| The African
roots also left a very particular mark in
the process of the formation of Cuban culture.
Coming, primarily, from five different ethnic
groups (yoruba, mandingas, congos, carabalies,
bantu) as arriving slaves worked at the
plantations giving place to new cultural
associations among the African communities
themselves. As mentioned, at the plantations,
before abolition of slavery, began the process
of syncretism among the slaves' and 'masters'
creating this new culture and genetic mix,
different from its origins. In the present
definition of Cuban culture, these three
roots shape the basis of traditions, culture
and popular believes
Cuban Ballet is synonymous
with the world renowned Alicia Alonso born
in 1921 and the most famous Cuban ballerina
and teacher.  She
foundered and directed the most important
ballet company in Cuba. Born Alicia Martinez
in Havana, Alonso studied here and in New
York City, New York, and London, England.
She began her career in Broadway musicals
in New York. Although plagued by eyesight
problems, Alonso was one of the principal
stars of the Ballet Caravan and later of
the Ballet Theater. She was particularly
noted in the role of Giselle. Alonso also
created roles for contemporary ballets,
including the role of the murderess Lizzie
Borden in Fall River Legend (1948), which
was choreographed by American dancer and
choreographer Agnes de Mille. In 1948 in
Cuba Alonso formed the Ballet Alicia Alonso
(renamed Ballet de Cuba in 1955 and, after
the Cuban Revolution of 1959, Ballet Nacional
de Cuba). Its ballet school earned admiration
for the quality of its training and recruiting
system. Ballet is still very popular in
Cuba and can be admired almost daily in
the countries capital, Havana.
 Of
all expressions of Art, music is undoubtedly
the one that has influenced more the personality
of Cuban people. It is said that the island's
inhabitants speak singing, dance while walking
and woo with a love song. Music has developed
fast and strong. The Habanera, rhythm born
from the danza criolla and the contradanza,
received its influence from the tango in
Argentina and other rhythms of South America.
Recent researches prove that in the contradanzas
by Manuel Saumell, the tempo of the habaneras
could be heard, for instance, in "La
Tedesco", the first part is like the
danzon, which appeared later; in many of
his music scores, song and guajira were
also outlined. Son and bolero arrived in
Havana from the eastern provinces, specifically
Santiago de Cuba. The bolero emerged at
the beginning of this century with great
composers such as, Alberto Villalon and
Sindo Garay, influenced by Pepe Sanchez
(who wrote the first one "Tristezas",
in 1883). Though the songs of the old trova
were boleros, best composers were Orlando
de la Rosa and Isolina Carrillo who left
one of the most sublime gifts of all times,
the bolero "Dos Gardenias".
News about the son montuno
dates back to the second half of the 19th
century. In 1920 " Havana's Sextet
" showed up at the high society salons
in the capital. The " Matamoros trio
", started their long-lasting and important
career in 1925 in Santiago de Cuba. They
created some of the classic Cuban songs:
Son de la loma, Mariposita de primavera
y Lagrimas negras. Soon after, the first
golden era of the son arrived and dozens
of septets and sextets came forth, some
of them began to make records with big North
American companies. Arsenio Rodriguez, Miguelito
Cuni, Felix Chapotin and Roberto Faz succeeded
the first performers of son. Meanwhile,
orchestras like "Arcaño y sus
maravillas" and "La Sensacion"
spirited balls in Havana playing danzones
and charangas during the '40s and '50s.
Enrique Jorrin composed first cha cha cha
"La Engañadora" on 1950.
Perez Prado made his first mambo on 1952.
The second splendour of son took place in
the '50s decade when a self-taught man from
Cienfuegos turned up: Benny More, who, years
later would be acclaimed "El Barbaro
del Ritmo". This composer and singer
revived the traditional ways of Cuban music,
leading the son montuno to a concept of
jazz band. The Cuban musician who had more
influence on the process of evolution of
Cuban and Caribbean music was Benny More.
The "Van Van" orchestra of popular
dancing music, with a very typical and modern
sonority, was created in 1970. Year's later
son offered its arrangements to the Salsa,
which also incorporated Caribbean rhythms
and sounds from the music of Latin (Cuban,
Dominican and Puerto Rican) communities
in New York. Cuban salsa, very well known
today almost everywhere, reached its boom
at the end of the '80s and beginnings of
the '90s when orchestras like "Van
Van" and "NG la Banda" grew
solid and new, young orchestras like "El
Medico de la Salsa", "Paulo FG
y su elite" and "Isaac Delgado"
came forth.
In the Late 90's and
early 2000, Latin Music, who's roots lie
primarily in Cuban rhythms, has met a massive
revival worldwide with groups such as Ricky
Martin, Christian and the Buena Vista social
Club. This rivival outlines today's desires
to return to the catchy rhythms and agreeable
melodies foundered in Cuba and now playing
worldwide at your local music store.
Painting is the most
genuine expression of fine arts on the island.
It could not develop in a coherent manner
because its first expressions, made by the
aborigines in the caves, were discontinued
when those communities disappeared. With
the conquest and evangelisation process
a religious kind of painting prevailed,
associated to catholic liturgy. Only in
the 19th century, when the San Alejandro
academy was founded (1818), paintings by
natives began to flourish, designed to satisfy
the European taste of Cuban bourgeoisie.
The Economic Association Friends of the
Country created the Academy and its first
principal was French painter Jean Bautiste
Vermay. By 1880 a new tendency in Cuban
painting was born, its main subject was
landscapes. Outstanding in this period were
Esteban Chartrand and Valentin Sanz Carta.
The works of Basque Victor Patricio de Landaluze
showed an interesting folkloric style. But
classicism still ruled in fine arts. The
avant-gardist awakening of the '20s (20th
century) initiated a new period for Cuban
painting. The modern movement had its first
and most important exhibit in 1927, sponsored
by the magazine Avance. Eduardo Abela, Victor
Manuel, Antonio Gattorno, Carlos Enriquez
and others were starters of the vanguardist
movement in Cuba. Following years were of
consolidation of the modern movement; this
was evidenced at the celebration of the
First Modern Arts Salon on 1937. Then, young
artists already showed a new period in Cuban
art that would build up to create, the so-called
" School of Havana" in 1940.
Pintura
Painters like Rene Portocarrero,
Amelia Pelaez and Mariano Rodriguez are
part of this movement. Wilfredo Lam returned
to Cuba in 1942 after a long stay in Europe
and a studio experience with Pablo Picasso.
On 1943 Lam painted the work that immortalised
him "The Jungle", which was acquired
by New York's MOMA. With the triumph of
the revolution, the artistic movement strengthened,
since the foundation in 1962 of the National
School of Fine Arts. Very important personalities
such as Raul Martinez and Antonia Eiriz
formed the body of professors. A few years
later, in 1976, the Fine Arts College of
the High Institute of Arts was founded.
The important patrimony of the last decade
gathers works of artists like Roberto Fabelo,
Zaida del Rio, Tomas Sanchez, Manuel Mendive
and Nelson Dominguez. Young artists such
as, Jose Bedia, Kcho and Flavio Garciandia
have occupied a privileged spot ahead of
the new styles of painting. During the last
30 years Cuban painting has shown great
capability to undertake the more important
influences from the international arts,
with a creative and unique appearance, assuming
at the same time a critic attitude to continue
defending the characteristic features of
the Cuban identity.
Cuban artist today are
abundant, they provide a mixture of past
and future conceptions that are creating
a worldwide attraction to the works. Art
festivals and market sales of these paintings
can be found all over the country. Who'll
be the next Rembrandt? We will know in 100
years.
Cocina
Reservada para los días
de Nochebuena, para el 31 de diciembre o
para las grandes ocasiones de la familia,
la comida típica cubana resulta sorprendente
por la variedad de sus platos, lo bien condimentada,
y la cantidad que se sirve.
Se comienza tomando cervezas
heladas, Bucanero o Cristal, acompañadas
con chicharrones de puerco recién
sacados de la manteca. Las mujeres se encargan
de preparar los frijoles negros dormidos,
la yuca con mojo, frituras de malanga o
maíz, arroz blanco abundante, plátanos
chatinos, ensalada de tomates adornada con
lechugas. Los hombres, casi todos agrupados
en el patio, van asando en púa una
pierna de puerco, o un puerco entero que
se cubre con hojas de guayaba y cada cierto
tiempo se empapa con zumo de naranja agria.
Este asado puede durar horas en terminar,
pero mientras, se sigue conversando y tomando
cervezas. Todo se sirve en fuentes, menos
el puerco que se coloca en una bandeja y
al centro de la mesa. Al cubano le gusta
comerlo todo junto, casi siempre en el mismo
plato, que se va rellenando una y otra vez
ya sea de puerco asado, de frijoles negros
y arroz, o de ensalada. Durante la comida
se toma cerveza y agua fría. El postre
típico es la mermelada de guayaba
con lascas de queso amarillo, o los buñuelos
de yuca en almíbar con anís.
La sobremesa se hace bebiendo ron y, después
de haber comido hasta la saciedad, se empieza
a bailar hasta el amanecer.
Typical Cuban food, amazing
for the variety of dishes, the good seasoning
and the amounts served, is usually saved
for Christmas' Eve, New Year's Eve or big
family occasions.
It all begins drinking
iced beer, Bucanero or Cristal, with crisp
pork rinds. Women are in charge of the black
beans, yucca with a garnish of chopped parsley
and onion with lemon; plenty of white rice,
malanga or corn fritters, fried banana patty
and tomato salad with lettuce. Men, gathered
at the courtyard, see to the roast pig,
which is placed on a spike above the charcoal
fire, covered with leaves from a guava tree
and sprinkled with sour orange juice from
time to time. This can take several hours
but, meanwhile, they keep on talking and
drinking beers. Everything is served in
dishes, except the pork, which is placed
on a tray at the centre of the table. Cubans
like to eat everything together, usually
on the same plate. During dinner, beer and
cold water are the beverages. Typical desserts
are guava marmalade with yellow cheese slices
and yucca crullers in anise-flavoured syrup.
Having eaten to the point of contentment,
they drink rum and dance till daybreak.
Typical Cuban dishes
are: Black beans and rice, fried sliced
banana, garlic marinades, rice dishes, boiled
Yucca plant. Olive oil and garlic marinades
are using used as sauces on most dishes.
Meat is usually prepared roasted or in a
marinade "creola" style.
Literatura
Cuba is an island that has never ceased
to yield poets. The first known poem, "Mirror
of Patience", was written in 1608 by
the Canarian Silvestre de Balboa at the
Villa of Puerto Principe. By the first half
of the 18th century, around 1733, the first
theatre play El Principe Jardinero y Fingido
Cloridano written by a Cuban author, Captain
Don Santiago de Pita, was performed. Native
bourgeoisie attained an important accolade
in 1790 with the materialisation of Papel
Periodico de La Habana, the first newspaper
published on the island. Manuel de Zerqueiro
(1760-1846) and Manuel Justo Ruvalcaba (1769-1805)
are regarded as the most representative
poets of the 18th century. In both poems
the Cuban feelings rise slowly with the
love and delight for the land's fruitfulness,
dedicating their lines to glorify tropical
fruits like pineapple and mamey. It was
in the 19th century that the great poets
were born and the tradition in Cuban poetry
began to grow solidly. Deep and beautiful
lines as those of Julian del Casal, Placido,
El Cucalambe, Juan Clemente Zenea, Gertrudis
Gomez de Avellaneda, Juana Borrero, Jose
Jacinto Milanes, Luisa Perez de Zambrana,
Jose Maria Heredia and Jose Marti, left
a trail of such exquisite lyrical poetry
that, despite romanticism, in some cases
exceeded the limits of feelings to offer
poems of complete commitment. Cirilo Villaverde
wrote the first great novel Cecilia Valdez,
in the 19th century, it is an essential
gift. Other important novelists from this
period are Ramon Meza and Gertrudis Gomez
de Avellaneda. Poetry of the 20th century,
restless in a diversity of styles as the
century itself, comes up in the world with
the names of Jose Zacarias Tallet, Regino
Pedroso, Emilio Ballagas, Regino Botti,
Nicolas Guillen, Carilda Oliver, Heberto
Padilla, Virgilio Piñera, Jose Lezama
Lima, Roberto Fernandez Retamar, Gaston
Baquero, Nancy Morejon, Anton Arrufat, Eliseo
Diego (Juan Rulfo Prize for his life's work),
Cintio Vitier, Fina Garcia Marruz, Mirta
Aguirre, Pablo Armando Fernandez, Guillermo
Rodriguez Rivera, Angel Augier and Dulce
Maria Loynaz (Cervantes Prize, awarded by
the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language).
The XX century developed quickly with writers
that soon began to achieve important international
awards. The library of novels for this century
gathers the works of Miguel del Carrion,
Jose Soler Puig, Dulce Maria Loynaz, Severo
Sarduy, Miguel Barnet, Senel Paz, Pablo
Armando Fernandez, Luis Rogelio Nogueras,
Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Virgilio Piñera,
Reinaldo Arenas, Jesus Diaz, Jose Lezama
Lima, Abilio Estevez and Alejo Carpentier
(Cervantes Prize, awarded by the Royal Academy
of the Spanish Language). Currently, story
writing is a style that has developed into
a solid tendency among young writers; names
like Alberto Garrido and Ronaldo Menendez
(both winners of the Casa de las Americas
prize), attest the eloquent performance
of Cuban literature.
Cuban literature, both
new and old, abounds in Havana. Street markets
often provide some prized books many of
which are over 100 years old. |
