Havana Cuba ca. 1957: Rhythms & Songs for Orishas

Various Artists (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 25, 2001)
• Original Release Date: September 25, 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Smithsonian Folkways
• ASIN: B00005NZK8
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #214,882 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Music is one way Cuban Lucumí (descendants of African slaves) have retained cultural ties to Africa. During the 19th century these descendants established cabildos, mutual aid and social societies based on African ethnic "nations" under the sponsorship of the Roman Catholic Church. These cabildos, found mainly in urban areas, were officially disbanded in the early 1900s but many continued on, providing an outlet for a Cuban Yoruba religion, combining Catholic and African-based religious elements. The Yoruba pantheon of gods called orishas provided the basis for these religious cults known as Santeria (also called Lucumí) and the drum ensembles that traditionally accompanied religious rituals in West Africa were modified into the Cuban batá drum trios heard in these recordings. (Marks 2001; Rodríguez 1998)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Totally Authentic, August 11, 2005

By	Adeola Baraka (Southwest) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This recording is totally and beautifully authentic. With thirty
seven tracks, it's also quite a lot. The primary limitation is
the recording technology of 1957. Although it is not as tinny
sounding as most of the field recordings from around that time,
it does not, for example, come anywhere near expressing in sound fidelity, the beautiful melodies and harmonies that actually
come out of the bata drums. The many nuances and especially the
sweet bell tones typical of the bata ensemble don't quite come through, principally because of the limitations of the recording technology. Also, song number five is listed in your sampler as
for Obatala/Odudua; actually the sample is for Nana Buruku--Mother of Blessings and Curses. Nonetheless, this is a wonderful little treasure, especially for anyone who knows or wants to know about the Yoruba and other West aAfrican roots of Cuban, and actually of all African-American, music. For me it is a collector's item.

By the way, referring to some of the descriptions of the songs
that accompany the recording: Lucumi is an old dialect of the
West African Yoruba language which carried to Cuba due to slavery, and in Yoruba it means "my friend". So this is the music of 'My Friend' societies. The music and rituals presented on this recording are pure Old World West African, without needing any reference whatsoever to European Catholicism. Ironically though, this same Catholicsm actually originated in the same religious practices of North Africa which migrated into West Africa and developed into the Yoruba Mysteries which the enslaved Africans then carried into the Americas. This is one reason why Spanish and Portuguese music and religious culture
blend in such a savory way with West African culture in the Caribbean and Latin America. Modupue (Yoruba: I thank you!)

5.0 out of 5 stars Authentic, March 23, 2009

By	Katherine N. Washington (essex, md United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I really liked this collection of Orisha worship songs. It's a CD in which you can immerse yourself in, forgetting time and space. The trance like quality if the chants and drums captures the essence of each Orisha as they are celebrated by there followers. I would definitely pick this CD if you are just beginning to explore the teachings of Santeria, IFA, and Voudon.

4.0 out of 5 stars Cuban Music, November 2, 2008

By	Ines Sanchez "sancho panza" (northeast of the USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Unless you are a musician or grew up with Cuban music, I would doubt that you would enjoy this CD. I was born in Cuba and remember some of the songs but that was over 50 years ago! Still, a real piece of musical history and well done!