Introduction

For Cubans, rhythm is a way of life as natural as breathing and as hot as the tropical sun. Just like in part of Africa where drums permeate and accent the daily events, life in Cuba follows the beat of conga drums, bongos, claves, guiros, maracas and timbales. Even wooden boxes and metal car tire rims are often pressed into service as drums and cymbals. Often you see people in the street dancing with each other to the beat of impromptu jam sessions orchestrated by such makeshift rhythm instruments.
Cuba is a small country, both in geographical area and in population, yet its music has an importance that goes way beyond its size. The music that is known around the world by the names "Latin music" or most recently "Salsa" is mostly music of Cuban origin. This, understandably, is not only a source of pride for the Cuban people but it also defines much of their cultural identity. In this paper, the topic we will explore is the relationship of a Cuban to his music and to his identity as a person.
There is a slang term used by Cubans, "la musica es pa' goza," which translates as the music is for joy, but it goes far beyond that as the meaning encompasses not only joy, bun and the joy de vivre, but also touch and then merges with another term which defines Cubans ­ "El Cubanismo." Cubanismo is virtually the essence of being Cuban, what makes a Cuban and this is quite impossible to understand without knowing the relationship between a Cuban and his music. Although it is beyond the scope of this work to define "Cubanismo" other than in relation to the music, we will explore this part of the Cuban psyche inasmuch as it relates to our topic. Also in the first section, we will examine and analyze the reasons for the importance of the music in the makeup of the Cuban psyche.

To Part 1- Roots of Cuban Music

back to sitemap for complete index