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97-525: Although the exact origins of the conga drum are unknown, researchers agree that it was developed by Cuban people of African descent during the late 19th century or early 20th century. Its direct ancestors are thought to be the yuka and makuta (of Bantu origin) and the bembé drums (of Yoruba origin). In Cuba and Latin America, congas are primarily played as hand drums . In Trinidadian calypso and soca , congas are sometimes struck with mallets , while in

194-564: A communist society without racism. His government promised equal opportunities for education, health care and work. There has been much scholarly discussion about the demographic composition of the island. A study by the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami estimated the proportion of people as having some black ancestry is more likely about 62%. They note that complex attitudes toward racial identification, and

291-598: A first inversion (or 6/3) triad. This parallel 6/3 triad was incorporated into the contrapuntal style at the time, in which parallel fourths were sometimes considered problematic, and written around with ornaments or other modifications to the Fauxbourdon style. An example of this is the start of the Marian- Antiphon Ave Maris Stella ( [REDACTED] Listen ) by Guillaume Dufay , a master of Fauxbourdon . The development of tonality continued through

388-505: A "social bomb" and says that "If the Cuban government were to permit Afro-Cubans to organize and raise their problems before [authorities] ... totalitarianism would fall". Esteban Morales Domínguez, a professor at the University of Havana, says that "The absence of the debate on the racial problem already threatens ... the revolution's social project". Carlos Moore , who has written extensively on

485-443: A battle that must be emphasized more and more, which I might call the fourth battle--the battle to end racial discrimination at work centers. I repeat: the battle to end racial discrimination at work centers. Of all the forms of racial discrimination the worst is the one that limits the colored Cuban's access to jobs. " Castro pointed to the distinction between social segregation and employment, while placing great emphasis on correcting

582-463: A black man sitting beneath a palm tree with a cigar. Poems and essays by Afro-Cuban writers began to be published in the 1930s in newspapers, magazines and books, where they discussed their own personal heritage. Afro-Cuban and Afro-Cuban heritage artists such as Nicolás Guillén, Alberto Arredondo and Emilio Ballagas brought light to the once-marginalized African race and culture. It became a symbol of empowerment and individuality for Afro-Cubans within

679-501: A lower pitch and vice versa. Originally, drums were tuned by adjusting knots and tension ropes on the drumhead, or, more commonly, where the drum heads were tacked or nailed to the top of the shell, by careful heating of the head. Modern congas, developed in the early 1950s, use a screw-and-lug tension head system, which makes them easier to tune (or detune). This modern type of tension system was pioneered in Cuba by Carlos "Patato" Valdés and in

776-651: A mixture of Spanish and Kikongo , known as Habla Congo . According to anthropologists dispatched by the European Union , racism is entrenched in Cuba. Afro-Cubans are systematically excluded from positions in tourism-related jobs, where they could earn tips in hard currencies. According to the EU study, Afro-Cubans are relegated to poor housing, and African Cubans are excluded from managerial positions. Enrique Patterson, an Afro-Cuban journalist and former University of Havana professor of Marxist philosophy , describes race as

873-610: A perfect fourth is the beginning of the "Bridal Chorus" from Wagner 's Lohengrin (" Treulich geführt ", the colloquially-titled " Here Comes the Bride "). Another example is the beginning melody of the State Anthem of the Soviet Union . Other examples are the first two notes of the Christmas carol " Hark! The Herald Angels Sing " and " El Cóndor Pasa ", and, for a descending perfect fourth,

970-418: A pitch ratio of 4:3, or about 498 cents ( Play ), while in equal temperament a perfect fourth is equal to five semitones, or 500 cents (see additive synthesis ). Until the late 19th century, the perfect fourth was often called by its Greek name, diatessaron . Its most common occurrence is between the fifth and upper root of all major and minor triads and their extensions . An example of

1067-488: A pungent, uncovered, almost archaic way, often incorporating the folk music of their particular homelands. Sibelius' Piano Sonata in F-Major op. 12 of 1893 used tremolo passages of near- quartal harmony in a way that was relatively difficult and modern. Even in the example from Mussorgsky's piano-cycle Pictures at an Exhibition (Избушка на курьих ножках (Баба-Яга) – The Hut on Fowl's Legs) ( [REDACTED] Listen )

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1164-453: A purely Cuban national identity. Its goal was to incorporate African folklore and rhythm into traditional modes of art. The movement evolved from an interest in the rediscovery of African heritage. It developed in two very different and parallel stages. One stage stemmed from European artists and intellectuals who were interested in African art and musical folk forms. This stage paralleled

1261-407: A single open tone with the third stroke of clave (ponche), and two tones preceding the three-side of clave. The specific alignment between clave and this tumbao is critical. Another common variant uses two drums and sounds bombo (1a) on the tumba (3-side of the clave ). For example: There is also the bolero rhythm that is used for ballads. The conga part is similar to the marcha. Beginning in

1358-448: A socialist country and as black persons. Genres like Nueva Trova are seen as live representations of the revolution and have been affected by Afro-Cuban musicians like Pablo Milanes who included African spirituals in his early repertory. Music in Cuba is encouraged both as a scholarly exercise and a popular enjoyment. To Cubans, music and study of it are integral parts of the revolution. Audiences are proud of mixed ethnicity that makes up

1455-452: A space for extended research of African ethnic roots in Cuba. The rhetoric of the Revolution incorporates black history and its contribution as an important stratum of Cuban identity. The Revolution has funded many projects that restore the work of Afro-Cubans in an effort to accommodate an African-driven identity within the new anti-racist Cuban society. Perfect fourth A fourth

1552-417: A staple of mambo bands of the 1940s. The primary strokes are sounded with open tones, on the last offbeats (2&, 2a) of a two-beat cycle. The fundamental accent—2& is referred to by some musicians as ponche . The basic tumbao sounds slaps (triangle noteheads) and open tones (regular noteheads) on the "and" offbeats. There are many variations on the basic tumbao. For example, a very common variant sounds

1649-429: A suspension. ( [REDACTED] Listen ) In the early Baroque music of Claudio Monteverdi and Girolamo Frescobaldi triadic harmony was thoroughly utilized. Diatonic and chromatic passages strongly outlining the interval of a fourth appear in the lamento genre, and often in passus duriusculus passages of chromatic descent. In the madrigals of Claudio Monteverdi and Carlo Gesualdo the intensive interpretation of

1746-434: Is a musical interval encompassing four staff positions in the music notation of Western culture , and a perfect fourth ( Play ) is the fourth spanning five semitones (half steps, or half tones). For example, the ascending interval from C to the next F is a perfect fourth, because the note F is the fifth semitone above C, and there are four staff positions between C and F. Diminished and augmented fourths span

1843-498: Is a musical representation of the tireless work of out-of-control walking brooms causes the water level in the house to "rise and rise". Quartal harmony in Ravel's Sonatine and Ma Mère l'Oye (Mother Goose) would follow a few years later. In the 20th century, harmony explicitly built on fourths and fifths became important. This became known as quartal harmony for chords based on fourths and quintal harmony for chords based on fifths. In

1940-467: Is from the guaguancó “La polémica” by Los Muñequitos de Matanzas (1988). This passage moves between the main modes of playing (A, B, C). The A section is the basic lock or ride , as it is known in North America. It spans one clave (measure). An alternate phrase (B) is also one measure in length. Cross-beats , the basis of the third section (C), contradict the meter. By alternating between the lock and

2037-441: Is likely classified as white, especially if educated and middle class. By contrast, in the contemporary United States, a 2010 Harvard study showed that the practice of hypodescent classification persists. That is, biracial persons are typically classified by others as belonging to the race or ethnicity with lower social status, even if their ancestry is majority European. They found that persons with up to 69% European ancestry and

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2134-430: Is still prevalent, despite the low levels of economic discrimination. After considering the issue solved, the Cuban government moved beyond the issue of racism. His message marked a shift in Cuban society's perception of racism that was triggered by the change in government focus." The government's announcement easily allowed the Cuban public to deny discrimination without first correcting the stereotypes that remained in

2231-562: Is syncretized with Roman Catholicism . Since the mid-19th century, innovations within Cuban music have been attributed to the Afro-Cuban community. Genres such as son , conga , mambo and chachachá combined European influences with sub-Saharan African elements. Cuban music evolved markedly away from the traditional European model towards improvisational African traditions. Afro-Cuban musicians have taken pre-existing genres such as trova, country and rap and added their own realities of life in

2328-402: Is that head tension can greatly impact the ease or unease of the player, and generally a looser drumhead can lead to hand injury more than a tighter one, because a looser drumhead has less rebound and more muffling effect (hence potentially bruising joints and bones under spirited playing). Also, producing a crisp slap tone is nearly impossible on a loose head. During tuning it is suggested to "let

2425-501: Is the potential for more variation of which notes are chosen; however, tuning between or during compositions is rare in live performance. With only two drums, it is common to find them tuned a perfect fourth apart (the interval between the first two notes of " Here Comes the Bride ") as is the tradition in western classical music for the timpani . Having three drums (typically the tumba , conga , and quinto ) invites experimentation and individual customization. Some congueros like using

2522-703: The Harlem Renaissance in New York, Négritude in the French Caribbean , and coincided with stylistic European Vanguard (like Cubism and its representation of African masks). It was characterized by the participation of white intellectuals such as Cubans Alejo Carpentier , Rómulo Lachatañeré , Fortunato Vizcarrondo , Fernando Ortiz and Lydia Cabrera , Puerto Rican Luis Palés Matos and Spaniards Pablo Picasso and Roger de Lauria . The African-inspired art tended to represent Afro-Cubans with cliché images such as

2619-525: The Renaissance until it was fully realized by composers of the Baroque era. As time progressed through the late Renaissance and early Baroque, the fourth became more understood as an interval that needed resolution. Increasingly the harmonies of fifths and fourths yielded to uses of thirds and sixths. In the example, cadence forms from works by Orlando di Lasso and Palestrina show the fourth being resolved as

2716-405: The de facto racial hierarchy that has existed on the island, have influenced the lower figures of self-identification as black. In Cuba, there are many terms to classify Afro-Cubans of varying portions of African descent, related to the historic Spanish casta system. In addition, in current society, classification may simply be made based on visible attributes; thus, a person who looks white

2813-430: The intervals of a major chord (e.g. F, A, C). Some players use the second inversion of a major chord (e.g. G, C, E); and some prefer a major second between the quinto and conga , with a perfect 4th descending to the tumba . Raul Rekow of Santana often plays five conga drums and tunes them to the opening phrase of a Latin tune. There are four basic strokes in conga drumming: Other strokes can be used to enhance

2910-449: The tumba francesa . Virtually all Cuban music is influenced by African rhythms. Cuban popular music, and much of the art music, combines influences from Spain and Africa in ways unique to Cuba. For example son combines African instruments and playing styles with the meter and rhythm of Spanish poetic forms. While much of the music is performed in cut-time, artists typically use an array of time signatures like 6/8 for drumming beats. On

3007-561: The 12th and 16th centuries: The music of the 20th century for the most part discards the rules of "classical" Western tonality. For instance, composers such as Erik Satie borrowed stylistic elements from the Middle Ages, but some composers found more innovative uses for these intervals. In medieval music , the tonality of the common practice period had not yet developed, and many examples may be found with harmonic structures that are built on fourths and fifths. The Musica enchiriadis of

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3104-483: The 15th century to be regarded as dissonant on its own, and was first classed as a dissonance by Johannes Tinctoris in his Terminorum musicae diffinitorium (1473). In practice, however, it continued to be used as a consonance when supported by the interval of a third or fifth in a lower voice. Modern acoustic theory supports the medieval interpretation insofar as the intervals of unison, octave, fifth and fourth have particularly simple frequency ratios. The octave has

3201-449: The 1920s and 1930s Cuba experienced a movement geared towards Afro-Cuban culture called Afrocubanismo. The movement had a large impact on Cuban literature , poetry, painting, music, and sculpture. It was the first artistic campaign in Cuba that focused on one particular theme: African culture. Specifically it highlighted the struggle for independence from Spain, African slavery , and building

3298-538: The 1950s was working class and lived in restricted areas, ethnic enclaves in the vicinity of Tampa's hundreds of cigar factories. African Cubans were tolerated to an extent in the Latin quarter (where most neighborhoods and cigar factories were integrated). Ybor City and its counterpart, West Tampa , were areas that bordered on other restricted sections-areas for U.S. blacks or whites only. In this Latin quarter, there existed racial discrimination despite its subtleness. During

3395-458: The 1960s, the conga became a prominent instrument in Haitian popular music styles such as konpa , yeye and mini-djaz . Conjuntos and orchestras playing Colombian dance music have incorporated cumbia rhythms, traditionally played on tambores known as alegre and llamador, to the conga drums. The standard Colombian cumbia rhythm is simple and played slowly; it goes 1-2-2-1, also heard as 1-2-1-2. In

3492-514: The 1990s. Cruz's creations offered clever counterpoints to the bass and chorus. Many of his marchas span two or even four claves in duration, something very rarely done previously. He also made more use of muted tones in his tumbaos, all the while advancing the development of . The example on the right is one of Cruz's inventos ('musical inventions'), a band adaptation of the Congolese-based Afro-Cuban folkloric rhythm makuta . He played

3589-612: The Afro-Cuban community and its music. Bauzá, a trumpeter and composer, pioneered the fusion of Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz, giving rise to the Afro-Cuban jazz movement which gained considerable popularity in the United States, Europe, and the Caribbean in the mid 20th century. Before the revolution, authorities considered Afro-Cuban religious music a lesser culture; religious drummers were persecuted and instruments were confiscated. After

3686-530: The C major scale between F and C. Play The use of perfect fourths and fifths to sound in parallel with and to "thicken" the melodic line was prevalent in music prior to the European polyphonic music of the Middle Ages . In the 13th century, the fourth and fifth together were the concordantiae mediae (middle consonances) after the unison and octave, and before the thirds and sixths. The fourth came in

3783-486: The Congos, they are often struck with one hand and one mallet. Most modern congas have a staved wooden or fiberglass shell and a screw-tensioned drumhead. Since the 1950s, congas are usually played in sets of two to four, except for traditional rumba and conga , in which each drummer plays one conga. The drums are played with the fingers and palms of the hands. Typical congas stand approximately 75 centimetres (30 in) from

3880-460: The Dominican Republic, the fast merengue rhythm, which goes 1 2-1-2, can be played on the conga. It can also be heard as 1-2-1-2 1-2-1-2-1-2. Essentially, it is the rhythm of the tambora applied to conga. In merengue típico (or cibaeño ), the rhythm is usually more complex and less standardized; it can range from simply hitting the conga on a fourth beat to playing full patterns that mark

3977-509: The French later introduced sugar cane cultivation, and constructed sugar refineries. They also developed coffee plantations for another important commodity crop. By 1804, some 30,000 Frenchmen were living in Baracoa and Maisí , the furthest eastern municipalities of the province. Later, Afro-Haitians continued to emigrate to Cuba to work as braceros (Spanish for "manual laborers") cutting cane in

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4074-603: The United States by Cándido Camero . Historically, terminology for the drums varies between genres and countries. In ensembles that traditionally employ a large number of drums, such as comparsas and rumba groups, a detailed naming system is used, which has been taken up by major conga manufacturers. The drums are listed from largest to smallest diameter (drumhead sizes vary considerably by manufacturer, model, and style): In conjuntos that play son cubano , as well as in charangas and other ensembles where one or two congas were introduced to complement other rhythmic instruments,

4171-552: The appropriate moment (Santos 1985). In several songo arrangements, the tumbadora ('conga') part sounds the typical tumbao on the low-pitched drum, while replicating the quinto (lead drum) of guaguancó on the high-pitched drum. The quinto-like phrases can continually change, but they are based upon a specific counter- clave motif. [See: "Songo Patterns on Congas" (Changuito). Tomás Cruz developed several adaptations of folkloric rhythms when working in Paulito FG 's timba band of

4268-411: The arrival of immigrants from Saint-Domingue at the start of the 19th century. This was a French colony on the island of Hispaniola. The violence associated with the final years of the 1791–1804 Haitian Revolution resulted in a wave of ethnic French settlers fleeing to Cuba, and often taking numerous African slaves with them. These refugees settled mainly in the east, and especially Guantánamo . There

4365-454: The arts and class culture. According to the 2002 national census that surveyed 11.2 million Cubans, 1 million or 11% of Cubans identified as Afro-Cuban or Black . Some 3 million identified as " mulatto " or " mestizo ", meaning of mixed race , primarily a combination of African and European. Thus more than 40% of the population on the island affirm some African ancestry. The Cuban Revolution brought to power Fidel Castro , who promised

4462-431: The background urging the harmonic expression in a passage along to a climax. Mozart in his so-called Dissonance Quartet KV 465 ( [REDACTED] Listen ) used chromatic and whole tone scales to outline fourths, and the subject of the fugue in the third movement of Beethoven's Piano sonata op. 110 ( [REDACTED] Listen ) opens with three ascending fourths. These are all melodic examples, however, and

4559-500: The bottom of the shell to the head. The drums may be played while seated. Alternatively, the drums may be mounted on a rack or stand to permit the player to play while standing. While they originated in Cuba, their incorporation into the popular and folk music of other countries has resulted in diversification of terminology for the instruments and the players. In Cuba, congas are called tumbadoras . Conga players are called congueros , while rumberos refers to those who dance following

4656-548: The case of Cuba, ideas of Latin American Exceptionalism have delayed the progress of true racial harmony. In spite of all the promises and speeches by government leaders, racial discrimination against Afro-Cubans continues to be a major Human Rights issue for the Cuban government, even resulting in riots in Central Havana, a mostly black neighborhood in the capital. Most of the Latin population of Tampa in

4753-509: The chord's root, the interval's upper note almost always temporarily displaces the third of any chord, and, in the terminology used in popular music, is then called a suspended fourth . Conventionally, adjacent strings of the double bass and of the bass guitar are a perfect fourth apart when unstopped , as are all pairs but one of adjacent guitar strings under standard guitar tuning . Sets of tom-tom drums are also commonly tuned in perfect fourths. The 4:3 just perfect fourth arises in

4850-464: The cornerstone of modern music theory relating to consonance and harmony. The Austrian composer Johann Fux published in 1725 his powerful treatise on the composition of counterpoint in the style of Palestrina under the title Gradus ad Parnassum (The Steps to Parnassus ). He outlined various types of counterpoint (e.g., note against note ), and suggested a careful application of the fourth so as to avoid dissonance. The blossoming of tonality and

4947-569: The country in 1975 as a result of Cuban involvement in the Cold War . Cuba's Prime Minister, Fidel Castro , deployed thousands of troops to the country during the Angolan Civil War to support a faction of society. As a result of this era, a small Spanish-speaking community formed in Angola of Afro-Cubans; they number about 100,000 persons. Haitian Creole language and culture first entered Cuba with

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5044-599: The country. Rap was adopted in 1999 and solidified with the rise of hip-hop group Orishas . Cuban hip-hop focused on criticism of the Cuban state and the global economic order, including racism, colonialism, imperialism, and global capitalism. Other cultural elements considered to be Afro-Cuban can be found in language (including syntax, vocabulary, and style of speech). The Afro-Cuban religions all maintain some degree of use of African languages. Santería and Abakuá both have large parts of their liturgy in African languages ( Lucumí and Ñañigo, respectively) while Palo uses

5141-416: The cross, the quinto creates larger rhythmic phrases that expand and contract over several clave cycles. Los Muñequintos quintero Jesús Alfonso (1949–2009) described this phenomenon as a man getting “drunk at a party, going outside for a while, and then coming back inside.” The basic son montuno conga pattern is called marcha , or tumbao . The conga was first used in bands during the late 1930s, and became

5238-526: The drum he played (which everyone called a conga drum at the time) was similar to the type of drum known as bokú used in his hometown, Santiago de Cuba. The word conga came from the rhythm la conga used during carnaval (carnival) in Cuba. The drums used in carnaval could have been referred to as tambores de conga since they played the rhythm la conga , and thus translated into English as conga drums . Conga drums are classified according to their size, which correlates to their pitch: larger drumheads have

5335-425: The drum speak" and to conform tuning reasonably closely to the natural resonance (pitch) that the cavity of the drum interior presents. This resonance can be heard by singing or playing loud notes near the drum opening (this is true of tuning any drum) and noticing which pitch decays slowest - that will either be the fundamental (resonant) frequency or one of its simple overtones. When two or more drums are used, there

5432-442: The drum until it makes a pleasing sound and then tighten a little more to reach a uniform desired pitch. It is very important to ensure that tuning is uniform around the drumhead, which can be checked by placing one finger pad in the center of the head and tapping the head near the edge above each lug location to detect any change, adjusting as necessary. Uniform tightness will help "let the drum speak". Another important consideration

5529-547: The drums are named like the bongos: macho (male) and hembra (female), for the higher and lower-pitched drums, respectively; an additional drum would be called tercera (third). These correspond to the tumba and conga in rumba ensembles. When the quinto is played by conjuntos it retains its name. Congas, being percussive instruments, do not have to be tuned to any particular note in purely percussive settings. However, when playing with harmonic instruments, they may be tuned to specific notes. Congas are often tuned using

5626-455: The established Western culture of the Americas. This empowerment became a catalyst for the second stage to be characterized by Afro-Cuban artists making art that truly reflected what it meant to be Afro-Cuban. Beginning in the 1930s this stage depicted a more serious view of black culture like African religions and the struggles associated with slavery. The main protagonist during this stage of

5723-522: The establishment of well temperament in Bach's time both had a continuing influence up to the late romantic period, and the tendencies towards quartal harmony were somewhat suppressed. An increasingly refined cadence , and triadic harmony defined the musical work of this era. Counterpoint was simplified to favour an upper line with a clear accompanying harmony. Still, there are many examples of dense counterpoint utilizing fourths in this style, commonly as part of

5820-425: The fields and processing it during harvest. Their living and working conditions were not much better than under slavery. Although many workers had planned to return to Haiti, most stayed on in Cuba. For years, many Haitians and their descendants in Cuba did not identify as such or speak Creole, which is based in French and African languages. In the eastern part of the island, many Haitians suffered discrimination among

5917-452: The fight against discrimination. It achieved significant gains in racial equality through a series of egalitarian reforms early in the 1960s. Fidel Castro 's first public address on racism after his rise to power was on March 23, 1959, at a labor rally in Havana, less than three months after he defeated Fulgencio Batista . He is quoted as saying: "One of the most just battles that must be fought,

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6014-408: The fourth always makes an "unvarnished" entrance. The romantic composers Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt , had used the special "thinned out" sound of fourth-chord in late works for piano ( Nuages gris (Grey Clouds), La lugubre gondola (The Mournful Gondola), and other works). In the 1897 work The Sorcerer's Apprentice (L'Apprenti sorcier) by Paul Dukas , the repetition of rising fourths

6111-567: The home of the Yoruba cultures, and Spanish Guinea (present-day Equatorial Guinea ) home of the Fang and Bubi cultures. In the 19th century, the former slaves were taken to Africa under the Royal Orders of September 13, 1845 (by way of voluntary arrangement). When there were an insufficient number of volunteers, the colonial government arranged a June 20, 1861, deportation from Cuba. In Spanish Guinea,

6208-539: The indentured servants became part of the Emancipados . In the area of present-day Nigeria, they were called Amaros . Although the indentured workers were nominally free to return to Cuba when their tenure was over, most settled in these countries, marrying into the local African indigenous tribes. Angola has had more recent immigrant communities of Afro-Cubans, known as Amparos. They are descendants of Afro-Cuban soldiers who were transported to serve as military in

6305-433: The institutional racism in Cuba. The Economist noted "The danger starts with his example: after all, a young, Afro-cuban, progressive politician has no chance of reaching the highest office in Cuba, although a majority of the island's people are of mostly African descent" In the years between the triumph of the revolution and the victory at Playa Girón the Cuban government was one of the world's most proactive regimes in

6402-615: The island. The percentage of Afro-Cubans on the island increased after the 1959 Cuban revolution led by Fidel Castro , because there was mass migration from the island of the largely white (or ethnic European) Cuban professional class, who were subject to violence, takeovers and losing their businesses and property. A small percentage of Afro-Cubans left Cuba, mostly for the United States (particularly Florida ). They and their U.S.-born children are known variously as Afro-Cuban Americans , Cuban Americans , Hispanic Americans , and African Americans . Relatively few Afro-Cubans resided in

6499-518: The issue, says that "There is an unstated threat, Afro-cubans in Cuba know that whenever you raise race in Cuba, you go to jail. Therefore the struggle in Cuba is different. There cannot be a civil rights movement. You will have instantly 10,000 black people dead. [...] The government is frightened to the extent to which it does not understand African Cubans today. You have a new generation of Afro-Cubans who are looking at politics in another way." Barack Obama 's victory has raised disturbing questions about

6596-422: The late 1960s, band conga players began incorporating elements from folkloric rhythms, especially rumba. Changuito and Raúl "el Yulo" Cárdenas of Los Van Van pioneered this approach of the songo era. This relationship between the drums is derived from the style known as rumba . The feeling of the high drum part is like the quinto in rumba, constantly punctuating, coloring, and accenting, but not soloing until

6693-491: The latter. In response to the large amount of racism that existed in the job market, Castro issued anti-discrimination laws. In addition, he attempted to close the class gap between wealthy white Cubans and Afro-Cubans with a massive literacy campaign among other egalitarian reforms in the early and mid-1960s. Two years after his 1959 speech at the Havana Labor Rally, Castro declared that the age of racism and discrimination

6790-456: The major city, Havana has the largest population of Afro-Cubans of any city in Cuba. In the 21st century, many native African immigrants have been going to Cuba, especially from Angola . Also, immigrants from Jamaica and Haiti have been settling in Cuba. Most of them settle in the eastern part of the island, due to its proximity to their home countries, and further contributing to the already high percentage of ethnic blacks on that side of

6887-689: The majority Spanish speakers. In the 21st century, classes in Haitian Creole are offered in Guantanamo, Matanzas and the City of Havana, in an effort to preserve the traditional language of the Afro-Haitians. There is also a Creole-language radio program. Afro-Cubans are predominantly Roman Catholic, with minorities of Protestant. Afro-Cuban religion can be broken down into three main currents: Santería , Palo Monte and include individuals of all origins. Santería

6984-461: The mid-10th century, a guidebook for musical practice of the time, described singing in parallel fourths, fifths, and octaves. This development continued, and the music of the Notre Dame school may be considered the apex of a coherent harmony in this style. For instance, in one "Alleluia" ( [REDACTED] Listen ) by Pérotin , the fourth is favoured. Elsewhere, in parallel organum at the fourth,

7081-737: The minds of those who grew up in a Cuba that was racially and economically divided. Many who argue that racism does not exist in Cuba base their claims on the idea of Latin American Exceptionalism . According to the argument of Latin American Exceptionality, a social history of intermarriage and mixing of the races is unique to Latina America. The large mestizo populations that result from high levels of interracial union common to Latin America are often linked to racial democracy . For many Cubans this translates into an argument of "racial harmony", often referred to as racial democracy. In

7178-513: The movement was Nicolás Guillén . The lasting reputation of the Afrocubanismo movement was the establishment of a New World art form that used aesthetics from both European and African culture. Although the actual movement of Afrocubanismo faded by the early 1940s, Afro-Cuban culture continues to play a vital role in the identity of Cuba. It has been the Cuban Revolution that opened up

7275-533: The music from the Afro-Cuban community, despite there being a boundary of distrust and uncertainty between Cubans and Afro-Cuban culture. African music and Afro-Cuban music mutually exchanged rhythmic patterns, melodies, and cultural elements, creating a dynamic musical interchange. African artists, particularly those from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola fused Afro-Cuban musical influences with their traditions, crafting distinct sounds. The result

7372-823: The music of composers of early 20th century France, fourth chords became consolidated with ninth chords , the whole tone scale , the pentatonic scale, and polytonality as part of their language, and quartal harmony became an important means of expression in music by Debussy, Maurice Ravel , and others. Examples are found in Debussy's orchestral work La Mer (The Sea) and in his piano works, in particular La cathédrale engloutie (The Sunken Cathedral) from his Préludes for piano, Pour les quartes (For Fourths) and Pour les arpéges composées (For Composite Arpeggios) from his Etudes . Jazz uses quartal harmonies (usually called voicing in fourths ). Cadences are often "altered" to include unresolved suspended chords which include

7469-515: The nearby Spanish-speaking country of Dominican Republic and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico . The Minority Rights Group International says that "An objective assessment of the situation of Afro-Cubans remains problematic due to scant records and a paucity of systematic studies both pre- and post-revolution". During the 17th century, ex-slaves from Cuba and Brazil were transported to Africa to work for colonists as indentured servants or workers. They were taken largely to present-day Nigeria ,

7566-407: The open tone. In general, the particular note will depend on the make, model, and size of the conga drum. The drum should be tuned so that the bass tone resonates, the open tone rings, and the slap pierces through the musical mix. If the tuning is too loose, the bass and slap tones will sound "flabby"; too tight, and the drums will sound unnatural and "pinched". With a single drum, it is easy to tighten

7663-640: The other hand, clave uses a polymetric 7/8 + 5/8 time signature. Afro-Cuban arts emerged in the early 1960s with musicians spearheading an amateur movement bringing African-influenced drumming to the forefront of Cuban music. For example, Enrique Bonne's drumming ensembles took inspiration from Cuban folklore, traditional trova , dance music, and American Jazz. Pello de Afrokan created a new dance rhythm called Mozambique that increased in popularity after his predominantly afro-Cuban folklore troupe performed in 1964. Afro-Cuban artists Mario Bauzá and Frank Grillo , known as Machito , were influential figures in shaping

7760-406: The path of the players. The term "conga" was popularized in the 1930s, when Latin music swept the United States. Cuban son and New York jazz fused together to create what was then termed mambo , but later became known as salsa . In that same period, the popularity of the conga line helped to spread this new term. Desi Arnaz also played a role in the popularization of conga drums. However,

7857-465: The pattern on three congas on the Paulito song "Llamada anónima." Listen: "Llamada Anónima" by Paulito F.G. The conga repertoire includes many other rhythms found in genres such as danzón , mambo and cha-cha-cha , as well as foreign styles that have adopted Afro-Cuban percussion such as Jamaican reggae , Brazilian samba and bossa nova , and American soul , funk , Latin jazz and Latin rock . In

7954-400: The quantity of religious music heard on the radio and television. These attitudes softened in the 1970s and 1980s as the afro-Cuban community began to fuse religious elements into their music. In the 1990s, Afro-Cuban music became a mainstay of Cuba's tourism economy. Members of religious groups earned their living by performing and teaching ritual drumming, song, and dance, to tourists visiting

8051-751: The ratio of 2:1, for example the interval between a' at A440 and a'' at 880 Hz, giving the ratio 880:440, or 2:1. The fifth has a ratio of 3:2, and its complement has the ratio of 3:4. Ancient and medieval music theorists appear to have been familiar with these ratios, see for example their experiments on the monochord . In the years that followed, the frequency ratios of these intervals on keyboards and other fixed-tuning instruments would change slightly as different systems of tuning, such as meantone temperament , well temperament , and equal temperament were developed. In early western polyphony , these simpler intervals (unison, octave, fifth and fourth) were generally preferred. However, in its development between

8148-517: The remainder African or African-American were still being classified as 'black'. A DNA study in 2014 estimated the genetic admixture of the population of Cuba to be 72% European, 20% African and 8% Native American. Although Afro-Cubans can be found throughout Cuba, they comprise a higher proportion of the population in Oriente Province in Eastern Cuba than in other parts of the island. As

8245-472: The revolution, Afro-Cuban music could be practiced more openly, but authorities were suspicious due to its relation to Afro-Cuban religions. The first revolutionary institution created for the performing "national folklore" (Afro-Cuban artistic traditions) was Conjunto Folklórico Nacional . Despite official institutional support from the Castro's regime, Afro-Cuban music was treated mostly with ambivalence throughout

8342-430: The same number of staff positions, but consist of a different number of semitones (four and six, respectively). The perfect fourth may be derived from the harmonic series as the interval between the third and fourth harmonics. The term perfect identifies this interval as belonging to the group of perfect intervals, so called because they are neither major nor minor. A perfect fourth in just intonation corresponds to

8439-427: The second and third notes of " O Come All Ye Faithful ". The perfect fourth is a perfect interval like the unison , octave , and perfect fifth , and it is a sensory consonance . In common practice harmony, however, it is considered a stylistic dissonance in certain contexts, namely in two-voice textures and whenever it occurs "above the bass in chords with three or more notes". If the bass note also happens to be

8536-539: The second half of the 20th century. Audiences looked down on traditional and religious Afro-Cuban music as primitive and anti-revolutionary, music educators continued pre-revolutionary indifference toward afro-Cuban folklore, and the religious nature of Afro-Cuban music led to criticisms of the government's whitening and de-Africanization of the music. Religious concerts declined, musical instruments related to Santería were confiscated and destroyed, afro-Cuban celebrations were banned outright, and strict limits were placed on

8633-436: The sound. The moose call is also done on the bongos . To bend the pitch of the congas, a conguero sometimes uses his elbow to shift around on and apply pressure to different parts of the head; this causes the note to change. This is not a traditional stroke, but it is common in modern salsa and rumba. Guaguancó uses three congas. The smallest conga is the lead drum known as quinto. The following nine-measure quinto excerpt

8730-747: The text ( word painting ) frequently highlights the shape of a fourth as an extremely delayed resolution of a fourth suspension. Also, in Frescobaldi's Chromatic Toccata of 1635 the outlined fourths overlap, bisecting various church modes . In the first third of the 18th century, ground-laying theoretical treatises on composition and harmony were written. Jean-Philippe Rameau completed his treatise Le Traité de l'harmonie réduite à ses principes naturels (the theory of harmony reduced to its natural principles) in 1722 which supplemented his work of four years earlier, Nouveau Système de musique theoretique (new system of music theory); these together may be considered

8827-426: The timbral palette of the instrument. They are not used by all drummers, but have become the hallmark of congeros such as Tata Güines . The deslizado , moose call or glissando is done by rubbing the third finger, supported by the thumb, across the head of the drum. The finger is sometimes moistened with saliva or sweat, and sometimes a little coat of beeswax is put on the surface of the conga head to help make

8924-411: The time. Afro-Cubans Afro-Cubans ( Spanish : Afrocubano ) or Black Cubans are Cubans of full or partial sub-Saharan African ancestry. The term Afro-Cuban can also refer to historical or cultural elements in Cuba associated with this community, and the combining of native African and other cultural elements found in Cuban society, such as race , religion , music, language ,

9021-574: The underlying harmony is built on thirds. Composers started to reassess the quality of the fourth as a consonance rather than a dissonance. This would later influence the development of quartal and quintal harmony . The Tristan chord is made up of the notes F ♮ , B ♮ , D ♯ and G ♯ and is the first chord heard in Richard Wagner 's opera Tristan und Isolde . The chord had been found in earlier works, notably Beethoven 's Piano Sonata No. 18 , but Wagner's usage

9118-414: The upper line would be accompanied a fourth below. Also important was the practice of Fauxbourdon , which is a three-voice technique (not infrequently improvisatory ) in which the two lower voices proceed parallel to the upper voice at a fourth and sixth below. Fauxbourdon , while making extensive use of fourths, is also an important step towards the later triadic harmony of tonality, as it may be seen as

9215-473: Was an array of genres popular in West and Central Africa namely Congolese rumba , soukous , mbalax , semba , kizomba , and highlife . Afro-Cuban music can be divided into religious and profane. Religious music includes the chants, rhythms and instruments used in rituals of the religious currents mentioned above. Profane music includes rumba , guaguancó , comparsa (carnival music) and lesser styles such as

9312-576: Was over. In a speech given at the Confederation of Cuban Workers in observance of May Day , Castro declared that the "just laws of the revolution ended unemployment, put an end to villages without hospitals and schools, enacted laws which ended discrimination, control by monopolies, humiliation, and the suffering of the people." Although inspiring, many would consider the claim to be premature." Research conducted by Yesilernis Peña, Jim Sidanius and Mark Sawyer in 2003, suggests that social discrimination

9409-531: Was significant, first because it is seen as moving away from traditional tonal harmony and even towards atonality , and second because with this chord Wagner actually provoked the sound or structure of musical harmony to become more predominant than its function , a notion which was soon after to be explored by Debussy and others. Fourth-based harmony became important in the work of Slavic and Scandinavian composers such as Modest Mussorgsky , Leoš Janáček , and Jean Sibelius . These composers used this harmony in

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