Aspects Of Afro-Cuban Culture

Culture is made up of different elements; symbols, language, values and norms. Every culture has a different perspective of the way individuals should lead their lives. Cuba is known for its cultural diversity that is made up from Spanish, African, French and Asian influences.

Culture is defined by specific values and belief systems. Culture is who you are, your surroundings, and your traditions. Culture helps shape our behavior, since we're born,a nd raised into a specific culture. The vidoe what is culture, states that culture is learned behavior inspired by people that come from a specific group. I was raised in a Haitian family, and growing up Haitian was definately interesting. Growing up in a strict family, and being the only girl, out of 4 brothers, I grew uo literally walking on a straight line. It was like, if you are a girl, you are looked down on, if you do anything wrong. You are also looked at, as if you've shamed your own family. Growing up in the haitian culture has raised me to be just like my mother.

We were the center of attention. This was our moment—our time—to make a statement on the raging political events. It was evident from the speechless, astonished faces of the audience that we were successful. I smiled as I watched my activism and dance group, Bailamos, dance with pride on the stage. After all the countless hours of organizing dance routines and spreading the Hispanic-Latino culture throughout school, I was finally able to witness the outcome for myself.

Afro-Cubans struggled to no avail for racial equality between the years 1886-1912. The slaughter of protesting blacks in 1912 shows that the battle cries for equality of Antonio Maceo and José Marté during the war for independence had dissolved. What was left was a unequal Cuban society, divided racially and fearing a black revolution. Aline Helg speaks directly to this issue in her book Our Rightful Share: The Afro-Cuban Struggle for Equality, 1886-1912. The aforementioned period was one in which the nation’s formation was taking place, thus the unsuccessful attempt at equality has left difficult remnants of racial inequality buried deeply in the fabric of the nation.

How did Cuba and Brazil affect popular music, culture and dance in the 1940’s and 50’s? In this investigation I am going to establish what affects Cuba and Brazil had on popular music and dance. The first thing I’m going to do is discover how the music from Cuba and Brazil spread to America, the center of music. While doing my research I will be looking at what types of music were popular in Cuba and Brazil during the 40’s and 50’s as well as how these types of music affected American popular music. Two of the sources I used in this essay, Latin Music USA and Music in Brazil will then be evaluated. To

R: Evoking When Mambo Was King, by Peter Watrous proclaims that, The era portrayed in the book, post-war America through the 1950's, is the period when Latin music had a strong impact on culture in the United States”(Watrous). in an interview with Oscar Hijuelos. He reveals how turmoil in the Cuban government, Latin American music and culture emerged in the US due to the immigration of hundreds of civilians, trying to escape the reaches of Communism during the 1950’s. By incorporating historical aspects into the novel the author is able to create realistic scenarios like how influx of Cubans in the US caused changes in several media outlets like art, literature, and music. This quote from the novel explains the dire consequences of post revolution Cuba that would led to the mass immigration of civilians to the US: “In Cuba there had been rotting sheds made of cardboard and crates, skeleton children and dying dogs …

For the purpose of this project, I have chosen the Puerto Rican Bomba Dancing as my artifact. This artifact is not something you can physically hold in your hands or go to a store and purchase, it is intangible and yet pure. It represents a culture and embodies the idea of freedom. Unlike most dances where the person follows the rhythm, in Bomba dancing, the dancer leads the drummer with the tap of their feet and movement of the hips and shoulders. The parties involved mostly dress in white with the females wearing plantation style outfits and head scarves. The lyrics sung normally evoke a sense of freedom and an escape from the hardships of slavery. (Bomba, n.d.). The most important elements of Bomba Dancing are the lyrics, the drums and the traditional outfits. The combination of these 3 elements truly enhance the experience. Moreover, Bomba dancing is one of those things that the medium of experience should be in person. This is due to it having the potential to take you back in time to the 17th century where you

In Latin America, African music and dance did not rise to prominence in an unadulterated form, but rather one transformed by interactions with European styles in a process known as transculturation. Such an intricate transmutation occurs when cultures exchange aspects, including music, language, or dance, and mutually influence each other in both beneficial and adverse ways. John Charles Chasteen explores this concept in profound detail throughout National Rhythms, African Roots wherein he explains the origins of Latin American popular culture in a tale that spans centuries, continents, and race gaps. This radical transformation of culture is not removed from current events, but has become increasingly relevant with the rise of the internet and social media to serve as channels for such diverse interactions. After African and European dance and music were interwoven through transculturation, Latinos gradually embraced the hybrid rhythms as their own after being exposed to them at carnival street parades and clandestine dance clubs. Nonetheless, these interracial interactions were not completely free from racism and degradation to the African identity.

On Sunday October 2nd at 7:00pm in Weill Hall, I watched Omara Portuondo with special guests Roberto Fonseca, Anat Cohen, and Regina Carter. Omara Portuondo was the only female in the Buena Vista Social Club. The Buena Vista Social Club consisted of the most famous Cuban musicians at that time. The Club hosted dances and musical events. Omara’s special guest Roberto Fonsea is known for being a multi-instrumentalist. While Anat Cohen is known for unique playing of the clarinet because she fuses Latin jazz styles together. Regina Carter is known for being a talented jazz violinist. All the music that was song that night was in Spanish.

When reading this blog I honestly did not understand the point the writing was trying to get across in its entirety until I saw the photo. The visual made the message loud and clear for me and the cartoon image solidified the memo. Both of these women in my opinion have received some sort of oppression because their look is what society has deemed acceptable and worthy of attention and in some cases a mate. Being Haitian-American, I’ve experienced both sides of this dilemma. Haiti in some ways is very conservative; some women in many areas are not even allowed to wear pants, pierce their ears or wear extensions but I was born and raised in Florida. In American culture, the more skin you show the more beautiful and appealing you are. I’ve always struggled between the two extremes so I believe I have a level of empathy for both sides. I can’t really say that one is more oppressed than the other because they experience 2 different extremes of oppression.

On November 20, 2015 I attended the Brazos Valley World Fest located at, Wolf Pen Creek Amphitheater in College Station, TX. Although the festival had events from many cultures, it was the “Latin” events that really stood out to me. As a proud Hispanic woman, the activity that I was most excited about was, the salsa performance. The name of the performance was called “salsa fusion”, which was accompanied by the live performance of the twelve piece band La Orquesta Salmerum form Houston, Texas. Salsa music is a very fast up beat genre of music, it’s a style I find very closely related to urban-jazz. After the performance, it was evident that one of the main and most dominating instruments of the genre, is the Conga drums. When focusing on

During this time, Cuban music greatly influenced North American jazz, a legacy carried on by contemporary jazz great Paquito de Rivera. Following the revolution, Cuban-American singers such as Celia Cruz and Olga Guillot became famous for their nostalgic sones, salsas, and rumbas that evoked the sadness of never returning to the homeland. Cruz was parriculary known as the salsa queen and popularized the Latin American genre in the early 1979s. Other famous Cuban-American musicians, such as Willie Chirino and Emilio and Gloria Estéfan of the successful band Miami Sound Machine developed ‘Miami Sound,’ a music style with bilingual lyrics, homeland nostalgia, and Anglo-American appeal.” (Skutsch

My Cuban background has had a profound effect throughout my life, despite the negative stigma many people have sadly associated with it. Both of my parents immigrated to the United States when they were young, so I have grown up with stories of how hard my grandparents had to work to adjust to a culture and language they were completely foreign to. Because they had to overcome so many obstacles to get where they are today, they have instilled a work ethic and determination in me that I believe is why I have been so successful in my academics and extracurriculars. I have always been taught that education is the most important facet of my adolescent years, and thus I comprehend its importance and strive for academic perfection. Furthermore, as

Before the popularization of Son, Cuban music and dance was largely influenced by Europe. Compositions in the early period closely resemble songs from middle-class Europe. These genres include: the creole, canción and danzón (Moore 17). While these genres were seen as the model of Cuban expression at the turn of the century, the Afrocuban music known as “Son” would soon become (and remain) the paragon of Cuban artistic and cultural expression; the previous genres paled in comparison in terms of popularity. Fusing African, Indigenous and European elements, Son exemplified the transculturation that so many of the elites in Cuba were promoting as Cuba’s identity; however, the most prominent elements in Son music originated from Africa, which did

The first thing that pop into my head when I think about cultural practices that are influenced by people’s culture is related with the spread of Dengue in Cuba. Dengue is an infectious disease caused by any one of four related viruses. It is transmitted between people by the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, which are found throughout the world. In Cuba the most common is the Aedes Aegypti and is by controlling the mosquito population that this disease is controlled. Mosquitoes like to laid their eggs in stagnant clean water and in Cuba an ideal place for the mosquitoes’ eggs is created by a cultural practice. The Yoruba religion, an African religion that came from Nigeria is very popular in Cuba and one common practice of this