Matanzas Cuba Ca 1957: Afro-Cuban Sacred Music/Var

Matanzas Cuba Ca 1957-Afro (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 25, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 1957
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Smithsonian Folkways
• ASIN: B00005NZK9
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #258,057 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Recorded in Matanzas in 1957, these ritual rhythms provide a direct link to the music of 19th-century colonial Cuba, and provide a window into the religious life of the first generations of Africans who worked the sugar mills. Collected by Lydia Cabrera and Josefina Tarafa, these recordings preserve extremely rare bembé lukumi ritual drumming used by practitioners of Santería to summon the gods or salute Cuba's African nations. It is remarkably different from the urban style heard today in Havana, although some of the same songs were sung in both city and countryside. With origins in Yoruba religion in West Africa, this music reveals the roots of today's Afro-Cuban ceremonial practices. 32-page booklet, extensive notes, photos, 69 minutes

Grabados en matanzas en 1957, los ritmos rituales presentes en este CD proporcionan un enlace directo con la música colonial cubana del siglo XIX, suministrando así una ventana hacia la vida religiosa de las primeras generaciones de africanos que trabajaron en los molinos de caña. Estas grabaciones, recolectadas por Lidia Cabrera y Josefina Tarafa, preservan el extremadamente raro ritual de tambores del bembé lukumi usado por los devotos de la Santería para convocar a los dioses o para saludar a las naciones africanas de la isla. Esta versión difiere del estilo urbano que se oye hoy en día en La Habana, aunque algunas de las canciones se cantan tanto en la ciudad como en el campo. Con unos orígenes que se remontan a la religión Yoruba del África Occidental, esta música revela las raíces de las prácticas ceremoniales afrocubanas de hoy en día. Cuadernillo de 32 páginas, notas extensas, fotos, 69 minutos.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an Incredible Album., November 4, 2009

By 

Robert Delancey (japan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Matanzas Cuba Ca 1957: Afro-Cuban Sacred Music/Var (Audio CD)

This stuff is the real deal. If you have any interest in this kind of music or African drumming, you need to get this CD.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Matanzas,Cuba"- Afro-Cuban Sacred Music, November 18, 2007

By 

L. Dequesada (JAMAICA,, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Matanzas Cuba Ca 1957: Afro-Cuban Sacred Music/Var (Audio CD)

Once again cuban, Afro-Cuban religion historian, Lydia Cabrera, leads this genre in producing this great album of yoruba-santeria music, recorded in situ, in Matanzas, Cuba in 1957. Through this sacred afro-cuban yoruba music the listener can better understand and evaluate the chants to the santos or yoruba deities in the manner of the conservative santo houses of Matanzas, Cuba. A must have for yoruba and Afro-Cuban music fans and a musical testimony of great historical importance.