African American Influence On Cuban Culture

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Cuban culture has had influences from many different cultures around the world. It has had a history of Spanish, English, Native and later the United States of America but through it all African culture has played a huge part in the development of Cuban culture. Son music played a pivotal role in integrating African derived traditions into modern Cuban culture. African culture led too many struggles between the racial divide and played an important role in the creation of what is now day Cuban nationalism. Many benefits and challenges were caused by the promotion and integration of African culture into Cuban society. Afrocuban culture played a pivotal role in the creation of what is now modern day Cuba.
Music is a very powerful tool in any …show more content…

Its affects how individuals conceive of their relation to others, how they think of themselves members of the same group and how they justify their views (Moore 114). This definition stated by Robin Moore shows how all cultures and beliefs within a society can affect the entire society’s nationalism. The African slave trade greatly changed the world forever. African culture can be found in almost every country in the world and it has greatly influenced their culture there. In Cuba the effects of African culture and influence can still be seen in their nationalism today. “The physical characteristics of blacks, enriched and multiplied through intermarriage with whites and Chinese, and their dances of maligned and enchanting primitiveness inspire the finest plastic arts” (Moore 133). This statement made by a communist activist named Juan Marinello how some people felt about the acceptance of African culture within Cuban society. Many others were opposed to this integration but over time the culture became widely accepted and help to lessen the divide between blacks and other races. Dance and music greatly helped the acceptance of African culture in Cuba. This spread of African culture and ideas took place during the afrocubanismo. The afrocubanismo was an artistic movement during the beginning of the 1920s to the 1930s which was similar to the Harlem Renaissance (Moore 275). This movement helped African culture to become more involved in Cuban society through the promotion of African art such as dance and music. All these struggles and movements led to the racial divide in Cuba to shrink and Cuban nationalism to slowly begin to change with African culture more

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