Nation Report Part 2Cuban Culture

Cuban Music

Cuban music is a myriad of styles and genres, with a long history.

While influences from Africa and Spain were predominant, Cuban music has also been shaped by the music of Europe, Latin-America and American pop music and jazz.

Son - is a style of popular dance music that originated in the Oriente province of Cuba.

Guajira – is a derivation of Son, usually played a little slower, and identified by its arpeggiated guitar or piano parts. "Guantanamera" is probably the most famous guajira.

Bolero - A slow, romantic ballad.

Rumba - A secular folkloric form, Rumba consists of drumming, dancing and call-and-response singing both in African and Spanish languages.

Mambo - representative of the dance style popularized in the 40's and 50's.

Timba - The newest and most controversial music out of Cuba, Timba is like salsa on steroids. It incorporates influences from Brazilian music, R&B, hip-hop and salsa.

Cuban Literature

Cuban literature began to find its voice in the early 19th century

The major works published in Cuba during that time

were of an abolitionist character

Notable writers of that era:

Gertrudis Gomez Avellaneda

Cirilo Villaverde (Picture on Right)

After the abolition, in 1886 Cuba led the way in Latin American literature with themes of freedom and independence

Notable writers of that era:

Nicolas Guillen

Dulce Maria Loynaz

Jose Lezama Lima

Alejo Carpentier

Reinaldo Arenas

Guillermo Cabrera

To this day, Cuban literature is one of the most prolific, relevant, and influential literatures in Latin America and in all of the Spanish speaking world

Cuban Film

Pre-revolutionary cinema:

Before the Cuban Revolution of 1959 the total film production was around 80 full-length movies

Post-revolutionary cinema:

In the first days of 1959 the new government created a cinematographic department within the Dirección de Cultura del Ejercito Rebelde(Culture division of the Rebel Army)

The first ten years of the institution were called by the critics the Golden Age

Famous Films:

Las doce sillas - The twelve chairs (1962) Muertede un burocrata - Death of a bureaucrat (1966) Memorias del subdesarrollo - Memories of underdevelopment (1968) Lucia (1969)

Famous Actors: Alberto Puiol, Blanca Rosa Blanco, Beatriz Valdez, Cesar Evora, Mario Cimarro, Consuelo Vidal

Famous Directors:

Eduardo Manet, Enrique Colina, Enrique Pineda Barnet, Fausto Canel

Sources

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cu.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Cuba

http://www.cubatrade.org/

http://www.cubapolidata.com/gpc/gpc.html

Internet Movie Database