Culture of Cuba
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The culture of Cuba is a complex mixture of different, often contrasting, factors and influences. Traditionally, Cuba is a meeting point of European, African, Amerindian and continental North American cultures. Since 1959, the Cuban Revolution has also greatly affected Cuban culture, down to the most basic levels of daily life. Much of Cuban culture, especially Cuban music, is instantly recognized throughout the world.
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[edit] Music
| Life in Cuba |
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| Art |
| Cinema |
| Cuisine |
| Culture |
| Demographics |
| Education |
| Health |
| Holidays |
| Human Rights |
| Literature |
| Music |
| Politics |
| Religion |
| Tourism |
Cuban music is the basis for many other Latin American musical styles, such as Salsa. The main musical form is Son, but they also listen to rock. The Caribbean island of Cuba has been influential in the development of multiple musical styles in the 19th and 20th centuries. The roots of most Cuban musical forms lie in the cabildos, a form of social club among African slaves brought to the island. The cabildos were formed from the Igbos, Araras, Bantu, Carabalies, Yorubas, and other civilizations/tribes. Cabildos preserved African cultural traditions, even after the Emancipation in 1886 forced them to unite with the Roman Catholic church. At the same time, a religion called Santería was developing and had soon spread throughout Cuba,Haiti and other nearby islands. Santería influenced Cuba's music, as percussion is an inherent part of the religion. Each orisha, or deity, is associated with colors, emotions, Roman Catholic saints and drum patterns called toques. By the 20th century, elements of Santería music had appeared in popular and folk forms.
Cuban music has its principal roots in Spain and West Africa, but over time has been influenced by diverse genres from different countries. Most important among these are France, the United States, and Jamaica. Reciprocally, Cuban music has been immensely influential in other countries, contributing not only to the development of jazz and salsa, but also to Argentinian tango, Ghanaian high-life, West African Afrobeat, and Spanish "nuevo flamenco". Cuban music of high quality includes "classical" music, some with predominantly European influences, and much of it inspired by both Afro-Cuban and Spanish music. Several Cuban-born composers of "serious" music have recently received a much-deserved revival. Within Cuba, there are many popular musicians working in the rock and reggaeton idioms.
Cuban folk music is very diverse and have been influenced by many different cultures. The coming together of Spanish peoples, slaves from Africa, and the remaining indigenous populations of the Caribbean created many different cultural groups throughout the Caribbean.
Cuban hip-hop is one of the newest genres of music to be embraced not only by the country's youth but by the established government. Initially, hip-hop was shunned by the country because of its affiliation to America and capitalism. As more Cuban youth and rappers put their own energy and style into the music and the government stopped associating the music with materialism, Cuban hip-hop eventually became the voice of a new generation. In fact, "the Cuban government now sees rap music - long considered the music of American imperialism - as a road map to the hearts and minds of the young generation". [1] This music represents a new way for Cuban youth to express their own ideas on relevant political and social issues. Their lyrics contain messages that force people to rethink race and identity in Cuba. This is seen by many as rebellious because it calls attention to the fact that the Cuban government encourages its citizens to believe in a color-blind society, when skin color truly plays a major role in everyday life. In essence, Cuban hip-hop can be considered the revolution of this new generation that grew up on the island after the fall of the Soviet Union and communism, where "rebels use lyrics, not guns,...they dance instead of march" and where "its soldiers are rappers [and] their missions are poverty and racism". [2]
[edit] Cuisine
- See also: Cuban Cuisine and Rationing in Cuba
ration]]ed. A ration book called a libreta is supposed to guarantee a range of products from shops, however, there are still massive shortages and even rations are not guaranteed to be delivered timely or at all. See Rationing in Cuba for an explanation on this system.
The Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 ended grain imports from that country, which were used to feed cattle and chickens. Since 1991 beef, chicken, milk and eggs became scarce.
A lack of fuel for agricultural machinery meant that crops had to be harvested manually (by people) , drastically decreasing Cuba's food production capabilities. These problems have improved a little in recent years, but shortages are still common. To supplement their rations, Cubans resort to non-rationed food stores (where prices are nevertheless several times those of the libreta), or to the black market.
Traditional Cuban food is, as most cultural aspects of this country, a syncretism of Spanish, African and Caribbean cuisines, with a small but noteworthy Chinese influence. Most popular foods are black beans, stews, and meats[3].
One example of traditional Cuban cuisine, or criollo as it is called, is moros y cristianos, "Moors and Christians", rice with black beans. Criollo uses many different seasonings, with some of the most common being onion and garlictobacco. Cassava, rice, beans, eggs, tomatoes, lettuce, chicken, beef and pork are all common ingredients.
Coffee is of high quality and grown mainly for export, the common coffee drunk in Cuba is imported from Africa.
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[edit] Religion
Cuba's policy on religion has changed much since 1959. Originally in line with Karl Marx's statement "Religion is the opiate of the people", religious Cubans were persecuted and could be denied jobs or an education by the government.
In the 1970s, the relationship between the government and religious institutions (especially the Roman Catholic Church) began to improve. By 1976, the state granted Cuban citizens religious freedom, with some restrictions, and in 1992, the constitution was amended to allow total religious freedom. About 25% of Cubans today are Catholic. Some Catholic traditions were lost, but the church has imported the Mexican Christmas plays (pastorelas) trying to reconnect Cubans to Christianity.
Another large religion in Cuba is Santería. Santería is a blend of Catholicism and traditional Yoruba religions. When African slaves first arrived in Cuba during the 1500s, they were taught a few simple prayers and were baptised by the Spanish. The slaves combined this limited form of Catholicism with their traditional religions to create Santería, which survives to this day.
[edit] Language
As with much of America, spanish is spoken in Cuba. After the 1959 Revolution, the term "compañero/compañera", meaning comrade, came to gradually replace the traditional "señor/señora" as the universal polite title of address for strangers. A significant number of Afro-Cubans as well as mulatto Cubans speak Haitian Creole. Haitian Creole is the second most spoken language as well as a recognized one in Cuba with approximately 300,000 speakers. Haiti was a French colony, and the final years of the 1791-1804 Haitian Revolution brought a wave of French settlers fleeing with their Haitian slaves to Cuba.
Many words from Cuban Amerindian languages have entered common usage in both Spanish and English, such as the Taíno words canoa, tabaco and huracán.
When speaking to the elderly, or to strangers, Cubans speak more formally as a sign of respect. They shake hands upon greeting someone and farewelling them. Men often exchange friendly hugs (abrazos) and it is also common for both men and women to greet friends and family with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Informalities like addressing a stranger with 'mi corazón' (my heart), 'mi vida' (my life), or 'cariño' (dear) are common.
[edit] Housing
Children are required to take part in social activities outside of the home, such as working in the fields during holidays.
Cubans do not own the homes they live in, which is owned by the state. They are technically allowed to swap houses if they find another person willing to, but this does not happen too often.
[edit] Women
The Castro government has improved women's rights since the revolution, and today, most women work outside of the home. They are assisted by things such as childcare facilities, which are common in Cuba.
In 1974, the Family Code was passed, giving men and women equal rights and responsibilities for housework, childrearing and education. However, despite official government policy, and as with much of Latin America, machismo is common, and stereotypes of women continue to exist.
During the periodo especial after the fall of the USSR which resulted in poverty, the phenomenon of jineteras has appeared; illegal female prostitutes aiming for the foreign tourist and asking for pay in US dollars. The government had made an issue of giving proper jobs to the many prostitutes[citation needed].
[edit] Women and Dance
A new kind of dance emerged in the “Special Period” of Cuba, the time after the Soviet Union collapsed and was no longer able to support Cuba financially, forcing the small communist nation to open its markets somewhat to more capitalist forces [3]. As tourism became more prominent and portions of Western culture were able to filter into Cuban society, women were encouraged to attract Western men who had more money, and often did so by pursuing prostitution [4].
Along with the rise of practices such as prostitution, which allowed women to be in control of their own bodies in terms of where and with whom to use them, a new popular dance style emerged, which involved the fast and suggestive shaking of the women’s lower torso section, simulating sexual activity. [5] With this type of dance, the woman’s body is seen as more “solo,” which moves such as the despelote (all-over-the-place) and tembleque (shake-shudder) and the subasta de la cintura (waist auction) [6]. This idea of post-post-feminism has come up in debate with still other women who still see this kind of “el perreo” sex, or “doggy style,” as being empowering for women, as the woman is allowed to show the man how she is in control of his pleasure as well as the dance [7]. However, still some consider el perreo to be degrading, forcing them to live up to certain expectations of pleasing their male partner [8].
In the article “How to Make Love With Your Clothes On: Dancing Regeton,” Fairley illustrated a basic time line on how the dance moves at the party had changed. She says people in Cuba used to dance by facing their partners and nowadays it is usually the “back to front” dance. “Grinding” may be the best term to use in this case since it is so overly used in present to identify the “party kind” dance moves. Fairley also points out how the women are the ones that pleasing the men. She states that the way women dances with Reggeaton can easily be compared with sex position and pornography. For example, she talks about the “sandwich dance,” and one can compare that with porn because it matches the case where a woman is having sex with a man and at the same time she is pleasuring another man sexually. So in these cases, it might seem like that it degrades women because men are using them sex objects on the dance floor. However, like the last paragraph states that according to post-post-feminism one can easily say that women are taking control over the whole concept of sexual pleasure on the bed and on the dance floor. [9].
These kinds of dance movements have to do a lot with the culture as well because according to Failey Cuba has an “open and healthy attitudes toward sexuality”, which varies in different culture such as in UK. [10]. It is also said by Herrod that Reggeaton makes it very danceable party in 2000 than the stuff they had in 90’s. He also says that Reggeaton does make the dance floor more “aggressive, sexually overt, formulaic,” but the beat is so popular that it is spreading world wide. Therefore, it should be socially okay for women in Cuba to culturally or non-culturally dance with Reggeaton. [4]
[edit] Literature
- Further information: Cuban literature
- See also: List of Cuban writers
Cuban literature began to develop its own style in the early 19th century. The major works published in Cuba during that time were of an abolitionist character[citation needed]. Notable writers of this genre include Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda and Cirilio Villaverde. Following the abolition of slavery in 1886, the focus of Cuban literature shifted. Dominant themes of independence and freedom were exemplified by José Martí, who led the modernista movement in Latin American literature. Writers such as the poet Nicolás Guillén focused on literature as social protest. Others like Dulce María Loynaz, José Lezama Lima and Alejo Carpentier dealt with more personal or universal issues. And a few more, such as Reinaldo Arenas and Guillermo Cabrera Infante, earned international recognition[citation needed] in the postrevolutionary era.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Wunderlich, Annelise. “Cuban Hip-hop: Making Space for New Voices of Dissent.” In The Vinyl Ain’t Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, ed. by Dipannita Basu and Sidney J. Lemelle, 168. London; Ann Arbor, MI: Pluto Press, 2006
- ^ CNN.com/Entertainment. 25 November, 2004. 7 February 2008 <http://archives.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/Music/11/22/hln.hot.hit.cuban.hip.hop/>.
- ^ Baker, Geoffrey. 2005. "¡Hip hop, Revolución! Nationalizing Rap in Cuba." Ethnomusicology 49, no. 3: 368-402
- ^ Facio, Elisa. “JINETERISMO DURING THE SPECIAL PERIOD” Global Development Studies, I, 3-4 Winter 1998-Spring 1999, [1]
- ^ “Perreo: Body Language and Movement.” Reggaeton in Cuba. [2]
- ^ Fairley, Jan. 2008. “How to Make Love With Your butts On: Dancing Regeton, Gender and Sexuality in Cuba.” Reading Reggaeton. (forthcoming, Duke University Press).
- ^ Fairley, Jan. 2008. “How to Make Love With Your Clothes On: Dancing Regeton, Gender and Sexuality in Cuba.” Reading Reggaeton. (forthcoming, Duke University Press).
- ^ Fairley, Jan. 2008. “How to Make Love With Your Clothes On: Dancing Regeton, Gender and Sexuality in Cuba.” Reading Reggaeton. (forthcoming, Duke University Press).
- ^ Fairley, Jan. 2008. “How to Make Love With Your Clothes On: Dancing Regeton, Gender and Sexuality in Cuba.” Reading Reggaeton. (forthcoming, Duke University Press).
- ^ Fairley, Jan. 2008. “How to Make Love With Your Clothes On: Dancing Regeton, Gender and Sexuality in Cuba.” Reading Reggaeton. (forthcoming, Duke University Press).
[edit] See also
- Cubans
- White Cuban
- Chinese Cuban
- Afro-Cuban
- Jewban
- Cuban American
- Latin American culture
- Public holidays in Cuba
- Yorùbá mythology
- Cinema of Cuba
- List of television stations in Cuba
[edit] External links
- Photo Essay about Cuba in 2008 in The Walrus
- Island Thresholds, Peabody Essex Museum’s interactive feature, showcases the work of Caribbean artists and their exploration of culture and identity.
- Photos Cuba
- Overview of Cuba's Food Rationing System
- Articles and videos about artistic cuban culture
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