Things to Know About Cuban Culture

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 04:48:10 PST

Culture in Cuba is perhaps more that of a melting pot than any other Caribbean nation. Primary influences are directly from Spain and Africa, although you can find French, British and German influences there as well. There are strong ties to the invading forces and conquerors of the Spanish and Portuguese that have affected Cuba for much of its written history, In three main areas, the Cuban culture has been dominant in past years and has left Cuba in the limelight.

Cuban Sports

Sports can be said to be the passion of Cuba. Largely because of the influence of Americans, it is typically American style sports that are predominant, rather than those of the European and Latin American nations. For example, baseball is very popular. There is a great deal of interest in the sports of athletics, basketball and volleyball. It is in the sport of amateur boxing, however, that the Cuban influence is most widely felt. The country holds more than its share of gold medals from various international competitions.

Cuban Music

Cuban music has a richness which is known worldwide, both before and since the revolution in the late 1950s. The core music style is known as Son, which forms the basis of many other music forms such as the cha-cha-cha, the mambo, the rumba and the salsa. Afro-Cuban culture was the birthplace of rumba music. The Tres, which is a three course, six string instrument was invented in Cuba to replace three other instruments: the guitar, the bandola and the tiple, all of which were used in the Son music style.

Although there are several other musical instruments strongly associated with Cuba, most of these are actually traditional African or Taíno origin. The maracas, güiro, marímba and several types of wooden percussion instruments such as the mayohuacan came to Cuba along with the Africans and Taíno peoples.

Cuban music, no matter what style, is widely enjoyed and lauded throughout the world. The classical Cuban music, such as that by composers such as Lecuona includes both symphonic and solo works.

Cuban Literature

There are many well known names in Cuban literature. Two of the best known--although not Cuban, are nevertheless associated so strongly with Cuba that they are usually mentioned along with Cuban born authors--are Ernest Hemingway and Stephen Crane. Early in the 19th century, Jose Marti. Nicolas Guillén and Jose Tallet focused on themes such as social protest, independence and freedom.

Jose Lezama Lima in the area of poetry and fictional novels has been an influential writer. In post revolutionary times, authors such as Fuentes, Chaviano, Gutiérrez,and Valdés have gained recognition internationally, but many have chosen to produce their work away from the ideological media control practiced by the Cuban authorities.