Music and religion are a significant part of the Cuban culture. Through music, various artists and composers have articulated the important aspects of the Cuban culture. The assigned readings relate to the Cuban culture, as seen through the eyes of musicians, politicians, and religious beliefs, practices, and evolution. A retrospective inspection of the readings offers a vivid understanding of the Cuban culture, the factors that have influenced its evolution from the primordial elements created by the slaves and their slave masters to the present day culture that influences cultures of other countries and regions. A predominant theme in the readings is the aspect of racial discrimination, entrapment, inequality and oppression. Over the years, the Cuban culture has shown resilience in shaping itself to not only fit in the circumstances in which the people found themselves, but to also improve so as to rid itself of the negative elements.
The Cuban culture has been influenced by many factors. Cuba culture has also been influenced by other cultures, predominantly cultures of the European and African origin. The development of the Cuban culture over the many decades has been influenced by several factors. The comprehension of these factors is influenced by De La Fuente (139) who argues that the cultural scene in Cuba has been greatly influenced by race, racial discrimination, and racial politics. De La Fuente (139) finds that the black race has been a victim of racial discrimination manifested through dismissal from employment on the account of the color of their skin. However, De La Fuente (139) finds that while this has been the status for a long time, the revolutionary government has made significant strides in riding the Cuban culture of this vice. The efforts made by the government have led to significant strides such as the improvement of the economic access to social services, education and nutrition (De La Fuente 139).
The findings by De La Fuente (139) underscore the ills of racial discrimination, especially considering the arguments by Hernandez (61). The scholar argues that the Black talent in music was not recognized due to the prevalent racial discrimination. Black talent had the ability to illuminate on issues that pertain to racial conflicts and discrimination, and the inequality that had permeated the Cuban cultural landscape. Even though there were many talented musicians of the African descent, their representation on the music scene did not translate to any gains in racial progress. This is abominable because it shows that the racial discrimination was entrenched deep into the cultural fabric in Cuba.
The arguments of different scholars underscore the presence of inequality and discrimination in Cuba. The evolution of religion in Cuba features elements of discrimination and oppression. Jorge (105) argues that The Cuba Santeria contains elements of the traditional elements of the religion practiced by the Yoruba people who are natives of West Africa and small traits that belong to the Roman Catholic Church. Scholarly arguments have been made to explain the presence of elements of two religions. While arguments on both sides of the scholarly divide have some validity, reading Jorge (105) offers a vivid understanding of the influence of discrimination by the Spanish and the Portuguese on the development of the religion.
The predominant argument by Jorge (105) is that the elements taken from the Roman Catholic Church were used to camouflage the Yoruba religion because the African slaves did not have the liberty to practice the freedom of religion. Even more, enforcing is the argument for the evolution of the religion as part of the larger culture to fit into the new environment. Jorge (119) argues that the Cuban Santeria is not what it was bequeathed to by the Yoruba ancestors. However, the new environment in Cuba, the Spanish culture, and the elements of the Roman Catholic Church forced the evolution of religion to fit into the new environment. It is the said evolution that has led to the religious freedom witnessed in the country today.
Culture reflects the way of life of a given people. Culture is both the product and the guide to the activities that are peculiar to certain people. The Cuban culture is part of the narrative that describes them. While many scholars have shown the influence that other cultures have had on the shaping of the Cuban culture, the fact that the Cuban culture has also influenced elements of other cultures shows its dominance and stability. Scholars such as Hernandez (61) underscored the role of music in highlighting the Cuban cultural landscape. Cuban music has influenced the development of different genres of music, predominantly in Latin America and other former Spanish territories. Aparicio (126) finds that the Bolero music genre which was native to Cuba had a great influence on the development of Salsa, a popular music genre in Latin America. The influence of the Bolero was not just restricted to music. It also permeated the elements of gender and the cultural politics of sex and sexuality.
In the recent past, Cuba has been synonymous with their foreign policy dilemmas with the United States. The themes emanating from these dilemmas could easily have masked the deep cultural heritage of Cuba. The assigned readings helped remedy the situation as well as impart more knowledge on the Cuban culture.
Works Cited
Aparicio, Frances. Listening to Salsa: Gender, Latin popular music, and Puerto Rican cultures. London. University Press of New England. 1998. Print.
De La Fuente, Alejandro. Race, culture and Politics. In Perez-Stable, Marifeli. Eds. Looking forward: Comparative perspectives on Cuba’s transition. Notre Dame. University of Notre Dame Press. 2007. Print.
Hernandez, Tanya. The Buena Vista social club: The racial politics of nostalgia. New York. New York University Press. 2002. Print.
Jorge, Angela. Cuban Santeria: A new world African religion. In Davis, Kortright and Farajaje- Jones, Elias. Eds. African Creative Expressions of the Divine. Washington D.C. Howard University School of Divinity. 1991. Print.
