Ritmos

Danza

The danza was the evolutionary step between contradanza and danzón — a more intimate, more Cubanized couple's dance that dominated Havana's salons in the second half of the 19th century.

Timba

Timba is the music this site is dedicated to exploring. It emerged as a distinct genre in the late 1980s and crystallized in the early 1990s — born in a moment of social crisis, built on the full accumulated history of Cuban music, and still evolving today.

Rumba

Rumba is the most African-rooted of all Cuban music and dance forms — born in the streets, courtyards, and docks of Havana and matanzas"> Matanzas in the late 19th century, with no European instruments, no salon setting, and no pretense of European propriety.

Rumba

Rumba is the most African-rooted of all Cuban music and dance forms — born in the streets, courtyards, and docks of Havana and matanzas"> Matanzas in the late 19th century, with no European instruments, no salon setting, and no pretense of European propriety.

Rumba

Rumba is the most African-rooted of all Cuban music and dance forms — born in the streets, courtyards, and docks of Havana and matanzas"> Matanzas in the late 19th century, with no European instruments, no salon setting, and no pretense of European propriety.

Rumba

Rumba is the most African-rooted of all Cuban music and dance forms — born in the streets, courtyards, and docks of Havana and matanzas"> Matanzas in the late 19th century, with no European instruments, no salon setting, and no pretense of European propriety.

Nengón y Changüí

Antes del son, antes del danzón, antes de cualquier género con nombre — existían el Nengón y el Changüí en las montañas y valles del oriente cubano (Oriente, especialmente la provincia de Guantánamo). Estas son las raíces más antiguas que sobreviven de la música popular cubana.

Casino

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."

Songo

Songo is the direct bridge between traditional Cuban music and timba"> timba. Developed by Los Van Van in the early 1970s, it rewired Cuban popular music by absorbing funk, rock, and jazz into the Afro-Cuban rhythmic foundation — and laid every groundwork that timba"> timba would build on.

Casa de la Trova

The Casa de la Trova in santiago de cuba"> 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.

Yuka

Yuka se considera la forma de baile derivada de los Kongo más antigua que sobrevive en Cuba y el ancestro más directo de la Rumba. Preservada por las comunidades de descendencia Congo desde la época de la esclavitud, el Yuka contiene el vocabulario de movimiento, el formato de tambor y la dinámica social que eventualmente se transformaría en una de las tradiciones de danza popular más definitorias de Cuba.

Orishas

Afro-Cuban Orishas are deities from the Yoruba religion, brought to Cuba through the transatlantic slave trade, who embody natural forces and human traits, and are honored through music, dance, and ritual in Santería.

Batá

The batá drums are a set of three double-headed hourglass-shaped drums central to Yoruba religious tradition and Afro-Cuban sacred music (Lucumí / Santería).

Timba music

A Cuban popular dance music genre that emerged in the 1980s–90s

• emerged in the 1980s–90s
• influenced by songo, rumba, funk, blues, jazz, pop, rock and Afro-Cuban rhythms.
• Known for complex rhythm shifts, aggressive bass lines, and high energy that push dancers to improvise.