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
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