African Cultural Influence On Cuban and Modern Music

African Cultural Influence On Cuban and Modern Music

I'd like to share with you a little bit about the origin, history, background, and development of the music of my culture- Cuban.

Cuban Music is mostly associated to mainstream Pop Salsa and these types, but the reality is that a medley of factors are what makes the Music what it is.

To understand Cuban Music, we must first refer to a brief history of Cuba’s ethnic origins.

In the 18th century, Cuba was a relatively underdeveloped island with an economy based mainly on cattle raising and tobacco farms.

In the 19th century, Cuba was transformed into a plantation society when the intensive cultivation of sugar began.

African “slaves”, who had been introduced into Cuba by The Spanish Crown of the 16th century, grew into high demand dramatically.

400,000 enslaved Africans were brought to Cuba between 1835-1864, forming 40% of the population of the island

How do you deal and cope with being taken from your family and country and turned into a “slave”?

For some of the detainees, music and preservation of their culture was one way.

In other instances, the formation of secret societies and African ethnic groups called “cabildos”, which were sponsored by the catholic churches, merged the two cultures together. The word 'cabildo' roughly translates to English as a town council or local government council.

In Cuba, sometimes 'cabildo' referred to a portion of small churches or a building structure, provided by some locals, as a safe place for the African slaves to pray to their own deities from their motherland without persecution.

Cabildos represented distinct nations & societies and were distinguished by the different regions of Africa from which those Africans originated. Sometimes they were even named after the ports from which the ships carrying the “slaves” departed.

These “cabildos” made it possible for the practice and preservation of African traditions. Afro-Cuban religions and identities coalesced.

16th Century Cuba and onward.

European domination of Cuba also meant European music IN Cuba. These were songs composed using the typical instruments only found in Europe, at the time, such as a mandolin, harpsichord, and the guitar; traditional classical music tools of that era. People of Africa added better structured syncopation to Euro Music and changed triple times into duple ones, as they practiced their music from their culture back home.

Think of triple time signatures as having the "1-2-3 feel" that a waltz might have. Duple time was a natural form of time signature for Africans. Their ritual and ceremonial music mostly consists of a 'call/response' structure, where a verse is chanted by one person, and a group responds together with a repetition of the same verse or other repeating passage.

They introduced the rhythm pattern of 2-Bar tunes (claves) which derives from Africa.

The African contribution to Cuban music also relates to instruments.

For example, “el cajon”, a hallow box one can sit on and hit with the palm of their hands, which is used a lot in solo performances and in the style of music called Danzon, originates from necessity and scarcity. Any materials African slaves could find, like a box, since they lacked real percussion instruments, were used to enjoy the expression of music.

Back in Africa, they had traditional ways of making music percussion with their own instruments, such as the 'bata' drum, a shekere, their own voices, and many more.

What's even more impressive is that the musicians of African descent (not only) evolved their own instruments and created new ones, but many of them also mastered the traditional European instruments as well! Such robust conjoining of rich musical talent and tools is what formed the eclectic palette and richness of the "Cuban sound machine."

Through their attempt to reproduce what they left behind to their homeland, various new instruments were invented outside of Africa, such as congas, bongos, tres, and the timbales.

This was musical evolution in its rawest form!

They used anything available at hand, and made the rest up using their memory and ethnic traditional methods.

There were largely three main ethnic groups among so-called original Afro-Cuban people.

The 1st is the Yoruba people from Western Nigeria. Even till today, we can see the Nigerian originated ritual instruments in the Latin Music scene. Bata consists of a set of three hourglass-shaped drums and the agogos, clapperless bells, are some examples. Contemporary congas and tumbadoras descendants of Bata.

The 2nd group is the Abakwa from Southern Nigeria- They formed the aforementioned rhythm pattern “call-and-response” chants, deriving from their secret societies and mysterious rituals. By the 1900’s people could listen to this call-and-response style music (lead-singer and chorus sing in return.)

The 3rd group was the people of Congo- among them were the Bantu people also. Many Cuban musical terms derive from the Bantu people of Congo; like congas (percussion) for example, mambo, etc.

Music would not have achieved its purpose if it were not to be danced to!

The African culture influence can be witnessed in many dance styles of Cuban Music, such as saucy pelvis movements, banned by the Spanish government in the 19th century under the excuse that it was an inappropriate sexual gesture.

Did you know that the dance derives from a Congo religious ritual dance to pray for fertility in the women?

Another style of Cuban music is Guaguanco, which formed between the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century; dancing with a partner as a sexual possession, hence the pelvis contact and latching onto each other, seen in some of the choreography in contemporary Latin music of today.

Salsa, or Són as it was known in it’s developmental stages (and still called by many musicians today,) incorporates all these elements and factors and is ever-evolving still to this day; but hints the influence of the old days revolving around the slave trade. While Salsa did not come from Cuba, it is referenced here to demonstrate the limitless boundaries of the African Culture in all Music through history.

Conclusion

Cuban music has become much more than a simple form of expression using drums and singing.

When I think about African contributions to the sound of Cuba, the phrase “the rose that grew from the concrete” comes to mind. African slaves were literally robbed of their lives and freedom, and were forced into slavery, but music and their faith somehow kept their hopes alive. The music that evolved from their strife, trials and tribulations, and from their traditions is like the rose.

Their traditions were forced to merge with those of others, but their roots were never forgotten.

The music of their motherland has been a major contribution to Music as a whole, and thru the passing down of their Art and Traditions from generation to generation, they achieved something great- preservation of their culture and the evolution of Music.

I hope that the next time you listen to Latin Music, you can now distinguish some of the variety of sounds and flavors that hint the influence of this great culture.

Music is ever-changing. However, at some point before it sprouted, the seeds were planted which are the supplemental element that made it possible to be what it is today.

I hope that you leave here smarter, better informed, and with something new to talk about the next time the subject of Cuban Music, or African and Latin music, comes up.

Alexander Au Courant S. M. is a writer, videographer, and graphic designer. His website is iVirtuary.com.  Instagram: @alejandersantiago.