Analyze the contribution made to the different Cuban musical genre by the various ethnic groups which have populated Cuba.

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Analyze the contribution made to the different Cuban musical genre by the various ethnic groups which have populated Cuba.

Introduction

Cuba, officially Republic of Cuba is located in the northern Caribbean near the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic. It is the most populated Caribbean country with the most diverse and mixed population. It has a very deep and moving history which ranges from the Spanish colonization to the Cuban revolution in 1959 and present.

The Cuban culture is drawn from mixture of different factors and influences. Traditionally it is a centre point for the European, African, Amerindian and North American cultures. Much of its culture especially Cuban music is very famous on much different scale and recognizable through out the world.

     

(www.lib.utexas.edu/.../cuba_central_1919.jpg)

Cuban music was very influential in developing allot of new different music styles in 19th and 20th century, and to become so,  it had to undergo a huge cultural influence from many different ethnic life styles that habited this island.

Diversity of ethnic groups

Through out the history of Cuba, many different ethnic groups domesticated that largest island in South America.  The Amerindian groups which lived before the Spaniards arrive and the African slaves which were brought with the Spanish immigration on to the island and at one point even the Chinese were part of the Cuban life. They all have contributed in many ways to the Cuban culture but most importantly they also affected the Cuban music which is one of the most important part of this culture.

The Amerindians

The native Cuban people were the Taino, Arawak and the Ciboney, who were known for there style of music called areito.  

‘’When Christopher Columbus arrived in Cuba in 1492 one of the cultural expression he found was the ‘’Areito’’ a simple yet sweet music made by the native Taino people. ‘’                                            f (source )

The ‘’Areito ’’ was a form of a spiritual ceremony that, took place at gathering and festivals, were the Taino people would dance around the circle to the beat of the hollowed tree trunk specially made with holes for the resonance and deep grooves. The drum was called ‘’Atambor’’, its beating was accompanied by shell horns and ‘’maraca’’ an instrument which was made from a gourd filled with small stones.

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The ‘’maraca’’ and the ‘’atambor’’ were the main contribution from the Amerindian ethnic groups to the early stage of the Cuban music.

                                                 

                                   Maracas a Taino instrument that is even use till today.

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