Havana
Cuban Dances Originating in Havana
Havana, the cultural heartbeat of Cuba, played a central role in the creation and evolution of several iconic Cuban dances. Some were born directly in the capital, while others were transformed there into the forms we know today.
1. Rumba (Urban Styles)
- Developed: Late 19th century in Havana and Matanzas.
- Styles associated with Havana:
- Performance context: In solares (tenement patios) and public spaces.
- Cultural roots: Deeply Afro-Cuban (Yoruba, Bantu, etc.).
🎶 3. Son (Urban Form)
- Rural origins: Eastern Cuba (Oriente region).
- Urban development: Refined and popularized in Havana in the early 20th century.
- Significance: Foundation for many other Cuban music and dance styles like Mambo and Salsa.
📋 Summary Table
| Dance |
Origin |
Style |
Havana Connection |
| Rumba (urban) |
Havana + Matanzas |
Afro-Cuban street dance |
Developed in Havana |
| Casino |
Havana (1950s) |
Partner dance, Cuban salsa |
Originated in Havana |
| Son (urban) |
Eastern Cuba → Havana |
Afro-Hispanic fusion |
Urban form in Havana |
| Mambo |
Havana (1930s–40s) |
Big-band, high-energy dance |
Developed in Havana |
| Cha-cha-chá |
Havana (1950s) |
Easy, syncopated ballroom dance |
Invented in Havana |
📝 Sources
Yambú is the oldest and slowest rumba style, born in the late 1800s in the urban neighbourhoods of Matanzas and Havana. A calm, elegant couple's dance without the vacunao of guaguancó, it is secular and danced to son clave.
Lees meer >Cha-cha-chá is a Cuban dance music rhythm created in 1953 by violinist and composer Enrique Jorrín while performing with the Orquesta América, a charanga ensemble based in Havana. It became one of the most successful Cuban music exports of the 20th century, spreading rapidly through Latin America, Europe, and North America.
Lees meer >Mexico, and above all Mexico City, was where mambo conquered the world in the late 1940s. Here Pérez Prado recorded his mambos and Benny Moré became a star. Danzón is still danced there.
Lees meer >Casino is the Cuban partner dance born in the social clubs (casinos deportivos) of Havana in the 1950s. It is what Cubans call their own social dance — distinct from, and older than, what the rest of the world calls "salsa."
Lees meer >Casino is the Cuban partner dance born in the social clubs (casinos deportivos) of Havana in the 1950s. It is what Cubans call their own social dance — distinct from, and older than, what the rest of the world calls "salsa."
Lees meer >The Casa de la Trova in Santiago de Cuba is the spiritual home of Cuban traditional music — Son, Bolero, Changüí, and Trova. Founded in 1968 on Calle Heredia in the heart of Santiago's historic center, it has been the gathering place for the city's musicians for over half a century.
Lees meer >Egungun is the Yoruba masquerade tradition honoring the collective ancestors — the Egun, the dead who remain present and active in the lives of the living. In Cuba, the Egungun tradition survived within the broader world of Santería (Regla de Ocha) and the related Arará and Abakuá communities, though in a form shaped by the specific conditions of the island.
Lees meer >Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean and the birthplace of some of the world's most influential music and dance traditions. African, Spanish, and French cultural streams collided here over centuries of colonial history, producing an extraordinary creative culture that exported itself across the globe.
Lees meer >Oriente, the eastern region of Cuba, is the cradle of vibrant music and dance traditions like Son, Changüí, Nengón, and Kiribá, which shaped the roots of Cuban and Latin music.
Lees meer >In the 20th century New York was the second home of Cuban music. Here Afro-Cuban jazz and the mambo craze of the Palladium Ballroom were born, and later salsa.
Lees meer >Congo and Angola lie at the heart of the old Kingdom of Kongo. From this part of Central Africa came the Bakongo and other Bantu peoples who were brought to Cuba as enslaved people. Their heritage survives in Cuba in Palo Monte and in the dances makuta and yuka.
Lees meer >