Afro-Cubans or Black Cubans are
Cubans
Cubans ( es, Cubanos) are people born in Cuba and people with Cuban citizenship. Cuba is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic, religious and national backgrounds.
Racial and ethnic groups
Census
The population of Cuba wa ...
of
West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
African ancestry. The term ''Afro-Cuban'' can also refer to historical or cultural elements in
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
thought to emanate from this community and the combining of native
African
African or Africans may refer to:
* Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa:
** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa
*** Ethn ...
and other cultural elements found in Cuban society such as
race
Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to:
* Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species
* Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
,
religion
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...
, music,
language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
,
the arts
The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...
and
class
Class or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...
culture.
Demographics
According to a 2012 national census which surveyed 11.2 million Cubans, 1 million Cubans described themselves as Afro-Cuban or
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
, while 3 million considered themselves to be "
mulatto
(, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese is ...
" or "
mestizo
(; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...
". Thus a significant proportion of those living on the island affirm some African ancestry. Although, there has been much discussion over the actual demographic composition of the island. While the 2012 national census showed that only 11% of Cubans reported themselves to be Afro-Cuban or
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
, most international sources and independent studies have shown the proportion of Cubans who are black, or possess significant African genetic heritage, to be closer to 62-70%. A study by the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...
estimated that number to be 62%, noting that complex attitudes towards racial identification, and the defacto racial hierarchy that has existed on the island, have influenced lower figures. The matter is further complicated by the fact that a fair number of people still locate their origins in specific native African ethnic groups or regions, particularly the
Yoruba
The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...
(or
Lucumí),
Akan Akan may refer to:
People and languages
*Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire
*Akan language, a language spoken by the Akan people
*Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan
*Central Tano languages, a language group w ...
,
Arará
The Arará people form an Afro-Cuban ethnoreligious group descended from the Dahomey kingdom of West Africa, and retaining an identity, religion, and culture separate from those of other Afro-Cuban peoples. Although, historically, the Arará peop ...
and
Kongo
Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa:
* Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...
, but also
Igbo
Igbo may refer to:
* Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria
* Igbo language, their language
* anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria
See also
* Ibo (disambiguation)
* Igbo mythology
* Igbo music
* Igbo art
*
* Igbo-Ukwu, a ...
,
Carabalí,
Mandingo,
Kissi,
Fula
Fula may refer to:
*Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe)
*Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani)
**The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language
**The Fula variety known as the Pular language
**The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde
*Al-Fula ...
,
Makua Makua may refer to:
* Makua (person), an alaafin of the Oyo Empire
* Makua people, an ethnic group in Mozambique and Tanzania
* Makhuwa language, a Bantu language spoken in Mozambique
* Makua languages, a branch of Bantu languages
* Makua Rothman ...
and others.
A study from 2014 estimated the
genetic admixture
Genetic admixture occurs when previously diverged or isolated genetic lineages mix.⅝ Admixture results in the introduction of new genetic lineages into a population.
Examples
Climatic cycles facilitate genetic admixture in cold periods and gene ...
of the population of Cuba to be 72% European, 20% African and 8% Native American.
Although Afro-Cubans can be found throughout Cuba,
Eastern Cuba has a higher concentration of Afro-Cubans than other parts of the island and
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. has the largest population of Afro-Cubans of any city in Cuba.
[OECD Data Sheet] Recently, many native African immigrants have been coming to Cuba, especially from
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
. Also, immigrants from
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
and
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
have been settling in Cuba, most of whom settle in the eastern part of the island, due to its proximity to their home countries, further contributing to the already high percentage of blacks on that side of the island.
The percentage of Afro-Cubans on the island increased after the 1959
Cuban revolution
The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in cou ...
led by
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
due to
mass migration from the island of the largely white Cuban professional class. A small percentage of Afro-Cubans left Cuba, mostly for the United States (particularly
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
), where they and their U.S.-born children are known as
Afro-Cuban Americans,
Cuban Americans
Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cuban descent or t ...
,
Hispanic Americans
Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spaniards, Spanish and/or Latin Americans, Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include a ...
and
African Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
. Only a few of them resided in nearby Spanish-speaking country of
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...
and the U.S. territory of
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
.
The
Minority Rights Group International
Minority Rights Group International (MRG) is an international human rights organisation founded with the objective of working to secure rights for ethnic, national, religious, linguistic minorities and indigenous peoples around the world. Their ...
says that "An objective assessment of the situation of Afro-Cubans remains problematic due to scant records and a paucity of systematic studies both pre- and post-revolution".
Afro-Cuban descendants in Africa
African countries such as
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
, the home of the
Yoruba
The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...
cultures and
Spanish Guinea
Spanish Guinea (Spanish: ''Guinea Española'') was a set of insular and continental territories controlled by Spain from 1778 in the Gulf of Guinea and on the Bight of Bonny, in Central Africa. It gained independence in 1968 as Equatorial G ...
experienced an influx of ex-slaves from Cuba brought there as indentured servants during the 17th century and again during the 19th century. In Spanish Guinea, they became part of the ''
Emancipados
Emancipado () was a term used for an African-descended social-political demographic within the population of Spanish Guinea (modern day Equatorial Guinea) that existed in the early to mid 1900s. This segment of the native population had become ass ...
''; in Nigeria, they were called ''
Amaros''. Despite being free to return to
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
when their tenure was over, they remained in these countries marrying into the local indigenous population. The former slaves were brought to Africa by the ''Royal Orders of September 13, 1845'' (by way of voluntary arrangement) and a June 20, 1861, deportation from Cuba, due to the lack of volunteers. Similar circumstances previously occurred during the 17th century where ex-slaves from both
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
and Brazil were offered the same opportunity.
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
also has communities of Afro-Cubans, Amparos. They are descendants of Afro-Cuban soldiers brought to the country in 1975 as a result of the Cuban involvement in the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
.
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
deployed thousands of troops to the country during the
Angolan Civil War
The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was ...
. As a result of this era, there exists a small Spanish-speaking community in
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
of Afro-Cubans numbering about 100,000.
Haitian-Cubans
Haitian Creole
Haitian Creole (; ht, kreyòl ayisyen, links=no, ; french: créole haïtien, links=no, ), commonly referred to as simply ''Creole'', or ''Kreyòl'' in the Creole language, is a French-based creole language spoken by 10–12million people wor ...
language and culture first entered Cuba with the arrival of Haitian immigrants at the start of the 19th century. Haiti was then the
French colony
The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that existe ...
of
Saint-Domingue
Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to refer ...
and the final years of the 1791–1804
Haitian Revolution
The Haitian Revolution (french: révolution haïtienne ; ht, revolisyon ayisyen) was a successful insurrection by slave revolt, self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolt ...
brought a wave of French settlers fleeing with their Haitian slaves to Cuba. They came mainly to the east, and especially
Guantánamo
Guantánamo (, , ) is a municipality and city in southeast Cuba and capital of Guantánamo Province.
Guantánamo is served by the Caimanera port near the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, site of a U.S. naval base. The area produces sugarcane and cotton ...
, where the French later introduced sugar cultivation, constructed sugar refineries and developed coffee plantations. By 1804, some 30,000 Frenchmen were living in
Baracoa
Baracoa, whose full original name is: ''Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Baracoa'' (“Our Lady of the Assumption of Baracoa”), is a municipality and city in Guantánamo Province near the eastern tip of Cuba. It was visited by Admiral Christop ...
and
Maisí
Maisí is a municipality and town in the Guantánamo Province of Cuba. Its administrative seat is located in the town of La Máquina.
Geography
The easternmost point of Cuba, ''Punta Maisí'' (called "Baitiquiri" by the Taino in pre-colonial tim ...
, the furthest eastern municipalities of the province. Later, Haitians continued to come to Cuba to work as ''
braceros'' (Spanish for "manual laborers") in the fields cutting cane. Their living and working conditions were not much better than slavery. Although they planned to return to Haiti, most stayed on in Cuba. For years, many Haitians and their descendants in Cuba did not identify themselves as such or speak Creole. In the eastern part of the island, many Haitians suffered discrimination. After Spanish, Creole is the second most-spoken language in Cuba. Besides the eastern provinces, there are communities in
Ciego de Ávila
Ciego de Ávila City () is a city in the central part of Cuba and the capital of Ciego de Ávila Province. The city has a population of about 497.000, in a municipality of 756,373.
Geography
Ciego de Ávila lies on the Carretera Central highway ...
and
Camagüey
Camagüey () is a city and municipality in central Cuba and is the nation's third-largest city with more than 321,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Camagüey Province.
It was founded as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe in 1514, by S ...
provinces where the population maintains Creole as a first language. Classes in Creole are offered in Guantanamo, Matanzas and the City of Havana. There is a Creole-language radio program.
Religion
Afro-Cubans are predominantly Roman Catholic, with minorities of Protestant. Afro-Cuban religion can be broken down into three main currents:
Santería
Santería (), also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diaspora religions, African diasporic religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between the tradit ...
,
Palo Monte and include individuals of all origins. Santería is syncretized with
Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
.
Music
Since the mid-19th century, innovations within Cuban music have been attributed to the Afro-Cuban community. Genres such as
son
A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative.
Social issues
In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...
,
conga
The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...
,
mambo
Mambo most often refers to:
*Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form
*Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music
Mambo may also refer to:
Music
*Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particular ...
and
chachachá combined European influences with sub-Saharan African elements. Cuban music evolved markedly away from the traditional European model towards improvisational African traditions.
Afro-Cuban musicians have taken pre-existing genres such as trova, country and rap and added their own realities of life in a socialist country and as black persons. Genres like Nueva Trova are seen as live representations of the revolution and have been affected by Afro-Cuban musicians like
Pablo Milanes
Pablo is a Spanish form of the name Paul.
People
*Pablo Alborán, Spanish singer
*Pablo Aimar, Argentine footballer
*Pablo Armero, Colombian footballer
* Pablo Bartholomew, Indian photojournalist
*Pablo Brandán, Argentine footballer
* Pablo Brene ...
who included African spirituals in his early repertory. Music in Cuba is encouraged both as a scholarly exercise and a popular enjoyment. To Cubans, music and study of it are integral parts of the revolution.
Audiences are proud of mixed ethnicity that makes up the music from the Afro-Cuban community, despite there being a boundary of distrust and uncertainty between Cubans and Afro-Cuban culture.
Afro-Cuban music can be divided into religious and profane. Religious music includes the chants,
rhythms
Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recur ...
and
instruments
Instrument may refer to:
Science and technology
* Flight instruments, the devices used to measure the speed, altitude, and pertinent flight angles of various kinds of aircraft
* Laboratory equipment, the measuring tools used in a scientific lab ...
used in rituals of the religious currents mentioned above. Profane music includes
rumba
The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba ...
,
guaguancó
Guaguancó () is a subgenre of Cuban rumba, combining percussion, voices, and dance. There are two main styles: Havana and Matanzas.
Percussion
* battery of three conga drummers: the ''tumba'' (lowest), ''tres dos'' (middle, playing a counter-cl ...
,
comparsa
A comparsa is a group of singers, musicians and dancers that take part in carnivals and other festivities in Spain and Latin America. Its precise meaning depends on the specific regional celebration. The most famous comparsas are those that parti ...
(carnival music) and lesser styles such as the
tumba francesa
Tumba francesa is a secular Afro-Cuban genre of dance, song, and drumming that emerged in Oriente, Cuba. It was introduced by slaves from the French colony of Saint-Domingue (which would later become the nation of Haiti) whose owners resettled ...
. Virtually all
Cuban music
The music of Cuba, including its instruments, performance, and dance, comprises a large set of unique traditions influenced mostly by west African and European (especially Spanish) music. Due to the syncretic nature of most of its genres, Cuban mu ...
is influenced by African rhythms. Cuban popular music, and much of the art music, combines influences from Spain and Africa in ways unique to Cuba. For example ''
son
A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative.
Social issues
In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...
'' combines African instruments and playing styles with the meter and rhythm of Spanish poetic forms. While much of the music is performed in cut-time, artists typically use an array of time signatures like 6/8 for drumming beats. On the other hand,
clave uses a polymetric 7/8 + 5/8 time signature.
Afro-Cuban arts emerged in the early 1960s with musicians spearheading an amateur movement bringing African-influenced drumming to the forefront of Cuban music. For example, Enrique Bonne's drumming ensembles took inspiration from Cuban folklore, traditional
trova
''Trova'' is a style of Cuban popular music originating in the 19th century. Trova was created by itinerant musicians known as ''trovadores'' who travelled around Cuba's Oriente province, especially Santiago de Cuba, and earned their living by s ...
, dance music, and American Jazz. Pello de Afrokan created a new dance rhythm called Mozambique that increased in popularity after his predominantly afro-Cuban folklore troupe performed in 1964.
Before the revolution, authorities considered Afro-Cuban religious music a lesser culture; religious drummers were persecuted and instruments were confiscated.
After the revolution, Afro-Cuban music could be practiced more openly, but authorities were suspicious due to its relation to Afro-Cuban religions. The first revolutionary institution created for the performing "national folklore" (Afro-Cuban artistic traditions) was ''Conjunto Folklórico Nacional''.
Despite official institutional support from the Castro's regime, Afro-Cuban music was treated mostly with ambivalence throughout the second half of the 20th century. Audiences looked down on traditional and religious Afro-Cuban music as primitive and anti-revolutionary,
music educators continued pre-revolutionary indifference toward afro-Cuban folklore, and the religious nature of Afro-Cuban music led to criticisms of the government's whitening and de-Africanization of the music. Religious concerts declined, musical instruments related to
Santería
Santería (), also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diaspora religions, African diasporic religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between the tradit ...
were confiscated and destroyed, afro-Cuban celebrations were banned outright, and strict limits were placed on the quantity of religious music heard on the radio and television.
These attitudes softened in the 1970s and 1980s as the afro-Cuban community began to fuse religious elements into their music. In the 1990s, Afro-Cuban music became a mainstay of Cuba's tourism economy. Members of religious groups earned their living by performing and teaching ritual drumming, song, and dance, to tourists visiting the country.
Rap was adopted in 1999 and solidified with the rise of hip-hop group
Orishas. Cuban hip-hop focused on criticism of the Cuban state and the global economic order, including racism, colonialism, imperialism, and global capitalism.
Language
Other cultural elements considered to be Afro-Cuban can be found in language (including syntax, vocabulary, and style of speech).
The Afro-Cuban religions all maintain some degree of use of African languages.
Santería
Santería (), also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diaspora religions, African diasporic religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between the tradit ...
and
Abakuá
Abakuá, also sometimes known as Ñañiguismo, is an Afro-Cuban men's initiatory fraternity or secret society, which originated from fraternal associations in the Cross River (Nigeria), Cross River region of southeastern Nigeria and southweste ...
both have large parts of their liturgy in African languages (
Lucumí and Ñañigo, respectively) while
Palo
Palo may refer to:
Places
* Palo, Argentina, a village in Argentina
* Palo, Estonia, village in Meremäe Parish, Võru County, Estonia
* Palo, Huesca, municipality in the province of Huesca, Spain
* Palo, Iowa, United States, a town located wit ...
uses a mixture of
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
and
Kikongo
Kongo or Kikongo is one of the Bantu languages spoken by the Kongo people living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Angola. It is a tonal language. It was spoken by many of those who were taken from th ...
, known as
Habla Congo
or is a Kongo-based liturgical language of the Palo religion with origins in Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, later spreading to other countries in the Caribbean Basin. The language may be called or but is generally referred to simply ...
.
Racial consciousness
According to anthropologists dispatched by the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, racism is entrenched in Cuba.
Afro-Cubans are systematically excluded from positions in tourism-related jobs, where they could earn tips in hard currencies.
According to the EU study, Afro-Cubans are relegated to poor housing, and African Cubans are excluded from managerial positions.
Enrique Patterson describes race as a "social bomb" and says that "If the Cuban government were to permit Afro-Cubans to organize and raise their problems before
uthorities... totalitarianism would fall".
Esteban Morales Domínguez, a professor at the University of Havana, says that "The absence of the debate on the racial problem already threatens ... the revolution's social project".
Carlos Moore
Carlos Whitman Moore (August 13, 1906 – July 2, 1958) is a former Major League Baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, Moore had a listed weight of .
Moore's playing career in the majors spanned one month. He made his major league debut with ...
, who has written extensively on the issue, says that "There is an unstated threat, Afro-cubans in Cuba know that whenever you raise race in Cuba, you go to jail. Therefore the struggle in Cuba is different. There cannot be a civil rights movement. You will have instantly 10,000 black people dead.
..The government is frightened to the extent to which it does not understand African Cubans today. You have a new generation of Afro-Cubans who are looking at politics in another way."
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
's victory has raised disturbing questions about the institutional racism in Cuba.
''
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'' noted "The danger starts with his example: after all, a young, Afro-cuban, progressive politician has no chance of reaching the highest office in Cuba, although a majority of the island's people are of mostly African descent"
In the years between the triumph of the revolution and the victory at Playa Girón the Cuban government was one of the world's most proactive regimes in the fight against discrimination. It achieved significant gains in racial equality through a series of egalitarian reforms early in the 1960s.
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
's first public address on racism after his rise to power was on March 23, 1959, at a labor rally in Havana, less than three months after he defeated
Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (; ; born Rubén Zaldívar, January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who served as the elected president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and as its U.S.-backed military dictator ...
. He is quoted as saying: "One of the most just battles that must be fought, a battle that must be emphasized more and more, which I might call the fourth battle--the battle to end racial discrimination at work centers. I repeat: the battle to end racial discrimination at work centers. Of all the forms of racial discrimination the worst is the one that limits the colored Cuban's access to jobs. " Castro pointed to the distinction between social segregation and employment, while placing great emphasis on correcting the latter. In response to the large amount of racism that existed in the job market, Castro issued anti-discrimination laws. In addition, he attempted to close the class gap between wealthy white Cubans and Afro-Cubans with a massive literacy campaign among other egalitarian reforms in the early and mid-1960s.
Two years after his 1959 speech at the Havana Labor Rally, Castro declared that the age of racism and discrimination was over. In a speech given at the
Confederation of Cuban Workers
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
in observance of
May Day
May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. T ...
, Castro declared that the "just laws of the revolution ended unemployment, put an end to villages without hospitals and schools, enacted laws which ended discrimination, control by monopolies, humiliation, and the suffering of the people." Although inspiring, many would consider the claim to be premature."
[Moore, C. 1995. ''Afro-Cubans and the ]Communist Revolution
A communist revolution is a proletarian revolution often, but not necessarily, inspired by the ideas of Marxism that aims to replace capitalism with communism. Depending on the type of government, socialism can be used as an intermediate stage ...
''. Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press. Evidence collected in 2003 over proved.
Research conducted by Yesilernis Peña,
Jim Sidanius
James H. Sidanius, known as Jim Sidanius (born James Brown on December 11, 1945 - June 29, 2021) was an American psychologist and academic. He served as John Lindsley Professor of Psychology in memory of William James and of African and African A ...
and Mark Sawyer in 2003, suggests that social discrimination is still prevalent, despite the low levels of economic discrimination.
After considering the issue solved, the Cuban government moved beyond the issue of racism. His message marked a shift in Cuban society's perception of racism that was triggered by the change in government focus."
The government's announcement easily allowed the Cuban public to deny discrimination without first correcting the stereotypes that remained in the minds of those who grew up in a Cuba that was racially and economically divided. Many who argue that racism does not exist in Cuba base their claims on the idea of Latin American
Exceptionalism
Exceptionalism is the perception or belief that a species, country, society, institution, movement, individual, or time period is " exceptional" (i.e., unusual or extraordinary). The term carries the implication, whether or not specified, that the ...
. According to the argument of Latin American Exceptionality, a social history of intermarriage and mixing of the races is unique to Latina America. The large
mestizo
(; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...
populations that result from high levels of interracial union common to Latin America are often linked to
racial democracy
Racial democracy ( pt, Democracia racial) is a term used by some to describe race relations in Brazil. The term denotes some scholars' belief that Brazil has escaped racism and racial discrimination. Those researchers contend that Brazilians do ...
. For many Cubans this translates into an argument of "racial harmony", often referred to as racial democracy. In the case of Cuba, ideas of Latin American Exceptionalism have delayed the progress of true racial harmony.
In spite of all the promises and speeches by government leaders, racial discrimination against Afro-Cubans continues to be a major
Human Rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
issue for the Cuban government, even resulting in riots in Central Havana, a mostly black neighborhood in the capital.
Most of the Latin population of
Tampa
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...
in the 1950s was working class and lived in restricted areas, ethnic enclaves in the vicinity of Tampa's hundreds of cigar factories. African Cubans were tolerated to an extent in the Latin quarter (where most neighborhoods and cigar factories were integrated).
Ybor City
Ybor City ( ) is a historic neighborhood just northeast of downtown Tampa, downtown Tampa, Florida, United States. It was founded in the 1880s by Vicente Martinez-Ybor and other cigar manufacturers and populated by thousands of immigrants, mainly ...
and its counterpart,
West Tampa
West Tampa is one of the oldest neighborhoods within the city limits of Tampa, Florida, United States. It was an independently incorporated city from 1895 until 1925, when it was annexed by Tampa.
West Tampa is located west of the Hillsborough ...
, were areas that bordered on other restricted sections-areas for U.S. blacks or whites only. In this Latin quarter, there existed racial discrimination despite its subtleness.
Afrocubanismo
During the 1920s and 1930s Cuba experienced a movement geared towards Afro-Cuban culture called Afrocubanismo. The movement had a large impact on
Cuban literature
Cuban literature is the literature written in Cuba or outside the island by Cubans in Spanish language. It began to find its voice in the early 19th century. The major works published in Cuba during that time were of an abolitionist character. Nota ...
, poetry, painting, music, and sculpture. It was the first artistic campaign in
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
that focused on one particular theme: African culture. Specifically it highlighted the struggle for independence from Spain, African
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
, and building a purely Cuban national identity. Its goal was to incorporate African
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
and
rhythm
Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...
into traditional modes of art.
History of the movement
The movement evolved from an interest in the rediscovery of African heritage. It developed in two very different and parallel stages. One stage stemmed from European artists and intellectuals who were interested in African art and musical folk forms. This stage paralleled the
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the t ...
in New York,
Négritude
''Négritude'' (from French "Nègre" and "-itude" to denote a condition that can be translated as "Blackness") is a framework of critique and literary theory, developed mainly by francophone intellectuals, writers, and politicians of the African ...
in the
French Caribbean
The French West Indies or French Antilles (french: Antilles françaises, ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy fwansez) are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean:
* The two overseas departments of:
** Guadeloupe, ...
, and coincided with stylistic European Vanguard (like Cubism and its representation of African masks). It was characterized by the participation of white intellectuals such as Cubans
Alejo Carpentier
Alejo Carpentier y Valmont (, ; December 26, 1904 – April 24, 1980) was a Cuban novelist, essayist, and musicologist who greatly influenced Latin American literature during its famous "boom" period. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, of French an ...
,
Rómulo Lachatañeré,
Fortunato Vizcarrondo,
Fernando Ortiz and
Lydia Cabrera
Lydia Cabrera (May 20, 1899, in Havana, Cuba – September 19, 1991, in Miami, Florida) was a Cuban independent ethnographer.
Cabrera was a Cuban writer and literary activist. She was an authority on Santería and other Afro-Cuban religions. Dur ...
, Puerto Rican
Luis Palés Matos
Luis Palés Matos (March 20, 1898 – February 23, 1959) was a Puerto Rican poet who is credited with creating the poetry genre known as Afro-Antillano. He is also credited with writing the screenplay for the "Romance Tropical", the first Puerto ...
and Spaniards
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
and
Roger de Lauria
Roger of Lauria (''c''. 1245 – 17 January 1305) was a Neapolitan admiral in Aragonese service, who was the commander of the fleet of the Crown of Aragon during the War of the Sicilian Vespers. He was probably the most successful and talen ...
. The African-inspired art tended to represent Afro-Cubans with cliché images such as a black man sitting beneath a palm tree with a cigar.
Poems and essays by Afro-Cuban writers began to be published in the 1930s in newspapers, magazines and books, where they discussed their own personal heritage. Afro-Cuban and Afro-Cuban heritage artists such as Nicolás Guillén, Alberto Arredondo and Emilio Ballagas brought light to the once-marginalized African race and culture. It became a symbol of empowerment and individuality for Afro-Cubans within the established Western culture of the Americas.
This empowerment became a catalyst for the second stage to be characterized by Afro-Cuban artists making art that truly reflected what it meant to be Afro-Cuban. Beginning in the 1930s this stage depicted a more serious view of black culture like African religions and the struggles associated with slavery. The main
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
during this stage of the movement was
Nicolás Guillén
Nicolás Cristóbal Guillén Batista (10 July 1902 – 17 July 1989) was a Cuban poet, journalist, political activist, and writer. He is best remembered as the national poet of Cuba. .
Results of the movement
The lasting reputation of the Afrocubanismo movement was the establishment of a
New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
art form that used aesthetics from both European and African culture. Although the actual movement of Afrocubanismo faded by the early 1940s, Afro-Cuban culture continues to play a vital role in the identity of Cuba. It has been the
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in cou ...
that opened up a space for extended research of African ethnic roots in Cuba. The rhetoric of the Revolution incorporates black history and its contribution as an important
stratum
In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as ei ...
of Cuban identity. The Revolution has funded many projects that restore the work of Afro-Cubans in an effort to accommodate an African-driven identity within the new anti-racist Cuban society.
[Rodríguez-Mangual, E. "Introduction", 18.]
Notable Afro-Cubans
Arts and entertainment
*
Carlos Acosta
Carlos Yunior Acosta Quesada (born 2 June 1973) is a Cuban-British ballet director and retired dancer who is director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. He danced with many companies including the English National Ballet, National Ballet of Cu ...
- dancer
*
Laz Alonso Laz or LAZ may refer to:
People
* Laz people of the Black Sea area
**Laz language
First name
* Laz Alonso (born 1975), American actor
* Laz Barrera (1924–1991), Cuban-born American racehorse trainer
* Laz-D (born 1982), American rapper
*Laz Dí ...
- actor
*
Renny Arozarena
Renny Arozarena (born 1971, in Havana) is a Cuban actor.
He started acting as a child, making his professional debut on the stage in leading roles in ''Andoba'', ''Santa Camila de la Habana Vieja'', ''Romeo et Juliette'', ''Othello'', among other ...
- actor
*
Gastón Baquero - poet
*
Matt Cedeño
Matt Cedeño (born November 14, 1973)"POP CULTURE". ''Soap Opera Digest''. August 5, 2013. p. 65. is an American actor and former male fashion model, known for his roles as Brandon Walker on the NBC daytime soap opera '' Days of Our Lives'' (199 ...
- actor and model
*
Celia Cruz
Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a naturalized Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during t ...
- singer
*
Sammy Davis Jr
Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director.
At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...
- singer, dancer, actor
*
Rosario Dawson
Rosario Isabel Dawson (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress. She made her feature-film debut in the 1995 independent drama ''Kids''. Her subsequent film roles include '' He Got Game'' (1998), ''Josie and the Pussycats'' (2001), ''Men in Bl ...
- actress
*
Ángel Escobar - poet
*
Lola Falana
Loletha Elayne Falana or Loletha Elaine Falana (born September 11, 1942), better known by her stage name Lola Falana, is an American singer, dancer, and actress.
Early life
Lola Falana was born in Camden, New Jersey. She was the third of si ...
- actress, singer and dancer
*
Rome Flynn
Rome Trumain Flynn (born November 25, 1991) is an American actor, model and musician. He is best known for his portrayal of Zende Forrester Dominguez on the CBS daytime drama ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' for which he won the Daytime Emmy Award f ...
- actor
*
Sara Gómez
Sara Gómez aka Sarita Gómez (November 8, 1942 – June 2, 1974) was a Cuban filmmaker. As a member of ICAIC (Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos, in English: Cuban Institute of Cinematographic Art and Industry'')'' during ...
- filmmaker
*
Nicolás Guillén
Nicolás Cristóbal Guillén Batista (10 July 1902 – 17 July 1989) was a Cuban poet, journalist, political activist, and writer. He is best remembered as the national poet of Cuba. - poet
*
Nestor Hernández - photographer
*
Georgina Herrera - poet
*
Wifredo Lam
Wifredo Óscar de la Concepción Lam y Castilla (; December 8, 1902 – September 11, 1982), better known as Wifredo Lam, was a Cuban artist who sought to portray and revive the enduring Afro-Cuban spirit and culture. Inspired by and in conta ...
- artist
*
Coco López
Coco López is a Puerto Rican coconut product which is used in many popular drinks, most well known for its use in piña colada.
"Coco López" was invented by Ramón López Irizarry, a World War I veteran who was an agricultural professor for ...
- artist
*
Faizon Love
Faizon Andre Love (born Langston Faizon Santisima; June 14, 1968) is a Cuban-born American actor and comedian. He is best known for his roles in the comedy films '' The Meteor Man'', ''Don't Be a Menace'', ''Friday'', ''B*A*P*S'', ''Elf'', '' Th ...
- actor
*
Mellow Man Ace
Ulpiano Sergio Reyes (born April 12, 1967), better known as Mellow Man Ace, is a Cuban-American rapper known for bilingual delivery and novelty rhymes. He was born in Cuba and moved to Los Angeles with his family at the age of four.
Early life ...
- rapper
*
Nancy Morejón
Nancy Morejón (born 1944 in Havana) is a Cuban poet, critic, and essayist. She was a recipient of the Struga Poetry Evenings Golden Wreath Award. She is "the best known and most widely translated woman poet of post-revolutionary Cuba".
Biograp ...
- poet
*
Luis Moro
Luis Moro (born January 2, 1964) is a Cuban-born American actor, filmmaker, and writer. He first gained notability for co-writing, producing and acting in the film ''Anne B. Real'', which was nominated for two Independent Spirit Award.
Career
In ...
- actor and filmmaker
*
Gina Torres
Gina Torres (born April 25, 1969) is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Zoe Washburne in the science fiction series ''Firefly'' (2002–2003) and its feature film sequel '' Serenity'' (2005), and as Jessica Pearson in t ...
- actress
*
Alexis Valdés - artist and comedian
*
Soledad O’Brien
María de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien (born September 19, 1966) is an American broadcast journalist and executive producer. Since 2016, O'Brien has been the host for '' Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien,'' a nationally syndicated weekly talk sho ...
- journalist
*
Karamo Brown
Karamo Karega Brown (born November 2, 1980) is an American television host, reality television personality, author, actor, and activist. Brown began his career in 2004 on the MTV reality show '' The Real World: Philadelphia'', becoming the first ...
Music
*
Afro-Cuban All Stars
Afro-Cuban All Stars is a Cuban band led by Juan de Marcos González (formerly Tres (instrument), tres player for Sierra Maestra (band), Sierra Maestra). Their music is a mix of all the styles of music of Cuba, Cuban music, including bolero, chac ...
*
Francisco Aguabella
Francisco Aguabella (October 10, 1925 – May 7, 2010) was an Afro-Cuban percussionist whose career spanned folk, jazz, and dance bands. He was a prolific session musician and recorded seven albums as a leader.
Biography In Cuba
Aguabella wa ...
— percussionist
*
Federico A. "Tata Güines" Soto Alejo — percussionist and bandleader
*
Carlos Alfonso — bassist and leader of Síntesis
*
X Alfonso — singer
*
Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros
Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros (4 April 1928 – 6 January 2016) was a Cuban trumpeter. He played with artists such as Arsenio Rodríguez, Generoso Jiménez, Chico O'Farrill, Orchestra Harlow, Eddie Palmieri, Cachao and Sonora Matancera. Due to ...
— trumpeter and bandleader; cousin of Benny Moré
*
Guillermo Barreto
Guillermo Barreto (August 11, 1929 – December 14, 1991) was a Cuban drummer and '' timbalero''. He was a major figure in the Cuban music scene for more than fifty years and one of the first drummers in Cuba to play Afro-Cuban jazz.
Nickname ...
— percussionist with Israel "Cachao" López
*
Abelardo Barroso
Abelardo Barroso Dargeles (21 September 1905 – 27 September 1972) was a Cuban bandleader and singer, the first sonero mayor (lead singer of the Son (music), son) to be recognized as such by the Cuban public.
Born in Havana, Cuba, he was the ...
— singer and bandleader
*
Mario Bauzá
Prudencio Mario Bauzá Cárdenas (April 28, 1911 – July 11, 1993) was an Afro-Cuban jazz, Latin, and jazz musician. He was among the first to introduce Cuban music to the United States by bringing Cuban musical styles to the New York City jaz ...
— musician and songwriter; brother-in-law of Machito
*
Ignacio Berroa
Ignacio Berroa (born July 8, 1953 in Havana, Cuba) is a jazz drummer.
In 1980 Ignacio left his country during the Mariel Boatlift, moved to New York and joined Dizzy Gillespie’s quartet in 1981, becoming the drummer of all the important band G ...
— percussionist
*
Leo Brouwer
Juan Leovigildo Brouwer Mezquida (born March 1, 1939) is a Cuban composer, conductor, and classical guitarist. He is a Member of Honour of the International Music Council.
Family
He is the grandson of Cuban composer Ernestina Lecuona y Casado. ...
— composer and guitarist
*
Descemer Bueno
Descemer Bueno (born July 5, 1971) is a Cuban singer, songwriter, and record producer. His first professional gigs were playing bass with Cuban troubadour Santiago Feliú.
Early career
Bueno studied music and became a music teacher before formi ...
— singer, composer and record producer
*
Christina Milian
Christine Marie Flores (born September 26, 1981), better known as Christina Milian (), is an American actress and singer. Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, but raised in Maryland, she signed a contract with Murder Inc. Records at the age of 19. ...
— singer-songwriter, actress
*
Cándido Camero
Cándido Camero Guerra (22 April 19217 November 2020), known simply as Cándido, was a Cuban conga and bongo player. He is considered a pioneer of Afro-Cuban jazz and an innovator in conga drumming. He was responsible for the development of tun ...
— percussionist
*
Humberto Cané — tres player and singer with
Sonora Matancera
La Sonora Matancera is a Cuban band that played Latin American urban popular dance music. Founded in 1924 and led for more than five decades by guitarist, vocalist, composer, and producer Rogelio Martínez, musicologists consider it an icon of ...
; son of Valentín Cané
*"
Changuito
Changuito (born José Luis Quintana on January 18, 1948) is a Cuban percussionist.
Biography
Quintana was born in 1948 in Casablanca, Cuba.[Los Van Van
Los Van Van is one of the leading musical groups of post-revolutionary Cuba. It was founded in 1969 by bassist Juan Formell, who directed the band until his death in 2014. Formell and former band members Changuito and Pupy are some of the most im ...]
*
Félix Chappottín
Félix Chappottín (March 31, 1907 – December 21, 1983) was a Cuban trumpeter and bandleader. He was a member of three highly successful Cuban bands: Septeto Habanero, Arsenio Rodríguez's conjunto and Conjunto Chappottín, which he directed ...
— trumpeter and bandleader; when Arsenio Rodríguez left Cuba never to return he handed over to him leadership of his group
*
Julito Collazo — percussionist and singer
*
Celia Cruz
Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a naturalized Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during t ...
— singer
*
Anga Díaz
Anga (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age in India, Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas.
Counted among the "six ...
— percussionist and former member of Irakere
*
Barbarito Diez — singer
*
Addys D'Mercedes — singer
*
Richard Egües Richard Egües, nicknamed "la flauta mágica" (the magic flute), (October 26, 1923 - September 1, 2006) was a Cuban flautist and musician, one of the country's most famous artists. Egües was a member of the Orquesta Aragón band which he joined in ...
— flute player, a member of
Orquesta Aragón
Orquesta Aragón is a Cuban musical band formed on 30 September 1939, by Orestes Aragón Cantero in Cienfuegos, Cuba. The band originally had the name ''Ritmica 39'', then ''Ritmica Aragón'' before settling on its final form. Though they did not ...
*
Ibrahim Ferrer
Ibrahim Ferrer (February 20, 1927 – August 6, 2005) was a Cuban singer who played with Los Bocucos for nearly forty years. He also performed with Conjunto Sorpresa, Chepín y su Orquesta Oriental and Mario Patterson. After his retirement in ...
— singer (Buena Vista Social Club)
*
Juan de Marcos González
Juan de Marcos González (born Juan de Marcos González-Cárdenas; January 29, 1954) is a Cuban bandleader, musician and actor, best known for his work with the Buena Vista Social Club and in the 2021 Sony Pictures Animation film '' Vivo'' as the ...
— musical director of the Buena Vista Social Club
*
Rubén González — pianist (Conjunto de Arsenio Rodríguez and Buena Vista Social Club)
*
Graciela
Graciela (August 23, 1915 – April 7, 2010)
Accessed April 2010 was a Cuban-born American singer of Cuban music and ...
— singer; stepsister of Machito
*
Francisco Raúl "Machito" Gutiérrez Grillo — singer, musician, and bandleader
*
Marcelino "Rapindey" Guerra — singer and composer
*
Orlando "Cascarita" Guerra — singer
*
Amaury Gutiérrez
Amaury Gutiérrez is a Cuban singer and composer.
Early life
Gutiérrez was born on September 9, 1963. When he was in high school decided to pursue music, and his chance came in response to a call from the School of Art Instructors, an institut ...
— singer
*
Óscar Hernández — songwriter; known for his lyrics "Ella y yo" and "La rosa roja;" cousin of Alberto Arredondo's mother
*
Generoso "Tojo" Jiménez — trombonist
*
Enrique Jorrín
Enrique Jorrín ( Candelaria, Pinar del Río, December 25, 1926 - Havana, December 12, 1987) was a Cuban charanga violinist, composer and music director. He is considered the inventor of the '' cha-cha-chá'', a popular style of ballroom music der ...
— violinist, composer, and inventor of the cha-cha-chá rhythm
*
Pedro Knight
Pedro Knight Caraballo (September 30, 1921 – February 3, 2007) was a Cuban musician, and the husband and manager of singer Celia Cruz.
Early life
Pedro Knight Caraballo was born September 30, 1921.Steward, Sue (February 1, 2007)" Pedro Knight" ...
— trumpeter with Sonora Matancera, second husband, manager after 1967, and eventual widower of
Celia Cruz
Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a naturalized Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during t ...
*
Xiomara Laugart — singer
*
Calixto Leicea — trumpeter, songwriter, and arranger with Sonora Matancera
*
Pío Leyva
Pío Leiva (May 5, 1917 – March 22, 2006) was a Cuban singer and the author of the guaracha ''El Mentiroso'' ("The Liar"). Leyva was part of the Buena Vista Social Club, and composed some of Cuba’s best known standards.
Biography
Leyva was bor ...
— singer-songwriter (
Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club is an ensemble of Cuban musicians established in 1996. The project was organized by World Circuit executive Nick Gold, produced by American guitarist Ry Cooder and directed by Juan de Marcos González. They named the g ...
)
*
Olivia Longott
Olivia Theresa Longott (born February 15, 1981) is an American R&B singer. She is best known for performing with the hip-hop group G-Unit and also known as a cast member on the VH1 reality television series '' Love & Hip Hop: New York''.
Ea ...
— singer
*
Israel "Cachao" López
Israel López Valdés (September 14, 1918 – March 22, 2008), better known as Cachao ( ), was a Cuban double bassist and composer. Cachao is widely known as the co-creator of the mambo and a master of the descarga (improvised jam sessions). T ...
— bassist, composer, and bandleader, creator of the mambo and the first to record Cuban jam sessions (descargas)
*
Orestes "Macho" López — pianist and songwriter; brother of Cachao
*
Orlando "Cachaíto" López
Candelario Orlando López Vergara (February 2, 1933 – February 9, 2009), better known as Cachaíto, was a Cuban bassist and composer, who gained international fame after his involvement in the Buena Vista Social Club recordings. He was nickn ...
— bassist (Buena Vista Social Club); nephew of Cachao and Macho
*
Antonio Machín
Antonio Abad Lugo Machín (11 February 1903, in Sagua la Grande, Cuba – 4 August 1977, in Madrid, Spain) was a Spanish-Cuban singer and musician. His version of ''El Manisero'', recorded in New York, 1930, with Don Azpiazú's orchestra, was the f ...
— singer and bandleader
*
Kalimba Marichal
Kalimba Kadjaly Marichal Ibar (born 26 July 1982), known mononymously as Kalimba, is a Mexican singer and actor.
Career
Kalimba was born in Mexico City to Afro-Cuban parents. He and his sister M'balia were both given traditional African nam ...
— Mexican-born singer, actor, and athlete
*
Rita Marley
Rita may refer to:
People
* Rita (given name)
* Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984)
* Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962)
* Rita (Japanese singer)
* Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita
Places
* Djarrit, also known as Rita, a ...
— singer, humanitarian, and widow of
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...
*
Cheo Marquetti — singer and bandleader
*
Luis Marquetti — composer; cousin of Cheo Marquetti
*
Mellow Man Ace
Ulpiano Sergio Reyes (born April 12, 1967), better known as Mellow Man Ace, is a Cuban-American rapper known for bilingual delivery and novelty rhymes. He was born in Cuba and moved to Los Angeles with his family at the age of four.
Early life ...
— rapper
*
Celeste Mendoza — singer
*
Pablo Milanés
Pablo Milanés Arias (24 February 1943 – 22 November 2022) was a Cuban guitar player and singer. He was one of the founders of the Cuban nueva trova, along with Silvio Rodríguez and Noel Nicola. His music, originating in the Trova, Son and o ...
— singer
*
Christina Milián — singer
*
Rita Montaner
Rita Aurelia Fulcida Montaner y Facenda (20 August 1900 – 17 April 1958), known as Rita Montaner, was a Cuban singer, pianist and actress. In Cuban parlance, she was a '' vedette'' (a star), and was well known in Mexico City, Paris, Miami and ...
— singer, pianist and actress
*
Benny Moré
Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré Gutiérrez (24 August 1919 – 19 February 1963), better known as Benny Moré (also spelled Beny Moré), was a Cuban singer, bandleader and songwriter. Due to his fluid tenor voice and his great expressivity, he was k ...
— singer and bandleader; cousin of Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros
*
Fats Navarro
Theodore "Fats" Navarro (September 24, 1923 – July 6, 1950) was an American jazz trumpet player. He was a pioneer of the bebop style of jazz improvisation in the 1940s. He had a strong stylistic influence on many other players, including Cl ...
— jazz musician
*
Bola de Nieve
Bola de Nieve (literally ''Snowball'') (11 September 1911 – 2 October 1971), born Ignacio Jacinto Villa Fernández, was a Cuban singer-pianist and songwriter. His name originates from his round, black face.
Villa Fernández was born in Guanaba ...
— singer and pianist
*
Armando Peraza
Armando Peraza (May 30, 1924 – April 14, 2014) was a Latin jazz percussionist and a member of the rock band Santana. Peraza played congas, bongos, and timbales.
Biography
Early life
Born in Lawton Batista, Havana, Cuba in 1924 (although the b ...
— percussionist
*
Ignacio Piñeiro
Ignacio Piñeiro Martínez (May 21, 1888 – March 12, 1969) was a Cuban musician, bandleader and composer whose career started in rumba and flowered in the rise of the son. He was one of the most important composers of son music; in total he w ...
— musician, bandleader, and composer
*
Omara Portuondo
Omara Portuondo Peláez (born 29 October 1930) is a Cuban singer and dancer. A founding member of the popular vocal group Cuarteto d'Aida, Portuondo has collaborated with many important Cuban musicians during her long career, including Julio Gu ...
— singer (Buena Vista Social Club)
*
Luciano "Chano" Pozo — Afro-Cuban/jazz percussionist, composer, and bandleader
*
Dámaso Pérez Prado Dámaso is a Spanish masculine given name. The name is equivalent to that of Pope Damasus I in English. The name also exists in Italian as Damaso, though it is uncommon.
People
* Dámaso Alonso (1898–1990), Spanish poet
* Dámaso Berenguer, 1st ...
— "the king of mambo," composer, and the creator of the bachata rhythm, a variant of the
guaracha
The guaracha () is a genre of music that originated in Cuba, of rapid tempo and comic or picaresque lyrics. The word had been used in this sense at least since the late 18th and early 19th century. Guarachas were played and sung in musical thea ...
*
Francisco "Compay Segundo" Repilado — singer (Dúo Los Compadres, Grupo de Compay Segundo, and Buena Vista Social Club), composer and bandleader
*
Orlando "Puntilla" Ríos — percussionist, singer, and bandleader
*
Arsenio Rodríguez
Arsenio Rodríguez (born Ignacio Arsenio Travieso Scull; 31 August 1911 – 30 December 1970)Giro, Radamés 2007. ''Diccionario enciclopédico de la música en Cuba''. La Habana, v. 4 p. 45 et seq. was a Cuban musician, composer and bandleader ...
— musician, bandleader, and songwriter
*
Yotuel Romero
Yotuel Omar Manzanares Romero (born October 6, 1976), mononymously known as Yotuel, is a Cuban singer, actor, and current lead singer and co-writer of the 2003 Latin Grammy Award-winning Platinum album-selling rap group Orishas. Among other rec ...
— singer
*
Lázaro Ros Lázaro Ros (May 11, 1925 – February 8, 2005) was an Afro-Cuban singer. His music borrowed much from Africa, as he performed music of the Lucumí culture, of the Yoruba people from modern-day Nigeria, and of the Arará culture of the Dahomeyan ...
— singer
*
Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Gonzalo Rubalcaba (born May 27, 1963) is an Afro-Cuban jazz pianist and composer.
Early life
Rubalcaba was born Gonzalo Julio González Fonseca in Havana, Cuba
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The ...
— jazz pianist
*
Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría — musician, songwriter, and bandleader
*
Ramón "Monguito el Único" Sardiñas Quián — singer
*
Jon Secada
Juan Francisco Secada Ramírez (born October 4, 1961), better known as Jon Secada, is a Cuban-born American singer. He has won two Grammy Awards and sold 15 million records, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists. His music fus ...
— singer
*
Sen Dog
Senen Reyes (born November 22, 1965), also known by his stage name Sen Dog, is a Cuban-American rapper and musician who is best known as a member of the rap group Cypress Hill and as the lead vocalist for the heavy metal band Powerflo. He has be ...
— rapper and member of
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...
*
Gustavo Tamayo
Gustavo E. Tamayo is a Colombian ophthalmologist known for developing a refractive surgery method known as Contoured Ablation Patterns (CAP), which enables doctors to make surgeries faster and at an easier rate. Tamayo has also developed and pat ...
— güiro player with the groundbreaking band of Israel "Cachao" López
*
Bebo Valdés
Dionisio Ramón Emilio Valdés Amaro (October 9, 1918 – March 22, 2013), better known as Bebo Valdés, was a Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger. He was a central figure in the golden age of Cuban music, especially due to his big b ...
— pianist
*
Carlos "Patato" Valdes
Carlos Valdés Galán (November 4, 1926 – December 4, 2007), better known as Patato, was a Cuban conga player. In 1954, he emigrated from La Habana to New York City where he continued his prolific career as a sideman for several jazz and L ...
— conga player and composer
*
Chucho Valdés
Jesús Valdés Rodríguez, better known as Chucho Valdés (born October 9, 1941), is a Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger whose career spans over 50 years. An original member of the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna, in 1973 he fo ...
— pianist and leader of
Irakere
Irakere (faux-Yoruba for 'forest') is a Cuban band founded by pianist Chucho Valdés (son of Bebo Valdés) in 1973. They won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Recording in 1980 with their album ''Irakere''. Irakere was a seminal musical laboratory ...
, son of Bebo Valdés
*
Javier Vázquez — songwriter, arranger, and pianist with Sonora Matancera; son of Pablo "Bubú" Vázquez Gobín and brother of Elpidio Vázquez, he succeeded Lino Frías on piano as a member of Sonora Matancera
*
María Teresa Vera
María Teresa Vera (February 6, 1895 in Guanajay – December 17, 1965 in Havana) was a Cuban singer, guitarist and composer. She was an outstanding example of the Cuban trova movement.
Career
She started her career as a singer in 1911 in a the ...
— guitarist, singer and composer
*
Lupe Victoria "La Lupe" Yolí Raymond — singer
*
Yusa
Yusa is a Cuban singer and songwriter, born in the Buena Vista district of Havana, Cuba. Her music is recognised worldwide : in 2003, she was nominated at the prestigious BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards in two categories (Best Newcomer and Best o ...
— female bassist
Politics
*
Salvador Valdés Mesa
Salvador Antonio Valdés Mesa (born 13 June 1945) is a Cuban politicianDamien CaveRaúl Castro Says His Current Term as President of Cuba Will Be His Last ''The New York Times'', 24 February 2013 and former trade union leader. He is the First Vi ...
— First Vice President of Cuba, former trade union leader, Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba
*
Juan Almeida Bosque
Juan Almeida Bosque (February 17, 1927 – September 11, 2009) was a Cuban politician and one of the original commanders of the insurgent forces in the Cuban Revolution. After the rebels took power in 1959, he was a prominent figure in the Co ...
— politician and composer
*
Víctor Dreke
Víctor Emilio Dreke Cruz (born 10 March 1937, in Sagua La Grande) is a Cuban Communist Party leader of African descent, and a former commander in the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.Dreke (2002).
Following involvement in various student protes ...
— Cuban revolutionary and second-in-command to
Ernesto "Che" Guevara
Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...
in the Congo
*
Juan Gualberto Gómez
Juan Gualberto Gómez Ferrer (July 12, 1854 – March 5, 1933) was an Afro-Cuban revolutionary leader in the Cuban War of Independence against Spain. He was a "close collaborator of Martí's," and alongside him helped plan the upris ...
— 1890s revolutionary leader, close collaborator of
José Martí
José Julián Martí Pérez (; January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) was a Cuban nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in the libera ...
; served as a member of the committee of consultations that drafted and amended the Constitution of 1901 and as a Representative and Senator
*
Mariana Grajales — part of the Cuban Independence War; Antonio Maceo's mother
*
Esteban Lazo Hernández
Juan Esteban Lazo Hernández (born 26 February 1944) is a Cuban politician who has been the President of the National Assembly of People's Power, Cuba's parliament, since 2013. Previously he was Vice-President of the Cuban Council of State. He i ...
— politician
*
Antonio Maceo — 1890s revolutionary leader
*
Jorge Luis García Pérez — human rights activist
*
Rafael Serra
José Rafael Simón Agapito Serra y Montalvo (March 24, 1858 - October 24, 1909) was an Afro-Cuban intellectual who played a large role in supporting the Cuban War of Independence. He worked as a writer and editor for Spanish-language newspape ...
— writer and political journalist
*
Harry "Pombo" Villegas — Cuban Communist guerilla
*
Enrique Tarrio
:''The surname'' Tarrio ''is of Spanish language origin. In Spanish, it is spelled'' Tarrío'', with an acute accent on the'' í.
Henry "Enrique" Tarrio ( , ; born ) is an American activist, former FBI informant, and convicted felon who serve ...
— activist and leader of the far right Proud Boys movement
Science
*
Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez
Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez (born January 29, 1942) is a Cuban military officer, legislator, and former cosmonaut and the first person of African heritage in space. In 1980, as a member of the crew of Soyuz 38, he became the first Cuban citizen, the ...
— cosmonaut; first Latin American and first person of African descent in outer space
Sports
*
Aroldis Chapman
Albertín Aroldis Chapman de la Cruz (; born February 28, 1988) is a Cuban-born American professional baseball relief pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees and Chica ...
— MLB
*
Gilbert Arenas
Gilbert Jay Arenas Jr. (; born January 6, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Arenas attended Grant High School in the Valley Glen district of Los Angeles, and accepted a scholarship offer to the University of Arizona lat ...
— NBA
*
Javier Arenas (American football) — NFL
*
Yoel Romero
Yoel Romero Palacio (born April 30, 1977) is a Cuban professional mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division for Bellator MMA. Romero formerly competed in the Middleweight division ...
— Olympic wrestler and mixed martial artist
*
Hector Lombard
In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...
— Olympic Judoka
*
Alexis Vila — Olympic wrestler
*
Bert Campaneris
Dagoberto Campaneris Blanco (born March 9, 1942), nicknamed "Bert" or "Campy", is a Cuban American former professional baseball shortstop, who played Major League Baseball (MLB) for four American League (AL) teams, primarily the Kansas City / ...
— MLB, cousin of José Cardenal
*
José Cardenal
José Rosario Domec Cardenal (born October 7, 1943) is a Cuban American former professional baseball outfielder, who played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants (1963–64), Los Angeles/California Angels (1965–67), Clevelan ...
— MLB
*
Joel Casamayor
Joel Casamayor Johnson (born July 12, 1971) is a Cuban American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2011. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBA super featherweight title from 2000 to 2002; and the ...
— boxer; WBC Lightweight Champion
*
José Contreras
José Ariel Contreras Camejo (born December 6, 1971), is a Cuban former professional baseball pitcher, who played in the Cuban National Series (CNS), Major League Baseball (MLB), and internationally for the Cuban national baseball team.
Contr ...
— MLB
*
Martín Dihigo
Martín Magdaleno Dihigo Llanos (May 25, 1906 – May 20, 1971), called The Immortal, was a Cuban professional baseball player. He played in Negro league baseball and Latin American leagues from 1923 to 1936 as a two-way player, both as a pitche ...
—
Negro leagues
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...
,
Baseball Hall of Fame
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
*
Yuniel Dorticos
Yuniel Dorticós Pao (born 11 March 1986) is a Cuban professional boxer. He is a two-time former cruiserweight world champion, having held the WBA title from 2017 to 2018 and the IBF title from 2019 to 2020. As of August 2022, he is ranked as t ...
- Boxer:two-time cruiserweight world champion, having held the WBA title from 2017 to 2018 and the IBF title from 2019 to September 2020.
*
Juan Carlos Gómez
Juan Carlos Gómez (born 26 July 1973) is a Cuban former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2014. He held the WBC cruiserweight title from 1998 to 2002, and challenged once for the WBC heavyweight title in 2009.
Amateur career
*Ama ...
— boxer; former WBC Cruiserweight Champion
*
Liván Hernández
Eisler Liván Hernández Carrera (; born February 20, 1975) is a Cuban-born former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball. Over a 17-year career, he played for nine different teams and was named to two Major League Baseball All-S ...
— MLB, half-brother of El Duque
*
Orlando "El Duque" Hernández — MLB
*
Yoan Pablo Hernández
Yoan Pablo Hernández Suárez (born October 28, 1984) is a Cuban-German professional boxer. He is a former unified cruiserweight world champion, having held the IBF and ''Ring'' magazine titles between 2011 and 2015, as well as the WBA interi ...
— professional boxer; he held the unified IBF and Ring magazine cruiserweight titles between 2011 and 2015, as well as the WBA interim cruiserweight title in 2011.
*
Kid Chocolate
Eligio Sardiñas Montalvo (January 6, 1910 – August 8, 1988), better known as Kid Chocolate, was a Cuban boxing, boxer who enjoyed great success both in the boxing ring and outside it during the 1930s. Chocolate boxed professionally between 1 ...
— boxer; former World Featherweight and Junior Lightweight Champion
*
Orestes Kindelán
Orestes Kindelán Olivares (born November 1, 1964) is the most prolific home run hitter in the history of post-revolutionary Cuban baseball, known as "El Cañon de Dos Rios" and one of the offensive stars of the Cuba national baseball team, whi ...
— most prolific home run hitter in the history of amateur Cuban baseball
*
Minnie Miñoso
Orestes "Minnie" Miñoso (, ; born Saturnino Orestes Armas Miñoso Arrieta; November 29, 1923 – March 1, 2015), nicknamed "The Cuban Comet" and "Mr. White Sox", was a Cuban professional baseball player. He began his baseball career in the Neg ...
— MLB
*
José Nápoles
José Ángel Nápoles, nicknamed ''Mantequilla'' ("Butter", referring to his smooth boxing style), (April 13, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was a Cuban-born Mexican professional boxer and a World Welterweight Champion. He is frequently ranked as one ...
— boxer; former World Welterweight Champion; also known as "Mantequilla" Nápoles
*
Sergio Oliva
Sergio Oliva (July 4, 1941 – November 12, 2012) was a Cuban-American bodybuilder known as The Myth. He was a three-time Mr. Olympia winner.
Early life
Sergio Oliva was born on July 4, 1941 in Guantanamo, Cuba, during the presidency of Fu ...
— only bodybuilder to have ever beaten
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...
in a Mr. Olympia competition
*
Tony Oliva
Tony Pedro Oliva (born Antonio Oliva Lopez Hernandes Javique; July 20, 1938) is a Cuban former professional baseball player and Coach (baseball), coach. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a right fielder and designated hitter ...
— MLB, three time batting champion
*
Luis Ortiz — professional heavyweight boxer and former WBA Heavyweight Champion
*
Brayan Peña
Brayan Eduardo Peña (born January 7, 1982) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball catcher. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis ...
— MLB
*
Tony Pérez
Atanasio "Tony" Pérez Rigal (born May 14, 1942) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and third baseman from through , most notably as a member of the ...
— MLB Hall of Fame
*
Anthony Echemendia — amateur wrestler
*
Juan Pizarro — MLB
*
Yasiel Puig — MLB
*
Ana Fidelia Quirot
Ana Fidelia Quirot Moré (; born March 23, 1963) is a former track and field athlete from Cuba, who specialised in the 800 metres but was also successful over 400 m. At 800 metres, she is a two-time World Champion (1995, 1997) and a two-time Oly ...
— athlete
*
Alexei Ramírez
Alexei Fernando Ramírez Rodriguez (born September 22, 1981) is a Cuban former professional baseball shortstop. He has played for the Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays in MLB and Pinar del Rio of the Cuban National Serie ...
— MLB
*
Sugar Ramos
Ultiminio Ramos Zaqueira (2 December 1941 – 3 September 2017) was a Cuban-born Mexican professional boxer who was better known as Sugar Ramos. Ramos fought out of Mexico where he was adopted as a national hero. He was a world featherweight cha ...
— boxer; former WBA Featherweight Champion
*
Alexis Rubalcaba
Alexis Rubalcaba (born September 9, 1972) is a retired boxer from Cuba, who competed in the Super Heavyweight division. He twice represented his native country at the Summer Olympics: in 1996 (where he suffered a shocking loss to Paea Wolfgr ...
— amateur boxer
*
Félix Savón
Félix Savón Fabre (born 22 September 1967) is a retired Cuban amateur boxer, who competed from 1980 to 2000. Considered one of the all-time greatest amateur boxers, he became three-time Olympic gold medalist, and the World Champion six times ...
— amateur boxer
*
Javier Sotomayor
Javier Sotomayor Sanabria (; born October 13, 1967) is a Cuban retired track and field athlete, who specialized in the high jump and is the current world record holder. The 1992 Olympic champion, he was the dominant high jumper of the 1990s; hi ...
— world record holder in high jump
*
Teófilo Stevenson
Teófilo Stevenson Lawrence (29 March 1952 – 11 June 2012) was a Cuban amateur boxer who competed from 1966 to 1986. He won the Val Barker Trophy (1972) and was honored with the Olympic Order (1987). Stevenson is one of only three boxers to w ...
— amateur boxer
*
Luis Tiant
Luis Clemente Tiant Vega () (born November 23, 1940) is a Cuban former Major League Baseball (MLB) right-handed starting pitcher. He pitched in MLB for 19 years, primarily for the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox.
Tiant compiled a 22 ...
— MLB
*
Regla Torres
Regla Torres Herrera (born February 12, 1975 in Havana) is a Cuban volleyball player who has won three Olympic gold medals with her first being at the young, for volleyball, age of 17. She has played on the international circuit since she was 14 ...
— volleyball player
*
Cristóbal Torriente
Cristóbal Torriente (November 16, 1893 – April 11, 1938) called Babe Ruth of Cuba , was a Cuban outfielder in Negro league baseball with multiple teams. He played from 1912 to 1932 and was primarily a pull hitter, though he could hit with pow ...
—
Negro leagues
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...
,
Baseball Hall of Fame
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
*
Jorge Orta
Jorge Orta Núñez (born November 26, 1950) is a Mexican former professional baseball second baseman and outfielder. He played fifteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1972 to 1987 for the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Los An ...
— MLB
*
Odisnel Cooper
*
Yordany Álvarez
Yordany Álvarez Oropeza, also written as Yordanis Álvarez Oropesa, (born 24 May 1985) is a Cuban retired footballer.
Club career Cuba
Álvarez began his career in his native Cuba, playing with his hometown club FC Cienfuegos in the Campeon ...
*
Alexis Copello
Alexis Copello (born August 12, 1985) is a Cuban triple jumper who since 2017 competes internationally for Azerbaijan. He has a (legal) personal best jump of . He is a World Championship medalist, having won the bronze at the 2009 World Champion ...
*
Pedro Pichardo
Pedro Pablo Pichardo Peralta (, ; born 30 June 1993) is a Cuban-born Portuguese triple jumper who holds the current Olympic, World, and European titles. He won the gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics with a Portuguese national record of .
P ...
See also
*
Afro-Latin Americans – Latin America
*
Black Latino Americans – the United States
*
Cabildo (Cuba) Cabildos de nación were African ethnic associations created in Cuba in the late 16th century based on the Spanish cofradías (guilds or fraternities) that were organized in Seville for the first time around the 14th century. The Sevillian cofradí ...
*
Emancipados
Emancipado () was a term used for an African-descended social-political demographic within the population of Spanish Guinea (modern day Equatorial Guinea) that existed in the early to mid 1900s. This segment of the native population had become ass ...
*
Haitian Cuban
Haitian Cubans ( es, Haitiano-Cubano; french: Haïtien Cubain; ht, Ayisyen Kiben) are Cubans, Cuban citizens of full or partial Haitians, Haitian ancestry.
Origins
Haitian culture and French language, French and Haitian Creole languages, first e ...
*
MPLA
The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola ( pt, Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola, abbr. MPLA), for some years called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan left-wing, social d ...
*
Angolan Civil War
The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was ...
*
Afro-Cuban jazz
Afro-Cuban jazz is the earliest form of Latin jazz. It mixes Afro-Cuban clave-based rhythms with jazz harmonies and techniques of improvisation. Afro-Cuban music has deep roots in African ritual and rhythm.{{cite web, Cuba: Son and Afro-Cuban ...
Footnotes
Further reading
* Arnedo-Gómez, Miguel. "Introduction", Writing Rumba: The Afrocubanista Movement in Poetry. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press. 2006: 1-170.
* Duno-Gottberg, Luis, . Madrid, Iberoamericana – Frankfurt am Main, Vervuert, 2003.
* Finch, Aisha and Fannie Rushing (eds.), ''Breaing the Chains Forging the Nation: The Afro-Cuban Fight for Freedom and Equality.'' Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 2019.
* García, Cristina. "Introduction", Cubanismo! New York: Vintage Books, 2002: 1-364.
* "Literature of the Recolutionary Era", Encyclopedia of Cuba: People, history, culture. Ed. Luis Martinez Ternandez 1st Vol. Wesport: Greenwood Press, 2003: 345-346.
* Henken, Ted. "Cuban Literature-The Avant-Garde vs the Vanguard: Colonial Literature," Cuba: A Global Studies Handbook Global Studies :Latin America & The Caribbean. Santa Barbara: ABC_CLIO, 2008: 363-385.
* Moore, Robin D. "The Minorista vanguard: Moderism and Afrocubanismo" Nationalizing Blackness: Afrocubansimo and artistic Revolution in Havana, 1920-1940.Pittsburg: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1997: 195-200.
* Ródriguez-Mangual, Edna M. "Introduction" Lydia Cabrera and the Construction of an Afro Cuban Cultural Identity. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2004: 1-167.
* "Afrocubanismo", Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century. Ed. Lenard S. Klein. 2nd ed. 4thvol. Continuum: Continuum Publishing Company, 1989: 20-21.
{{African diaspora
Cuban
Cuban may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean
* Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent
** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof
* Cuban citizen, a perso ...
Society of Cuba
Ethnic groups in Cuba
Cuban
Cuban may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean
* Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent
** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof
* Cuban citizen, a perso ...
Cuban entertainers