Music appreciation starts young in Cuba. Kids learn salsa and cha-cha-cha about the time they learn to walk.
Cubanos love their music. It’s everywhere – on the streets, in stores, pubs and bistros and especially in the cities where in each one you usually find a Casa de Trova with groups playing afternoons to the wee small hours and Casa de Musica for local groups and DJs.
Clips of of what I saw and heard are at http://laq.info/trips/cuba/
Sweets and music are fallbacks to alleviate frustrations. More than once, music was described as a coping mechanism.
Folkloric dancing is here – http://laq.info/trips/cuba/
Cuban music combines many influences – the island’s indigenous own, Spanish, African (from when slaves were brought in to work sugar cane plantations) and jazz.
