Another form of Cuba art is music! Music flows through Cuba. When I listen to the many kinds of Cuban music, I can’t help but feel energized and happy. The beat of the music is for the most part uplifting. The history of Cuban music is also very interesting. Especially the Cuban Rumba because of how it sounds and its history. The “Rumba is one of Cuba’s great musical exports, a root rhythm for voice and percussion that has cross-fertilised any number of musical styles in the 20th century from the mambo to salsa to jazz, and into Africa itself where it gave rise to soukous in the 1940s, and its offshoots such as high life and makossa” (Wood & Pelladito, 2014). The Rumba started to form in West Africa, where most of Cuba’s slaves were taken. When the slaves came to Cuba, they brought the makings for the Rumba with them. The Rumba was seen as an outcast for a long time because it was considered the “poor people's” music. But in recent years, it has become more popular. The Rumba is one of the lifebloods of Cuban music with its rich, deep history in Cuba, making it very important (Wood & Pelladito, 2014).
One of the reasons that Cuban music is well known today is because of the Buena Vista Social Club. This club gave artists a place to come together and celebrate. This was important because at the time there the government was strict about what music people were producing so they club gave artists the place to do something different.
Art is a way for the Cuban people to “rebel'' against the government. Street art is a key way that this is done. You have some artists that paint the “party line”, like symbols of the revolution. Then you have artists like Yulier Rodriguez who takes pieces of fallen down buildings and then paints them to show the struggle of the Cuban people. He then puts the piece back where he found it for someone to find and take it home. His artwork is abstract and different. In some of his pieces it looks like a war of expression. His art is my favorite because it is just so interesting and different. Another piece of street art is paintings of children. The artist did this with the permission of the government, so it was not in defiance of the government. You have other artists that will just paint their art without promotion.
“The Wrinkles of the City” was about the various wall art that is around the city and how people view them. The part of the video that really stood out to me is when a lot of people were standing around a painting of a Cuban person reaching for a can. Everyone had a different idea about what it meant. Some people thought “he” was trying to steal the can and others thought it symbolized how the Cubans struggle to get cans of water. This video reinforces the idea that art is truly in the eye of the beholder.
Questions:
1- What is next in the evolution of Cuban music?
2- How would Cuban art look today if the revolution never happened?
Wood, G., & Pelladito, J. (2014, December 9). Rumba: Cuban heartbeat. ABC Radio National.
This post provides the reader with some excellent examples of what an artistically inclined traveller may find if they chose to venture to the streets of Havana, along with some solid historical information. I enjoyed reading your take aways from “The Wrinkles of the City," I found it super interesting as well. If the revolution never had taken place, I believe that the unique qualities of Cuban art would be diluted due to its potential exposure to the modern worlds artistic tropes.
ReplyDeleteI thought the story behind Yulier Rodriguez's art was really interesting because he shows that you can make anything into artwork. I think if the revolution never happened, there would be far less economic value placed on their artwork, because the whole reason it is valuable in the first place is due to the war propaganda and censorship.
ReplyDeleteIt is very thought provoking to contemplate where Cuba's music style and industry is headed next. I think because the government does not allow freedom of speech it is always necessary to factor in the governments influence. When Jazz first came to America it was typically frowned upon to attend concerts and dress up to go dancing. Eventually people came to their senses and began to support Jazz. I feel in Cuba the governments actions always have a response in the form of art and music and that will dictate where Cuba's music goes next.
ReplyDeleteHi Matthew,
ReplyDeleteThe Revolution has been key to how Cuban art is evolving, particularly with the restrictions it has created and the stigmas associated with breaking those restrictions. The next step in Cuban music is already underway. Just as many genres of Cuban music came from mixing the music of other cultures, Cuban music students are now mixing their traditional genres with rock and pop.