves, cencerros, bongó, tumbadoras (congas), and güiro.
Carnivals, known as carnavales, charangas, or parrandas, have been vibrant public celebrations in Cuba since at least the 17th century, with the Carnaval of Santiago de Cuba holding a special place among Cubans.
Juan de Marcos González is a Cuban bandleader, musician and actor, best known for his work with the Buena Vista Social Club and in the 2021 Sony Pictures Animation film Vivo as the voice of Vivo's owner, Andrés.
Rumba is a secular genre of Cuban music involving dance, percussion, and song. It originated in the northern regions of Cuba, mainly in urban Havana and Matanzas, during the late 19th century. It is based on African music and dance traditions, namely Abakuá and yuka, as well as the Spanish-based coros de clave. According to Argeliers León, rumba is one of the major "genre complexes" of Cuban music, and the term rumba complex is now commonly used by musicologists. This complex encompasses the three traditional forms of rumba, as well as their contemporary derivatives and other minor styles.
Afrocubanismo was an artistic and social movement in black-themed Cuban culture with origins in the 1920s, as in works by the cultural anthropologist Fernando Ortiz. The Afrocubanismo movement focused on establishing the legitimacy of black identity in Cuban society, culture, and art. The movement developed in the interwar period when white intellectuals in Cuba acknowledged openly the significance of African culture in Cuba. Afro-Cuban artistic expressions helped integrate the marginalized black community into mainstream Cuban society and art. Since its inception, Afro-Cuban Humanities has emerged as a major area of collegiate studies, and Afrocubanismo's influences can be seen in Cuban literature, painting, music, theater, and sculpture.
Belkis Ayón was a Cuban printmaker who specialized in the technique of collography. Ayón created large, highly detailed allegorical collagraphs based on Abakuá, a secret, all-male Afro-Cuban society. Her work is often in black and white, consisting of ghost-white figures with oblong heads and empty, almond-shaped eyes, set against dark, patterned backgrounds.
Eliseo Grenet Sánchez was a Cuban pianist and a leading composer/arranger of the day. He composed music for stage shows and films, and some famous Cuban dance music. Eliseo was one of three musical brothers, all composers, the others being Emilio and Ernesto (1908–1981). Emilio went on composing even after having a leg bitten off by a shark in 1930; Ernesto was a drummer who became leader of the Tropicana's orchestra.
"Bruca maniguá" is an afro-son composed by Arsenio Rodríguez in 1937. It was first recorded by Orquesta Casino de la Playa featuring Miguelito Valdés on vocals in June 1937. Ever since it has become a Cuban son standard, with famous versions by Abelardo Barroso, Sierra Maestra, Buena Vista Social Club and Ibrahim Ferrer. The song, which has been called "a landmark in the development of Cuban popular music" by Ned Sublette, was Arsenio Rodríguez's first hit and an example of his Afro-Cuban style of son within the afrocubanismo movement.
Mercedes Valdés Granit, better known as Merceditas Valdés, was a Cuban singer who specialized in Afro-Cuban traditional music. Under the aegis of ethnomusicologists Fernando Ortiz and Obdulio Morales, Valdés helped popularize Afro-Cuban music throughout Latin America. In 1949, she became one of the first female Santería singers to be recorded. Her debut album was released at the start of the 1960s, when the Cuban government nationalized the record industry. She then went on hiatus before making a comeback in the 1980s with a series of albums entitled Aché, in collaboration with artists such as Frank Emilio Flynn and rumba ensemble Yoruba Andabo. She also appeared in Jane Bunnett's Spirits of Havana and continued performing until her death in 1996.
Tahona, alternatively spelled tajona due to its pronunciation or taona, is a secular style of Afro-Cuban music developed in the 19th century in Santiago de Cuba after the arrival of Haitian slaves following the Haitian Revolution. It is named after the ensembles and the drums played by them. It is considered one of the oldest styles within the rumba complex, and its performance became rare by the 20th century.
Afro is a genre of Cuban popular music with African themes which gained prominence during the afrocubanismo movement in the early 20th century. It originated in the late 19th century Cuban blackface theatre, where some elements from Afro-Cuban music traditions such as Santería and Palo were incorporated into a secular context. As a result, black themes were occasionally portrayed in a stereotypical and derogatory manner. Nonetheless, many afros accurately depicted the working-class life of black communities in Cuba.
A Toda Cuba le Gusta is the first studio album by the Afro-Cuban All Stars, produced by Cuban bandleader and musician Juan de Marcos González and Nick Gold, and released on April 9, 1997, on World Circuit Records.
The Immaculate Conception of San Vicent is a c. 1640-1645 oil on canvas painting by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, now in the parish church of San Vicente Mártir in Seville.
The Teatro Sierra Maestra, in Havana, is Cuba's only known atmospheric style theatre inspired by the Mesoamerican architecture of Latin America. The building was designed by the architects Evelio Govantes and Felix Cabarrocas, with interior design contributed by Fernando Tarazona.
