Cuban dances … a bit of history

Cuban dances are part of the larger group of Caribbean dances. Thinking of Cuba immediately makes you want to dance and the combination with the rhythm has always been a prerogative of those distant places. In fact, Cuban dances have a very ancient origin and are the result of a mix of different cultures that have inhabited the Caribbean island.

The first peoples to colonize Cuba were the Aboriginal Indians, later killed and exterminated by the arrival of Christopher Columbus. It was then the turn of the Spaniards, who settled on the island in the late 1500s. The two peoples influenced the mass culture on the island, combining their history and customs to create new ones. Even for music the discourse does not change: from the union of the peoples who over time colonized the Caribbean island, new sounds were born and in a short time have conquered not only the inhabitants of Cuba but also music lovers all over the world.

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From religion to sensuality

Although Cuban dances are associated with a cheerful and engaging rhythm, their origin is to be found in religious dances. Their movements came from gestures of common use and were used to invoke and thank the gods: from the request for rain to favor the harvest, to the invocation of the goddess of love to bless a wedding. Everything was done to the rhythm of engaging music.

The arrival of the European bourgeoisie at the turn of 1800 and 1900 changed the way of seeing dance again: if until then it had been a religious factor and accessible to anyone, it soon became a luxury event suitable only to wealthy people. But the real creators of those dances rebelled, inventing a new dance aimed at mocking the rigidity of the dances of the bourgeoisie, imposed not only by society, but also by the heavy clothes provided by the fashion of the time.

Over the time, Cuban dances became famous all over the world, incorporating movements and music of other peoples to theirs. The presence of different types of dances are the results of these cultural reshuffles.

Cuban dances: types

Salsa Dance

Salsa is certainly the most known dance, originated by the rhythm of the “son”, a particular sound based on percussion and born in Cuba. The Salsa’s movements are paired and increasingly accentuated, favoring the idea of sensuality. Different dances come to life from the “son”, such as the Rumba. The Danzonete( the dance born to make fun of the bourgeois), instead, comes from the Mambo. The Salsa we all know today, is the result of a further mix of all these styles.

Mambo

More recently than the Salsa, the Mambo takes this name only around 1940. It was born as a successor to the Danzonete and is characterized by a percussion rhythm. Other instruments were added later, such as the sound of winds or stringed instruments. From 1940 onwards, many bands dedicated themselves to this particular genre, sometimes misrepresenting it to adapt the sound to a more classical and European culture. The movements of the Mambo are characterized by a strong horizontality and a constant movement of the pelvis.

Cha Cha Cha

This expression of Cuban dances also has a not so ancient origin. The Cha cha cha was born in Cuba in the early twentieth century, mixed with the other sounds that make up the current ensemble of Cuban dances. However, it spread as a couple dance in the 1950s and is characterized by a complex rhythm based on four different tempos continuously inverted. The Cha cha cha, like the other dances, is then taken up by European culture and widely spreaded all over the world.

Mambo, Salsa and Cha Cha Cha, they all have one common detail: the importance of wearing suitable shoes, able to accompany the dancer’s movements without causing pain. Romy Dance offers you the quality of Made in Italy footwear; visit our section dedicated to Caribbean dance shoes and choose the ones that best suit your needs! 24 hours shipping anche safety are guaranteed. 

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