Cuban music

brilliantly describes the calendar year 1898 as being a significantly important year culturally for Cuba and its then state of music. Described by Acosta as “a symbol of a generation of intellectuals”¹, there was a musical abundance in Cuba that seemed to have attracted the world once the U.S. began to notice. Cuba quickly became an honored destination for blended genres that drew various inspirations from Europe and Africa—where Cuba would then distribute to the U.S. and further solidify their influence. One thing I analyzed from this reading was the how central Caribbean music became for North American recording companies. The paradigm began to shift in the early 1900’s where record companies were no longer just praising Cuban artist in admiration, but began to—either travel to Caribbean countries in order to record with these musicians and provide them with portable equipment or actually giving appointed musicians opportunities to record in the U.S. It’s really interesting to point out the motives behind these clear agendas to “Latinize” the American entertainment culture so early in the 20th century…

building successful and enduring relations between both countries. Economic development: The economic development in Cuba is a tense situation. This is nothing new, Cubans have experienced power cuts in Havana; which resulted in the use of oil lamps to light their homes. And also they were reduced to walking and/or bicycling miles to work because there was no gasoline. Cuba’s economy has only grown just by one percent in the first six months of the year of 2016. Economic development demonstrates…

El Rapto de las Mulatas, made in 1938, is a painting by Cuban avant-garde artist Carlos Enriquez. It translates to “The Abduction of the Mulatas,” where mulatas are mixed race women in Cuba. The painting portrays a scenario that is described very literally in the title: a pair of mulatas being abducted and raped by two men who seem to be guajiros, Cuban countrymen. There are varying theories pertaining to what exactly the painting really represents, but most of these theories are centered around…

afternoon. The topic of this speech is on the United States should or should not lift the Cuban embargo. This is a very short backstory behind the embargo placed on Cuba. The U.S. placed an trade embargo on Cuba in 1962 and added travel restrictions in 1963. The economic embargo was placed because Cuba had taken oil-refineries which were American owned as their own and Cuba did not give compensation to the U.S. Since then, the U.S. disliked Cuba and mostly Cuba’s leader Fidel Castro who wanted…

Cuban Divas: La Reina de la Salsa, Celia Cruz Only few people succeed in the music industry, and fewer people succeed at an international scale. Many factors impact when it comes to succeeding in the music industry, in other words an artist has to overcome a different number of challenges. During the beginning of 20th century, Cuba had few artists, which mainly remained known at a local level. It was until the mid 20th century when Cuban music would spark a revolution. Celia Cruz, a prime…

exploded as a symbol of revolution (Ziff). This explosive fame was what followed the rumored circumstance of his death. Guevara was known to reportedly be the most glamorized and successful revolutionary to extend his legacy within his nation (Ziff). To this day, the Cuban government idolizes Guevara’s image, plastering his portrait amongst the youth of the country in forms of apparel, and collectables (Guevara). The modern generation’s obsession with the image of Che Guevara is in essence, a…

In researching the business culture of another foreign country for the use of an informational memo. I am letting my classmates, know what country has been chosen to research and share some of it's interesting facts on the country of Cuba. How is that country's culture similar to or different from U.S. culture? Despite the fact, of some of the ways Cuban culture can be similar to U.S. culture may be through the average family of the U.S. having 3.19 members, where the Cuban family average has…

Music is an important part any country’s culture. It exemplifies the mood and feelings of the people of that time and is a representation of their experiences. As time flows on that music changes along with it, bringing new ideas and new songs to the stage. The music of the past slowly fades away as people forget it and stop paying homage to it. Conjunto Philadelphia is a band that wants to preserve the music of Pre-Revolutionary Cuba and make sure it isn’t forgotten. They want to share their…

Havana, Cuba’s capital, was a hub for tourism with many beautiful activities to offer. Because of Cuba having sold large amounts of sugar to the United States, Cuba’s economy was booming. At least for the rich ones. People living in rural Cuba had the most problems. Since sugar could only be harvested for two seasons out of the year, for the rest of that time, men who harvested it were unemployed and hungry. Racism also played a huge part in pre-Revolution Cuba. Many large buildings were…

academia and mainstream research regarding American and Cuban encounters. “On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality, and Culture”, is another Louis A. Pérez production that emphasizes the evolutions and transitions between, above, and below the two countries. The 579-page text is a tedious read, but a thorough history of the cultural significance the U.S. has on Cuban society. Pérez accomplishes this by studying the period between the mid-nineteenth centuries through the years of the Castro…