Traditions

A guateque campesino:

This is the celebration of the people living in the Cuban countryside, where the farmers’ tunes sound with the conspiracy of typical instruments as the tres, the laúd, the güiro and the guitar.

These parties include dances as the zapateo and duos of singers who improvise the lyrics of a song causing the delight of the participants. The guateque campesino is the natural form in which a group of friends and neighbors meet to celebrate either the end of the harvest or a family commemoration.

It is common to see a singer improvising décimas as lyrics of a song, and couples dancing the zapateo, although the latter have been recently substituted by the son. This Cuban musical genre is also well known internationally in themes as “Píntate los labios María”, by Eliades Ochoa.

The classic invitation of the roasted pork in the grill, casabe with mojo, black beans and white rice, accompanied by the ever present beer and the rum. It could be also the saoco, consisting in a drink made of coconut milk and aguardiente that cheers the guateque until late night.

Justo Vega and Adolfo Alfonso made the controversies very famous in the national scene. At the end, a good guateque has for sure a touch of creole coffee to finish the dinner with music in the Cuban countryside.

This information is courtesy of Cuban-Traditions.com

Angerona: A Love Story of a German and a Slave

The remains of an old coffee plantation named Angerona are placed in Artemisa, a municipality in the southern part of Havana, inserted in the scenery of the Cuban countryside.

Its owner was a German emigrant originally from Bremen who made a fortune out of the aromatic grain, at the beginning of the 19th century.

Cornelio Sausse, known as Sochay, never imagined that the attraction by the dark skin, perfumed with French fragrances will take him to an unusual and unforgettable love.

Ursula Lambert, a worthy and elegant Haitian exiled after the slave rebellion in that country, motivated him to stay in Cuba. Their encounters in the streets of Havana made their attraction stronger than the rigid morality and racism prevailing at that time.

The top moment of that love was in 1813 when Sochay bought a farm for 1400 pesos. His beloved Ursula named the place Angerona and it became a marvellous Haitian-German coffee empire. It is said the 538 hectares farm produced up to 150 000 pounds of the precious grain, under the command of the couple. Around 450 slaves enjoyed of a preferential treatment, in comparison to the outrages committed with others brought from Africa. Sochay had a grandiose eclectic house built on the top of a hill. He had the Latin image of the goddess Angerona placed in a small pedestal, to welcome visitors.

The care of the crop under the perfect order of Sochay and the harmonious female touch of Ursula ensured the growing prosperity of the place. However, death appeared between the lovers.

On July 13th, 1837 the German who love coffee as well as the Cuban land, left for ever its “perfumed oak”. She kept the pain of the lost during the following twenty-three years of her life. At that time the sugar cane production began to establish as a monoculture and began to win a space in the newly born Cuban economy, removing the coffee from its privileged position.

The implacable force of time and oblivion seized Angerona and the echoes and remembrances of the intense love between Sochay and Ursula faded. On June 6th, 1989 the National Commission of Patrimony declared this jewel a National Monument, due to its historical, architectural and cultural value.

The museum of Artemisa, locality where the remains of the 19th century plantation are placed, was in charged of its custody and restoration. Angerona the Roman goddess of delicate figure sculpted in Carrara white marble witnesses the old columns, walls and romances; and she watches as sacred temple, a legend of love with the coffee aroma.

The film Roble de olor (Perfumed Oak) was presented in 2005. It was based on that story and the actor Jorge Perugorría took the role of Sochay.

This information is Courtesy of: Cuban-Traditions.com

Carnivals and masquerades feats

One of the earliest and most traditional feasts in Cuba are the carnivals, and the ones from Santiago de Cuba and Havana are the most popular.

Thousands of people expect this feast every year, eager to enjoy the gorgeous show made by a parade of floats in an explosive colourful joy for everyone.

Carnivals have their roots in previous centuries, it is related to the celebration of the Corpus Christi and the Epiphany, when black people organized collective dances and parades.

Authorized by their Spanish master, the African slaves enjoyed some days off once in a year. Beside that, every January 6th, Epiphany Day, they were allowed to reproduce their songs from their original lands. In the case of the capital the date of its celebration have varied through time. Lately it the celebration takes place in summertime, although it is said it will return to the months of February and March.

This avalanche of music, rhythm and color is animated by traditional parades of costumed merrymakers as the Jardinera, the Giraldilla of Havana, Guaracheros of Regla, Los Marqueses de Atares, The Bolleras and The Alacrán. In their advancement intense color, traditional dances and creole rhythms get together; the drums and the sound of the Chinese cornet accompany them. The masquerade feast is the top expression of the carnival, according to the erudite Don Fernando Ortíz.

Many of these groups have their origin in Havana’s neigborhoods and their future in the children who also have their space during the carnival celebration. Every year the viewers become during the feast active participants, due to the contagious music played by the most popular bands of the Island and the catching lyrics that call to dance.

The parade in The Malecon in Havana city has the attraction of the “Muñecones”, enormous figures representing the most diverse characters. Also the “faroleros”, (lamplighters), artist who join the show carrying colourful things resembling street lamps, which they turn continuously at the rhythm of the wild conga.

This information is Courtesy of: Cuban-Traditions.com

May Pilgrimage

May feasts arrived to Cuba with the Spanish conquest and the colonization. In this month are celebrated catholic festivities of a Spanish tradition that were influenced afterwards by laic elements.

It is said that Saint Elena, mother of Constantine, the emperor who crowned Christianity as official religion in the Roman Empire, found the wood where Jesus was crucified.

That’s why the Christian calendar recognizes this day as the Day of the Cross Invention.

In Holguin, in the east part of Cuba, these feast were considered as part of the popular and traditional culture, and they are celebrated in urban and rural areas.

They are: The Altars of the May Cross, feast of the May Cross and the Pilgrimage of the Cross. The Feast of the May Cross was held at the beginning of the 20th century only in the saloons of the towns El Mocho, La Palma and the municipality Rafael Freire, placed near the coast, 35 kilometres north Holguin.

The religious part of the feast consisted in a visit to the hermitage to light some candles to the virgin.The rest of the activities had a laic character. They usually began after 2:00p.m with some games and competitions.

The May Feast was held in the old neighbourhood named Auras(present Floro Pérez), 15 kilometres north the Holguin city, from May 1st to the 3rd. It covered the streets, the park and the clubs of the town from the beginning of the 20th century. People from neighbour towns attended the event transported in cars, wagons, riding horses or by train.

The first day was The Verbena, the second day the Dance of the Flowers, in which women were suppose to use them to adorn themselves. The third day The Holy Cross was decorated and a pilgrimage was made by the most important streets of the town. That day the believers paid promises in the parochial church Jesús del Monte, one of the oldest in the province. The pilgrimage of the is held every May 3rd in the urban area of Holguin, and it was previously known as the Day of the Cross. Some chronicles’ writers refer to its origin at the end of the 18th century, from the placement of a cross in the top of the Bayado Hill in the northern part of the village, with the prior of the Franciscan hermitage in 1790.

That day the people goes to the top of the hill to pray, light candles and incidence, after the pilgrimage from Saint Isidoro Church, all through Libertad street. After a period of inactivity the May Pilgrimage was revived on the hands of the Association Hermanos Saíz (AHS) that gathers artists under the age of 36 years old.

This information is Courtesy of: Cuban-Traditions.com

Perico Donkey

This donkey is neither the one that accompanied Sancho in the adventures of Don Quixote; nor Platero, a character born from Juan Ramón Jiménez’ imagination. It is about Perico a popular donkey in Santa Clara City, in the central part of Cuba.

Even a sculpture was dedicated to the animal. In the intersection of three important streets of the city, capital of Villa Clara, erects a metallic structure to remember the nice animal. These avenues have lost their names because they all go or return to the area known as “Perico Donkey”. The animal lived during the first half of the 20th century in that locality placed 300 kilometres east Havana. Those who knew him tell that in the beginning he pulled the ice cream wagon. One day his owner bought a truck and let him free. Then he began to print his own story, walking around the city to become a friend of children and to demand his slice of bread at the entrance of every door.

That was the beginning of Perico’s legend. It is said he was once in jail for grazing in the Central Park. This demand did not have a course due to the fact that the animal was the pet of Santa Clara. Many people remember how the animal used to drink abundant beer, his popularity in the carnival’s parade with the “Pilongos”, or when at the time some students opposed to the government hanged political posters in the back of the docile quadruped.

When the famous donkey passed away on February 26th, 1947, children and adults took flowers to his grave. A senator of the Republic said the final words in the funeral and the news of the deceased was published in The New York Times. That’s why after more than a century, the image of Perico is present in the life of the inhabitants of Santa Clara who preserve everyday his legend in the sculpture placed in the intersection of some busy streets.

This information is Courtesy of: Cuban-Traditions.com

Popular Cuban rhythms

First of all, it’s required to mention the Son, which it is defined according to the lyrics of a song (Suavecito by Ignacio Piñeiro)as “ the most delightful thing to rejoice the souls”. It is one of the basic forms of the Cuban music.

Its rhythm suggests the dance in couple following the cadence of the congas and the guitar. The bis is known as montuno. Bands as The Septeto Habanero and The Septeto Nacional Ignacio Piñeiro, made it popular among the common people because at the beginning the elites rejected this music and hypocritically considered it “ indecent”. Some classic authors are Miguel Matamoros and Arsenio Rodríguez, and other singers as Benny Moré, Miguelito Cuní and Félix Chapotín Unfortunately the Son is not frequently mentioned , but its commercial name is: Salsa. Celia Cruz definition of Salsa is perhaps the most complete: “It is a commercial name to gather Cuban rhythms”.

Salsa’s got its name in New York in 1973 by Johnny Pacheco and Jerry Mazucci, managers of the Fania Records. One of the first players in Cuba was Juan Formell and his band Van Van, created in 1969. New salsa bands have emerged in the Island nowadays, with contagious lyrics which are repeated everywhere. On the other hand, the salsa dance it’s called Casino.

In Cuba the “final test” of a Casino dancer is to participate in a Rueda. In order to dance in a Rueda it is required at least two couples, but the number could go up to twenty or thirty couples. Men should know the steps which are graciously commanded by one of them known as “the leader”.

The steps are called : “hit her”… she was a bad girl, “give me another one”… I don’t like the one I have…, which give a spicy sense to the dance. However, the wide range of rhythms in the Cuban music includes many others as the Danzón, the Guaguanco, born in the rumbas in the slums and the modest neighbourhoods; the Mambo, the Sucu sucu and the Cha cha cha.

The Charangas de Bejucal

At the end of every year takes place the oldest of Havana’s traditional feasts, Las Charangas de Bejucal. The congas go around the locality divided in two parties including the inhabitants of the place. The town is divided into two, the red and the blue parties which establish a fraternal competition from December 3rd to January 1st. People get organized on the streets to represent their parties and create thousands of surprises to better their counter part.

The origin of the Charangas of Bejucal are back in 1840, and are related with the Christmas Day (known as Misa de Gallo). That day the black and white neighbors attended the church with rattles, seashells and bagpipes, and the free black persons or slaves participated outside with guiros, containers with shells and drums beats. It gradually became a laic feast.

The large coach is essential part of the feast and they represent either one or another of the parties. At the beginning they were taken in people’s shoulders, as in the religious processions. They were illuminated with candles. Afterwards they were pull by oxen and illuminated with carbide.

The parties also have changed their names to The Scorpion and the Rooster, and later on to The Silver Ceiba and the Golden Thorn. The large coaches were modified in the 20th century. Iron chassis were adapted with wheels. They maintained the surprise (stages elevate from inside the vehicle up to 23 meters high) The Charangas also have typical characters of popular creation which give beauty and color to the activity.

They identify the inhabitants of the town. The most admired are La Macorina, a man dressed as a woman, Trapitos, the Boyera and the Yerbero which are easily reproduced by children. The Charangas, the Carnival in Santiago de Cuba and the Parrandas of Remedio, are three of the feasts with the most profound roots in the Cuban culture.

This information is Courtesy of: Cuban-Traditions.com

The Güije

Some people describe him as a little old black man, some others say he is a monster of medium size, with goat’s legs and caiman tail; it is also considered a tiny black child with big eyes.

The güije, a character who has become a legend, was born from the fantasy of some places, as the northern of Las Villas, in the central part of Cuba. Many people consider he is real, and affirm they have seen him and feel afraid of him. His behaviour is very similar to that of the elf. It is said he is mischievous and tricky, capable of doing anything. He runs faster than horses and jumps over the stones fences in one spring. He appears or disappears in an eye blink.

There is a belief that he lives in a pool of a river where the water never extinguish. From time to time he shows out of his den; some people affirm that at specific hours. Many stories have been told about this character of the Cuban countryside, but any of them have mentioned he has made harm or hurt a person.

It is said he is able to do anything, but no wrong is recorded, so far. If he exists or not, that‘s not the most important thing. All his legends are colourful and funny; if you listen to them won’t be able to forget them.

This information is Courtesy of: Cuban-Tradition.com

The Giraldilla: a love story, symbol of Havana

It is said the beautiful Doña Isabel of Bobadilla, married to Hernando de Soto, named General Captain of Cuba by the King of Spain, Carlos I. She waited for her husband during long hours in the surveillance tower of the Castle Real Fuerza, the house of the Governor of the Island at that time. That long wait transformed Isabel into a legendary character that with the sight on the horizon tried to discover the ships that would bring her husband back home.

De Soto left Doña Isabel as Governor and went to the territory of the present United States. He visited several places that today are part of the states of Georgia, Alabama and Florida. At that time he discovered the Mississippi river and he knew of a famous legend told by the natives about the eternal source of youth. In spite of being only 43 years, he decided to go to the mythical place, but unfortunately he couldn’t make it, instead he died due to an uncontrollable fever. It is said that the beloved wife died of love.

Some years later an artist resident in Havana and originally from Canaries, Gerónimo Martin Chaffinch (1607-1649), inspired on that woman, as a symbol of a loyal marriage and hope, and he sculpted a figure in their memory.

The governor of the city at that time, Don Juan Bitrián Viamonte in command from 1630 to 1634, made to fuse the sculpture in brass and to place it as a weathervane on top of the recently built tower of the castle. The governor Bitrán baptized the vane with the name of Giraldilla, after the Giralda of his native city, Seville.

That’s how the Giraldilla became the symbol of Havana city, due to its tradition and history, with shades of legend and love story. The original piece is around 43 inches high, is conserved in the Museum of the City and a replica was placed in the highest point of the castle.

This information is Courtesy of: Cuban-Traditions.com

The Son de la Ma Teodora

A great mystery is around the popular Son de la Ma Teodora (Mum Teodora’s Son ). Some researchers affirm there is no document to testify its real existence and origin, and some others support the idea that it is a functional piece of the popular Cuban music.

Nevertheless, it has been accepted as the most ancient musical piece in Cuba, perhaps due to the desire to preserve the myth, despite the prevailing questions about its existence. The piece is supported by the story of two sisters named Teodora and Micaela Ginés, originally form Santo Domingo.

They established in Cuba and made one of the most popular bands at that time.

The band was formed by Pascual Ochoa from Seville, Pedro Amanza from Malaga and the Portuguese Jácome Viceira, along with the Ginés sisters. The well known novelist Alejo Carpentier discovered in the Son de la Ma Teodora valuable elements of the history of the Cuban music and the process of cultural assimilation, were Spanish melodies and instruments mixed with reminiscences of the ancient oral African traditions.

The son was performed in popular parties where its rhythm was well accepted. ¿Dónde está la Ma Teodora?/ Rajando la leña está/ ¿Dónde está que no la veo? / Rajando la leña está. Ma Teodora had assimilated the rhythms of the eastern part of the island reproducing them with a mixture of the Spanish couplet.

A curious detail is the fact that the bandore this woman played was the bridge instrument between the Spanish guitar and the Cuban tres, essential instrument to play the son and other Cuban rhythms.

This information is Courtesy of: Cuban-Traditions.com