Cuba’s Music

Music means many different things to the Cuban people: for some, it’s tradition, and for others, rebellion; for some, it brings joy, and for others, sorrow; in some, it incites a nostalgia for an idealized past, and in others, a desperate cry for change.

Cityscape with old buildings, trees, and people in a park area, viewed from a balcony.
Cityscape view of a waterfront street with cars, a walking person, and a person sitting on the sidewalk, seen through a stone window opening.
View of historic buildings surrounding a small, green canal with partly cloudy sky.
An elderly woman with short curly hair and a white t-shirt with butterfly designs standing in a kitchen, holding a white cup and smiling at the camera.
A vintage red car parked on a street in front of a group of four people standing on a sidewalk in front of a brown and pink house.
A man leaning against a tuk-tuk vehicle parked on a street in front of a historic stone building surrounded by a fence, with palm trees and green foliage.
Cityscape with historical buildings, trees, and a prominent dome building in the distance under a cloudy sky.
People fishing and sitting by the water at a city waterfront during sunset or late afternoon, with a skyline of tall buildings in the background.
White marble monument featuring a statue of a man in historical attire at the top, with smaller figures of women and children below, set against a backdrop of old buildings with balconies and palm trees on a sunny day.
Cityscape with old stone turret, modern high-rise buildings, and a busy street with cars and pedestrians under a partly cloudy sky.
Cuba 158 (1).JPG
Cuba 177.JPG
Two elderly women sitting in wooden chairs in a living room, holding hands. One woman is smiling at the camera; the other has a neutral expression. There is a pink wall, a fan, a mirror, and a shelf with dishes behind them.
Group of elderly women and adults gathered in a living room, some seated and some standing, with pink walls and floral curtains in the background.
A woman in a floral blouse and black pants standing next to a grave in a cemetery with various tombstones and a statue of Jesus carrying a cross in the background.
A light-colored horse grazing on grass beside a dirt path, with a pond, trees, and houses in the background on a sunny day.
A brown cow standing on green grass near a dirt path, with laundry hanging on clotheslines among trees in the background, in front of a white residential building with balconies and a woman watering plants.
People swimming and relaxing in a lush, green river surrounded by trees, with a thatched hut on the right and a bridge in the background.
Group of children and adults posing together on the porch of a house, smiling for a photograph.