Afro-Cuban - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The term Afro-Cuban refers to Cubans

Cubans

Cubans or Cuban people are the inhabitants or citizens of Cuba. Cuba is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...

of Sub Saharan African ancestry, and to historical or cultural elements in Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

thought to emanate from this community. The term can refer to the combining of African and other cultural elements found in Cuban society such as religion

Religion

Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

, music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

, language

Language

Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...

, the arts

ARts

aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....

, and class

Social class

Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...

culture.

Afrocubanismo Movement in the 1920s and 1930s

During the 1920s and 1930s Cuba experienced a movement geared towards Afro-Cuban culture called Afrocubanismo. The movement had a large impact on Cuban literature, poetry, painting, music, and sculpture. It was the first artistic campaign in Cuba

Cuba

that focused on one particular theme: black culture. Specifically it highlighted the struggle for independence from Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, black slavery

Slavery

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

, and building a purely Cuban national identity. Its goal was to incorporate African folklore

Folklore

Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...

and rhythm

Rhythm

Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...

into traditional modes of art.

History of the Movement

The movement evolved from an interest in the rediscovery of African heritage. It developed in two very different stages. The first stage stemmed from Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an artists and intellectuals who were interested in African art and musical folk forms. This stage paralleled the Harlem Renaissance

Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, it was known as the "New Negro Movement", named after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke...

in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, Négritude

Négritude

Négritude is a literary and ideological movement, developed by francophone black intellectuals, writers, and politiciansin France in the 1930s by a group that included the future Senegalese President Léopold Sédar Senghor, Martinican poet Aimé Césaire, and the Guianan Léon Damas.The Négritude...

in the French Caribbean

French Caribbean

The term French Caribbean varies in meaning with its usage and frame of reference. This ambiguity makes it very different from the term French West Indies, which refers to the specific, formal French possessions in the Caribbean region...

, and coincided with stylistic European Vanguard (like cubism and its representation of African masks). It was characterized by the participation of white intellectuals like Cubans Alejo Carpentier

Alejo Carpentier

Alejo Carpentier y Valmont was a Cuban novelist, essayist, and musicologist who greatly influenced Latin American literature during its famous "boom" period. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, Carpentier grew up in Havana, Cuba; and despite his European birthplace, Carpentier strongly self-identified...

, Fortunato Vizcarrondo and Lydia Cabrera

Lydia Cabrera

Lydia Cabrera was a Cuban anthropologist and poet.Cabrera was born in Havana; She was an authority on Santería and other Afro-Cuban religions. Over her lifetime she published over one hundred books; little if any of her work is available in English...

, Puerto Rican Luis Palés Matos

Luis Palés Matos

Luis Palés Matos was a Puerto Rican poet who is credited with creating the poetry genre known as Afro-Antillano.-Early years:...

, and Spaniards Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...

and Roger de Lauria. The African-inspired art that was produced in this early part of the movement was extremely picturesque but lacked a true understanding of black culture. The art tended to represent Afro-Cubans with cliché images like a black man sitting beneath a palm tree with a cigar.

Although the depth of the first stage was shallow, it paved the way for Afro-Cubans to be recognized for their artistic ability. The influence of black writers in Cuba dates back to the early 17th century but it took the participation of the white intellectuals to bring their talent to the foreground.

Once white poets and intellectuals began publishing their work in the 20s with an Afro-Cuban subject matter, other poems and essays by black writers began to be published in the 30s in newspapers, magazines, and books where they discussed their own personal heritage. Afro-Cuban artists began to realize that the movement brought light to the once-marginalized black race and culture. It became a symbol of empowerment and individuality for Afro-Cubans within the established Western culture of the Americas and Europe.

This empowerment became a catalyst for the second stage to be characterized by Afro-Cuban artists making art that truly reflected what it meant to be Afro-Cuban. Beginning in the 1930s this stage depicted a more serious view of black culture like African religions and the struggles associated with slavery. The main protagonist

Protagonist

A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...

during this stage of the movement was Nicolas Guillen

Nicolás Guillén

Nicolás Cristóbal Guillén Batista was a Cuban poet, journalist, political activist, and writer. He is best remembered as the national poet of Cuba.Guillén was born in Camagüey, Cuba...

Results of the Movement

The lasting reputation of the Afrocubanismo movement was the establishment of a New World

New World

The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...

art form that used aesthetics from both European and African culture. Although the actual movement of Afrocubanismo faded by the early 40s, Afro-Cuban culture continues to play a vital role in the identity of Cuba. It has been the Cuban Revolution

Cuban Revolution

The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...

that opened up a space for extended research of African ethnic roots in Cuba. The rhetoric of the Revolution incorporates black history and its contribution as an important stratum

Stratum

In geology and related fields, a stratum is a layer of sedimentary rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguish it from other layers...

of Cuban identity. The Revolution has funded many projects that restore the work of Afro-Cubans in an effort to accommodate an African-driven identity within the new anti-racist Cuban society.

Demographics

According to a 2002 national census which surveyed 11.2 million Cubans, 1.1 million Cubans described themselves as Black

Black

Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...

, while 2.8 million considered themselves to be "mulatto

Mulatto

Mulatto denotes a person with one white parent and one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the term varies greatly, and the broader sense of the term makes its application rather subjective, as not all people of mixed white and black...

" or "mestizo

Mestizo

Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...

". Thus a significant proportion of those living on the island affirm some African ancestry. The matter is further complicated by the fact that a fair number of people still locate their origins in specific African ethnic groups or regions, particularly Yoruba

Yoruba people

The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...

(or Lucumi

Lucumi people

The Lucumi people are an Afro-Cuban, Afro-Puerto Rican, and Afro-Dominican ethnic group. Many Lucumi claim to be of Yoruba ancestry....

), Igbo

Igbo people

Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...

and Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

, but also Arará

Arará

Arará is a minority group in Cuba , Puerto Rico and elsewhere in the Caribbean who descend from Fon, Ewe, Popo, Mahi and other ethnic groups in Dahomey...

, Carabalí, Mandingo

Mandinka people

The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....

, Fula, Makua, and others. Nevertheless, and despite the egalitarian project of the Cuban revolution, racial discrimination still exists in Cuba. Many Afro-Cubans complain that they are refused employment in the lucrative tourism industry

Tourism in Cuba

Tourism in Cuba attracts over 2 million people a year, and is one of the main sources of revenue for the island. With its favorable climate, beaches, colonial architecture and distinct cultural history, Cuba has long been an attractive destination for tourists...

, where Cubans make in tips weekly what doctors and other professionals make in months.

The percentage of Afro-Cubans on the island increased after the 1959 Cuban revolution

Cuban Revolution

led by Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...

due to mass migration from the island

Cuban exile

The term "Cuban exile" refers to the many Cubans who have sought alternative political or economic conditions outside the island, dating back to the Ten Years' War and the struggle for Cuban independence during the 19th century...

of the largely white Cuban professional class. A small percentage of Afro-Cubans left Cuba, mostly for the United States, (particularly Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

), where they and their U.S.-born children are called Cuban American

Cuban American

A Cuban American is a United States citizen who traces his or her "national origin" to Cuba. Cuban Americans are also considered native born Americans with Cuban parents or Cuban-born persons who were raised and educated in US...

s, Hispanic-Americans, and African Americans. Only a few of them resided in nearby Spanish-speaking countries of Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...

and Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

.

The Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami says 62% are black. The Minority Rights Group International

Minority Rights Group International

Minority Rights Group International is an organisation founded with the objective of promoting respect for the human rights of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and indigenous peoples around the world...

says that "An objective assessment of the situation of Afro-Cubans remains problematic due to scant records and a paucity of systematic studies both pre- and post-revolution.

Afro-Cuban descendants in Africa

Countries such as Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, the home of the Yoruba

Yoruba people

The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...

and Igbo

Igbo people

cultures, and Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...

experienced and influx of ex-slaves from Cuba brought there as indentured servants during the 17th century, and again during the 19th century. In Equatorial Guinea, they became part of the Emancipados
Emancipados
Emancipado was a term used for an African descended social-political demographic within the population of Spanish Guinea that existed in the early to mid 1900s...

; in Nigeria, they were called Amaros. Despite being free to return to Cuba

Cuba

when their tenure was over, they remained in these countries marrying into the local indigenous population. The former slaves were brought to Africa by the Royal Orders of September 13, 1845 (by way of voluntary arrangement) and a June 20, 1861 deportation from Cuba, due to the lack of volunteers. Similar circumstances previously occurred during the 17th century where ex-slaves from both Cuba

Cuba

and Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

were offered the same opportunity.

Angola

Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

also has communities of Afro-Cubans, these are descendants of Afro-Cuban soldiers brought to the country in 1975 as a result of the Cuban involvement in the Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

. Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro

deployed thousands of troops to the country during the Angolan Civil War

Angolan Civil War

The Angolan Civil War was a major civil conflict in the Southern African state of Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with some interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. Prior to this, a decolonisation conflict had taken...

. As a result of this era, there exists a small Spanish-speaking community in Angola

Angola

of Afro-Cubans numbering about 100,000.

Religion

Afro-Cuban religion can be broken down into three main currents: Santería

Santería

Santería is a syncretic religion of West African and Caribbean origin influenced by Roman Catholic Christianity, also known as Regla de Ocha, La Regla Lucumi, or Lukumi. Its liturgical language, a dialect of Yoruba, is also known as Lucumi....

, Palo Monte, and Abakuá

Abakuá

Abakua or Abakuá is an Afro-Cuban men's initiatory fraternity, or secret society, which originated from fraternal associations in the Cross River region of southeastern Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon...

, and include individuals of all origins. Santería and Abakuá both have large parts of their liturgy in African languages (Yoruba, Igbo and Ñañigo, respectively) while Palo Monte uses a mixture of Spanish and Kikongo. Santería and Palo Monte are largely syncretised with Catholicism

Catholicism

Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....

, though it is generally considered that the African elements outweigh the Catholic ones.

The Abakuá religion is a secret society for men, similar to the freemason orders of Europe (which first integrated white (Spanish) members in the late 19th century). It has not been syncretised with Catholicism and remains close to its origins in south-eastern Nigeria. An important aspect of Abakuá is that while membership is only for men, a host of rules mandates that conditions to be initiated are to be a good son, good brother, good father, good friend, and, above all, heterosexual. There are presently 136 potencies in Cuba; the 136th been recently created named Efí Masongo Obane.

Music

Afro-Cuban music involves two main categories of music, religious and profane. Religious music includes the chants, rhythms

Bata

Bata or Baťa or Baţa or Batá may refer to:* Bata Shoes , a multinational corporation-Places:* Bat, Afghanistan, a place in Afghanistan* Bata, a commune in Arad County, Romania...

and instruments

Claves

Claves are a percussion instrument , consisting of a pair of short Claves (Anglicized pronunciation: clah-vays, IPA:[ˈklαves]) are a percussion instrument (idiophone), consisting of a pair of short Claves (Anglicized pronunciation: clah-vays, IPA:[ˈklαves]) are a percussion instrument (idiophone),...

used in rituals of the above-mentioned religious currents, while profane music focuses largely on rumba

Cuban Rumba

In Cuban music, Rumba is a generic term covering a variety of musical rhythms and associated dances. The rumba has its influences in the music brought to Cuba by Africans brought to Cuba as slaves as well as Spanish colonizers...

, guaguanco

Guaguancó

Guaguancó is a sub-genre of Cuban rumba, a complex rhythmic music and dance style. The traditional line-up consists of:* three drums, similar to conga drums: the tumba , llamador , and quinto...

and comparsa

Comparsa

A comparsa is the band which plays a conga during a Latin American Carnival celebration. It consists of a large group of dancers dancing and traveling on the streets, followed by a Carrosa where the musicians play...

(carnival music) as well as several lesser styles such as the tumba francesa. Virtually all Cuban music

Music of Cuba

The Caribbean island of Cuba has developed a wide range of creolized musical styles, based on its cultural origins in Europe and Africa. Since the 19th century its music has been hugely popular and influential throughout the world...

has been influenced by African rhythms. Cuban popular music, and quite a lot of the art music, has strands from both Spain and Africa, woven into a unique Cuban cloth. The son
Son (music)
The Son cubano is a style of music that originated in Cuba and gained worldwide popularity in the 1930s. Son combines the structure and elements of Spanish canción and the Spanish guitar with African rhythms and percussion instruments of Bantu and Arará origin...

is a typical example of this.

Language

Other cultural elements considered to be Afro-Cuban can be found in language (including syntax, vocabulary, and style of speech) and generally held stereotypes of Afro-Cuban culture such as male and female behavior, family structure or general habits. The term Afro-Cuban is rarely taken into the economic sphere, despite the fact that, as in most of the Americas, black Cubans are generally poorer than whites, which translates into class phenomenon along racial lines. The political situation, however, forbids public acknowledgment of the existence of social classes and of racial problems of any kind.

Racial Consciousness

According to anthropologists dispatched by the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

, racism is entrenched in Cuba. Black people are systematically excluded from positions in tourism related jobs, where they could earn tips in hard currencies. According to the EU study, black people are relegated to poor housing, and black Cubans are excluded from managerial positions.

Enrique Patterson describes race as a "social bomb" and says that "If the Cuban government were to permit black Cubans to organize and raise their problems before [authorities] . . . totalitarianism would fall". Esteban Morales Domínguez, a professor in the University of Havana, says that "The absence of the debate on the racial problem already threatens . . . the revolution's social project". Carlos Moore, who has authored extensive on the issue, says that "There is an unstated threat, blacks in Cuba know that whenever you raise race in Cuba, you go to jail. Therefore the struggle in Cuba is different. There cannot be a civil rights movement. You will have instantly 10,000 black people dead. [...] The government is frightened to the extent to which it does not understand black Cubans today. You have a new generation of black Cubans who are looking at politics in another way." Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

's victory has raised disturbing questions about the institutional racism in Cuba. The Economist noted "The danger starts with his example: after all, a young, black, progressive politician has no chance of reaching the highest office in Cuba, although a majority of the island’s people are black"

In the years between the triumph of the revolution and the victory at Playa Girón the Cuban government was one of the world’s most proactive regimes in the fight against discrimination. It achieved significant gains in racial equality through a series of egalitarian reforms early in the 1960s. Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro

’s first public address on racism after his rise to power was on March 23, 1959 at a labor rally in Havana, less than three months after he defeated Fulgencio Batista

Fulgencio Batista

Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was the United States-aligned Cuban President, dictator and military leader who served as the leader of Cuba from 1933 to 1944 and from 1952 to 1959, before being overthrown as a result of the Cuban Revolution....

. He is quoted as saying: “one of the most just battles that must be fought, a battle that must be emphasized more and more, which I might call the fourth battle--the battle to end racial discrimination at work centers. I repeat: the battle to end racial discrimination at work centers. Of all the forms of racial discrimination the worst is the one that limits the colored Cuban's access to jobs .“ Castro pointed to the distinction between social segregation and employment, while placing great emphasis on correcting the latter. In response to the large amount of racism that existed in the job market, Castro issued anti-discrimination laws. In addition, he attempted to close the class gap between wealthy white Cubans and Afro-Cubans with a massive literacy campaign among other egalitarian reforms in the early and mid 1960s
Two years after his 1959 speech at the Havana Labor Rally, Castro declared that the age of racism and discrimination was over. In a speech given at the Confederation of Cuban Workers in observance of May Day, Castro declared that the “ just laws of the revolution
ended unemployment put an end to villages without hospitals and schools, enacted laws which ended discrimination, control by monopolies, humiliation, and the suffering of the people.” Although inspiring, many would consider the claim to be premature.”

Research conducted by PH.D researchers Yesilernis Peña, Jim Sidanius and Mark Sawyer in 2003, suggest that social discrimination is still prevalent, despite the low levels of economic discrimination.
After considering the issue solved, the Cuban government moved beyond the issue of racism. His message marked a shift in Cuban society’s perception of racism that was triggered by the change in government focus. ” The government’s announcement easily allowed the Cuban public to deny discrimination without first correcting the stereotypes that remained in mind of those who grew up in a Cuba that was racially and economically divided.
Many who argue that racism does not exist in Cuba base their claims on the idea of Latin American Exceptionalism. According to the argument of Latin American Exceptionality, a social history of intermarriage and mixing of the races is unique to Latina America. The large mestizo

Mestizo

Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...

populations that result from high levels of interracial union common to Latin America are often linked to racial democracy. For many Cubans this translates into an argument of “racial harmony”, often referred to as racial democracy. In the case of Cuba, ideas of Latin American Exceptionalism have delayed the progress of true racial harmony.

Most of the Latin population of Tampa in the 1950s was working class and lived in restricted areas, ethnic enclaves in the vicinity of Tampa’s hundreds of cigar factories. Black Cubans were tolerated to an extent in the Latin quarter (where most neighborhoods and cigar factories were integrated), Ybor City and its counterpart, West Tampa, were areas that bordered on other restricted sections-areas for U.S. blacks or whites only. In this Latin qurtet, there existed racial discrimination despite its subtleness.

Haitian Creole among Afro-Cubans

Haitian Creole and culture first entered Cuba with the arrival of Haitian immigrants at the start of the 19th century. Haiti was a French colony, and the final years of the 1791-1804 Haitian Revolution brought a wave of French settlers fleeing with their Haitian slaves to Cuba. They came mainly to the east, and especially Guantanamo, where the French later introduced sugar cultivation, constructed sugar refineries and developed coffee plantations. By 1804, some 30,000 French were living in Baracoa and Maisí, the furthest eastern municipalities of the province. Later, Haitians continued to come to Cuba to work as braceros (hand workers, from the Spanish word brazo, meaning "arm") in the fields cutting cane. Their living and working conditions were not much better than slavery. Although they planned to return to Haiti, most stayed on in Cuba. For years, many Haitians and their descendants in Cuba did not identify themselves as such or speak Creole. In the eastern part of the island, many Haitians suffered discrimination. But according to the Castro regime, since 1959, when he took over, this discrimination has stopped.

After Spanish, Creole is the second most-spoken language in Cuba. In addition to the eastern provinces, there are also communities in Ciego de Ávila and Camagüey provinces where the population still maintains Creole, their mother tongue. Classes in Creole are offered in Guantanamo, Matanzas and the City of Havana. There is a Creole-language radio program.

List of Famous Afro-Cubans

Andres Serrano
Andres Serrano
Andres Serrano is an American photographer and artist who has become notorious through his photos of corpses and his use of feces and bodily fluids in his work, notably his controversial work "Piss Christ", a red-tinged photograph of a crucifix submerged in a glass container of what was purported...

- Artist
Antonio Maceo
Antonio Maceo Grajales
Lt. General José Antonio de la Caridad Maceo y Grajales was second-in-command of the Cuban Army of Independence....

- Second-in-command of the Cuban Army of Independence
Martín Morúa Delgado,President of the Cuban Senate
Juan Gualberto Gómez
Juan Gualberto Gómez
Juan Gualberto Gómez Ferrer was an Afro-Cuban revolutionary leader in the Cuban War of Independence against Spain. He was a "close collaborator of Martí's," and alongside him helped plan the uprising and unite the island's black population behind the rebellion...

, 1890s revolutionary leader, close collaborator of Martí
José Martí
José Julián Martí Pérez was a Cuban national hero and an important figure in Latin American literature. In his short life he was a poet, an essayist, a journalist, a revolutionary philosopher, a translator, a professor, a publisher, and a political theorist. He was also a part of the Cuban...

's, served as part of the committee of consultations that drafted and amended the Constitution of 1901, and as a Representative and Senator
Víctor Dreke
Víctor Dreke
Víctor Emilio Dreke Cruz is a Cuban Communist Party leader of notable African descent, and a former commander in the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces....

- Cuban Revolutionary and Second-in-Command to Ché Guevara in the Congo
Rita Marley
Rita Marley
Alpharita Constantia Anderson , better known as Rita Marley, and sometimes called "Nana Rita", is the widow of reggae legend/musician Bob Marley, and a member of the trio the I Threes, Bob Marley's backup singers.-Biography:...

- Singer, Humanitarian, and widowed wife of Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
Gabriel de la Concepción Valdés, "Plácido" - Poet
Nicolás Guillén
Nicolás Guillén
Nicolás Cristóbal Guillén Batista was a Cuban poet, journalist, political activist, and writer. He is best remembered as the national poet of Cuba.Guillén was born in Camagüey, Cuba...

- Poet
Regino Pedroso
Regino Pedroso
Regino Pedroso was a Cuban poet....

- Poet
Nancy Morejón
Nancy Morejón
Nancy Morejón is one of Cuba's major authors and poets. She has gained recognition for work whose themes are centered on women and the Afro-Cuban experience.-Life history:...

- Poet
Domingo Alfonso - Poet
Angel Escobar
Angel Escobar
Angel Rubenque Escobar [es-coe-BAR] is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and right-handed batter who played for the San Francisco Giants ....

- Poet
Soleida Ríos - Writer
Alberto Guerra Naranjo - Writer
Ariel Ribeaux Diago - Writer
Ahmel Echevarría - Writer
Víctor Fowler - Writer
Salvador Redonet Cook - Professor
Wifredo Lam
Wifredo Lam
Wifredo Óscar de la Concepción Lam y Castilla , better known as Wifredo Lam, was a Cuban artist who sought to portray and revive the enduring Afro-Cuban spirit and culture...

- Artist
Roberto Diago - Artist
Ibrahim Ferrer
Ibrahim Ferrer
Ibrahim Ferrer was a popular Afro-Cuban singer and musician in Cuba. He performed with many musical groups including the Conjunto Sorpresa, Orquesta Chepin-Choven and Afro-Cuban All Stars...

- Singer (Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club
The Buena Vista Social Club was a members club in Havana, Cuba that held dances and musical activities, becoming a popular location for musicians to meet and play during the 1940s...

)
Omara Portuondo
Omara Portuondo
Omara Portuondo Peláez is a Cuban singer and dancer whose career has spanned over half a century. She was one of the original members of the Cuarteto d'Aida, and has performed with Ignacio Piñeiro, Orquesta Anacaona, Orquesta Aragón, Nat King Cole, Adalberto Álvarez, Los Van Van, the Buena Vista...

- Singer (Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club
The Buena Vista Social Club was a members club in Havana, Cuba that held dances and musical activities, becoming a popular location for musicians to meet and play during the 1940s...

)
Compay Segundo
Compay Segundo
Compay Segundo was a Cuban trova guitarist, singer and composer.-Biography:...

- Singer (Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club
The Buena Vista Social Club was a members club in Havana, Cuba that held dances and musical activities, becoming a popular location for musicians to meet and play during the 1940s...

)
Pío Leyva
Pío Leyva
Pío Leyva was a Cuban singer and the author of the well-known guaracha El Mentiroso . Leyva was part of the Buena Vista Social Club, and composed some of Cuba’s best known standards....

- Singer (Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club
The Buena Vista Social Club was a members club in Havana, Cuba that held dances and musical activities, becoming a popular location for musicians to meet and play during the 1940s...

)
Rubén González - Pianist (Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club
The Buena Vista Social Club was a members club in Havana, Cuba that held dances and musical activities, becoming a popular location for musicians to meet and play during the 1940s...

)
Orlando "Cachaito" López - Bass player (Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club
The Buena Vista Social Club was a members club in Havana, Cuba that held dances and musical activities, becoming a popular location for musicians to meet and play during the 1940s...

)
Juan de Marcos González
Juan de Marcos González
Juan de Marcos González is a Cuban bandleader and musician, best known for his work with the Buena Vista Social Club.-Biography:Resume....

- Musical director (Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club
The Buena Vista Social Club was a members club in Havana, Cuba that held dances and musical activities, becoming a popular location for musicians to meet and play during the 1940s...

)
Afro-Cuban All Stars
Fats Navarro
Fats Navarro
Theodore "Fats" Navarro was an American jazz trumpet player. He was a pioneer of the bebop style of jazz improvisation in the 1940s. He had a strong stylistic influence on many other players, most notably Clifford Brown.-Life:Navarro was born in Key West, Florida, to Cuban-Black-Chinese parentage...

- Jazz musician
Mario Bauzá
Mario Bauza
Mario Bauzá was an important Cuban musician. He was one of the first to introduce Latin music to the United States by bringing Cuban musical styles into the New York jazz scene...

- Jazz musician
Chano Pozo
Chano Pozo
Chano Pozo was a percussionist, singer, dancer and composer who played a major role in the founding of Latin jazz...

- Jazz percusionist
Arsenio Rodríguez
Arsenio Rodríguez
Arsenio Rodríguez was a Cuban musician who played the tres , reorganized the conjunto and developed the son montuno, and other Afro-Cuban rhythms in the 1940s and 50s...

- Bandleader
Ignacio Piñeiro
Ignacio Piñeiro
Ignacio Piñeiro Martínez was a black Cuban musician and composer whose career started in rumba, and flowered in the rise of the son. He was one of the most important composers of son music; in total he wrote about 327 numbers, mostly sones.Piñeiro was a brilliant rumbero who worked with musical...

- Musician
Machito
Machito
Machito , born as Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo, was an influential Latin jazz musician who helped refine Afro-Cuban jazz and create both Cubop and salsa music...

- Musician
Mongo Santamaría
Mongo Santamaría
Ramón "Mongo" Santamaría Rodríguez was an Afro-Cuban Latin jazz percussionist. He is most famous for being the composer of the jazz standard "Afro Blue," recorded by John Coltrane among others. In 1950 he moved to New York where he played with Perez Prado, Tito Puente, Cal Tjader, Fania All...

- Jazz musician
Benny Moré
Benny Moré
Benny Moré , or Beny, was a Cuban singer. He is often thought of as the greatest Cuban popular singer of all time. He was gifted with an innate musicality and fluid tenor voice which he colored and phrased with great expressivity...

- Singer
Bola de Nieve
Bola de Nieve
Bola de Nieve , born Ignacio Jacinto Villa, was a successful Cuban singer-pianist and songwriter, whose round, black face earned him the nickname by which he was always known....

- Singer and pianist
Pedro "Peruchín" Jústiz - Pianist
Chocolate Armenteros - Trumpetist
Félix Chapottín - Trumpetist
Armando Peraza
Armando Peraza
Armando Peraza is a Latin jazz percussionist. Through his long associations with jazz pianist George Shearing, vibraphonist Cal Tjader and guitarist Carlos Santana, he has been internationally known from the 1950s through to the 1990s...

- Percusionist
Orestes Vilató
Orestes Vilató
Orestes Vilató is a Timbalero/Bongosero.He went to New York City at the age of 12, after his father was recruited to be in charge of international flights inaugurated by Cubana de Aviación...

- Timbalero
Barbarito Diez - Singer
Pello el Afrokán - Percusionist and creator of mozambique (music)
Mozambique (music)
Mozambique is a vigorous style of Cuban music and dance derived, like the conga, from music of Cuban street carnivals or comparsas. It was invented or developed by Pello el Afrokan in 1963...
Bebo Valdés
Bebo Valdés
Bebo Valdés is a Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger. He was a central figure in the golden age of Cuban music, led two famous big bands, and was one of the 'house' arrangers for the Tropicana Club.Valdés started his career as a pianist in the night clubs of Havana during the 1940s...

- Pianist
Israel "Cachao" López - Bass player
Orestes López
Orestes López
Orestes López was a Cuban musician and bandleader, often credited with popularizing the musical form Mambo, together with his brother Israel "Cachao" Lopez....

- Bass player
Dámaso Pérez Prado - The King of Mambo
Carlos "Patato" Valdes - Conga player
Richard Egües
Richard Egües
Richard Egües nicknamed "la flauta magica" , was a Cuban flautist and musician, on of the country's most famous artists. Egües was a member of the Orquesta Aragón band which he joined in 1953...

- Flute player, a member of the Orquesta Aragón
Enrique Jorrín
Enrique Jorrín
Enrique Jorrín was a Cuban composer, violinist and band director. He is famous as the inventor of a style of Cuban dance music called cha-cha-chá.-Biography:...

- Violinist and inventor of cha-chá-chá
Guillermo Barreto
Guillermo Barreto
Guillermo Barreto , was a Cuban drummer who also played timbales who was a major figure in the Cuban music scene for more than fifty years and is, debatably, the one who pioneered Cuban "Be-bop" jazz drumming.-Early...

- Percusionist
Generoso Jimenez
Generoso Jimenez
Generoso "Tojo" Jiménez was a famous Cuban trombone player and a pioneer of Cuban popular music. He was also the trombonist for the Cuban bandleader and singer, Beny Moré....

- Trombonist
Chucho Valdés
Chucho Valdés
Chucho Valdés is a Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger. In 1972 he founded the group Irakere, one of Cuba's best-known Latin jazz bands. Together with pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Valdés is revered as one of Cuba's greatest jazz pianists...

- Pianist and leader of Irakere
Irakere
Irakere is a Cuban band founded by Armando de Sequeira Romeu Music Director and composer, and by pianist Chucho Valdés in 1973...
Jorge Varona - Trumpetist
Carlos del Puerto - Bass player
Jorge Alfonso, el Niño - Percusionist
Anga Díaz
Anga Díaz
Miguel 'Angá' Díaz , was a Cuban percussionist. With his explosive soloing and inventive five conga patterns, Angá was widely acclaimed as one of the world's greatest congueros...

- Percusionist and former member of Irakere
Irakere
Irakere is a Cuban band founded by Armando de Sequeira Romeu Music Director and composer, and by pianist Chucho Valdés in 1973...
Germán Velazco - Sax player
Orlando Valle, "Maraca" - Flutist
Lázaro "el Fino" Rivero - Bass player
Tata Güines
Tata Güines
Tata Güines was a Cuban percussionist on the tumbadora, or conga drum, as well as a composer. He was important in the first generation of Afro-Cuban jazz....

- Percusionist
Changuito
Changuito
Changuito is a Cuban percussionist.-Biography:Quintana was born in 1948 in Casablanca, Cuba. As a child he played professionally in bands such as Havana Jazz , with his musician father, and with La Pandilla de los Cabezas de Perros...

- Percusionist and former member of Los Van Van
Los Van Van
Los Van Van is a Cuban band led by bassist Juan Formell, it is one of the most recognized post-revolution Cuban bands, while Juan Formell has arguably become the most important figure in contemporary Cuban music....
Ignacio Berroa
Ignacio Berroa
Ignacio Berroa is a jazz drummer.In 1980 Ignacio left his country during the Mariel Boatlift, moved to New York and joined Dizzy Gillespie’s quartet in 1981 becoming the drummer of all the important bands Gillespie formed until his death in 1993.Ignacio Berroa has been recognized by many as one of...

- Drummer
Lázaro Ros
Lázaro Ros
Lázaro Ros was an Afro-Cuban singer. His music borrowed much from Africa, as he performed music of the Lucumí culture, of the Yoruba people from modern-day Nigeria, and of the Arará culture of the Dahomeyan people from modern-day Benin...

- Singer
Pablo Milanés
Pablo Milanés
Pablo Milanés Arias is a Cuban singer-songwriter and guitar player. He studied at a conservatory in Havana. He is considered one of the founders of the Cuban nueva trova, along with Silvio Rodríguez and Noel Nicola...

- Singer
Gerardo Alfonso - Singer
Carlos Alfonso
Carlos Alfonso
Carlos A. Alfonso is a former minor league baseball player and manager, as well as a former minor and major league coach...

- Bass player and leader of Síntesis
X Alfonso - Singer
Yusa
Yusa
Yusa is a Cuban singer and songwriter, born in the Buena Vista district of Havana, Cuba. Her music is recognised worldwide : in 2003, she was nominated at the prestigious BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards in two categories...

- Female bass player
Peruchín Jr. - Guitarist
Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Gonzalo Rubalcaba is a Grammy Award-winning Cuban jazz pianist and composer.Gonzalo Julio Gonzalez Fonseca was born in Havana, Cuba, May 27, 1963, into a musical family rich in the traditions of the country’s artistic past...

- Jazz pianist
Celia Cruz
Celia Cruz
Celia Cruz was a Cuban-American salsa singer, and was one of the most successful Salsa performers of the 20th century, having earned twenty-three gold albums...

- Singer
Addys D'Mercedes
Addys D'Mercedes
Addys Mercedes formerly known as "Addys D'Mercedes" is a Cuban pop and worldmusic singer living between Germany and Spain.She made her UK debut in 2001 at the Guildford Festival and since then has undertaken two British tours.- Life :...

- Singer
Yotuel Romero
Yotuel Romero
Yotuel Omar Manzanarez Romero is an singer, actor and musician current lead singer and co-writer of the 2003 Latin Grammy Award winner Platinum album selling rap group Orishas. Among other recordings, Emigrante won the 2003 Latin Grammy Award for Best Rap/Hip-Hop Album...

- Singer
Jon Secada
Jon Secada
Jon Secada is a Cuban-American singer and songwriter. Secada was born in Havana, Cuba, and raised in Hialeah, Florida. He has won two Grammy Awards and sold 20 million albums since his English-language debut album in 1992. His music fuses funk, soul, pop and Latin percussion...

- Singer
Sen Dog
Sen Dog
Sen Dog is a Cuban-American rapper, and member of rap group Cypress Hill. He is the older brother of fellow rapper Mellow Man Ace.Sen Dog has been developing his own solo career in addition to his work with Cypress Hill...

of rap group Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Cypress Hill was the first Latino hip-hop group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide...
Mellow Man Ace
Mellow Man Ace
Ulpiano Sergio Reyes , better known as Mellow Man Ace, is an American rapper. He is best known for his hit single "Mentirosa"...

- Rapper
Teófilo Stevenson
Teófilo Stevenson
Teófilo Stevenson Lawrence or Teófilo Stevenson is a former Cuban amateur boxer. He is one of the only three boxers to win three Olympic gold medals, alongside Hungarian László Papp and fellow Cuban Félix Savón....

- Amateur boxer
Félix Savón
Félix Savón
Félix Savón Fabre is a Cuban heavyweight boxer, a winner of three gold medals at the Olympic Games. Savón is considered a legend in amateur boxing and has won six world titles....

- Amateur boxer
Alexis Rubalcaba
Alexis Rubalcaba
Alexis Rubalcaba is a retired boxer from Cuba, who competed in the Super Heavyweight division. He twice represented his native country at the Summer Olympics: in 1996 and 2000. One of his biggest achievements in amateur boxing was winning the gold medal at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg,...

- Amateur boxer
Kid Chocolate
Kid Chocolate
For the boxer of the same nickname see Peter Quillin.Eligio Sardiñas Montalvo , better known as Kid Chocolate, was a Cuban boxer who enjoyed wild success both in the boxing ring and in society life during a span of the 1930s.-Biography:Eligio Montaldo, also nicknamed The Cuban Bon Bon, learned how...

- Boxer (Former World Featherweight & Junior Lightweight Champion)
José Nápoles
José Napoles
José Ángel Nápoles, nicknamed Mantequilla , is a Cuban-Mexican boxer and former world welterweight champion, who is frequently ranked as one of the greatest fighters of all time in that division...

- Boxer (Former World Welterweight Champion; also known as 'Mantequilla' Nápoles).
Joel Casamayor
Joel Casamayor
Joel "El Cepillo" Casamayor Johnson is a Cuban boxer, who turned pro after defecting to the United States on the eve of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The nickname "El Cepillo", literally translated to "the brush", comes from his uppercut, which rakes his opponents across the face...

- Boxer (WBC Lightweight Champion)
Sugar Ramos
Sugar Ramos
Ultiminio Ramos is a Cuban-Mexican boxer who is better known as Sugar Ramos. Ramos fought out of Mexico where he was adopted as a national hero...

- Boxer (Former WBA Featherweight Champion)
Sergio Oliva
Sergio Oliva
Sergio Oliva is a bodybuilder known as "The Myth". This sobriquet was given to him by bodybuilder/writer Rick Wayne. Wayne had begun calling Oliva "The Myth" ""....

- Body builder (Only bodybuilder to have ever beaten Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....

in a Mr Olympia competition)
Tony Oliva
Tony Oliva
Tony Pedro Oliva is a former Major League Baseball right fielder and designated hitter. He played his entire 15-year baseball career for the Minnesota Twins . He batted left-handed and threw right-handed...

- Three-Time batting champion
Javier Sotomayor
Javier Sotomayor
Javier Sotomayor Sanabria is a Cuban former track and field athlete who specialized in the high jump and is the current world record holder. The 1992 Olympic champion, he was the dominant high jumper of the 1990s; he is the only person ever to have cleared 8 feet . He is widely regarded as the...

- Holds world record in high jump
Ana Fidelia Quirot
Ana Fidelia Quirot
Ana Fidelia Quirot is a female athlete from Cuba, who specialised in the 800 m but was also successful over 400 m....

- Athlete
Gipsy Moreno - Athlete
Regla Torres
Regla Torres
Regla Torres Herrera is a Cuban volleyball player who has won three Olympic gold medals with her first being at the young, for volleyball, age of 17. She has played on the international circuit since she was 14...

- Volleyball player
Gilbert Arenas
Gilbert Arenas
Gilbert Jay Arenas, Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association . He plays as a point guard and shooting guard....

- NBA
Cristóbal Torriente
Cristóbal Torriente
Cristóbal Torriente was a Cuban outfielder in Negro league baseball with the Cuban Stars, All Nations, Chicago American Giants, Kansas City Monarchs and Detroit Stars over a career that lasted from 1914 to 1928, plus a single game in 1932.-Negro league career:Torriente was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba...

- Negro League Baseball Hall of Fame
Martín Dihigo
Martín Dihigo
Martín Magdaleno Dihigo Llanos was a Cuban player in baseball's Negro leagues and Latin American leagues who excelled at several positions, primarily as a pitcher and second baseman...

- Negro League Baseball Hall of Fame
Orestes Kindelán
Orestes Kindelán
Orestes Kindelán Olivares is the most prolific home run hitter in the history of post-revolutionary Cuban baseball, well known as "El Cañon de Dos Rios" and one of the offensive stars of the Cuban national baseball team, which won numerous World Cups and two Olympic gold medals during his tenure...

- The most prolific home run hitter in the history of amateur Cuban baseball
José Contreras
José Contreras
José Ariel Contreras Camejo is a right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who is currently with the Philadelphia Phillies...

- MLB
Orlando Hernández
Orlando Hernández
Orlando Hernández Pedroso , nicknamed "El Duque", is a former Cuban right-handed baseball pitcher....

- MLB
Liván Hernández
Liván Hernández
Eisler Liván Hernández Carrera is a Cuban professional baseball pitcher. He is the half-brother of pitcher Orlando "El Duque" Hernández.-Playing career:...

- MLB
Alexei Ramirez
Alexei Ramírez
Alexei Fernando Ramírez is a Major League Baseball second baseman and shortstop for the Chicago White Sox...

- MLB
Brayan Peña
Brayan Peña
Brayan Eduardo Peña is a catcher for the Kansas City Royals.-Early years:Peña was a member of the Cuban National 18 and under team as a youth. He graduated from Espa Julio Trigo Junior College in Costa Rica...

- MLB
Tony Pérez
Tony Pérez
Atanasio Pérez Rigal , more commonly known as Tony Pérez, is a former Major League Baseball player. He was also known by the nickname "Big Dog," "Big Doggie," and "Doggie."...

- MLB (Hall of Fame)
Laz Alonso
Laz Alonso
Lazaro "Laz" Alonso is an American film and television actor. He is best known for playing Tsu'tey in James Cameron's science fiction film Avatar. He is also well known for his role as Fenix "Rise" Calderon in the film Fast & Furious. Alonso has had roles in other films such as Jarhead, This...

- Actor (This Christmas)
Christina Milian
Christina Milian
Christine Flores , better known by her stage name Christina Milian , is an American singer-songwriter, actress, dancer, and model....

- Actress
Gina Torres
Gina Torres
Gina Torres is an American television and movie actress. She is known for her roles in science fiction and fantasy. She has appeared in many television series, including Hercules: The Legendary Journeys , Xena: Warrior Princess , the short-lived Cleopatra 2525, as well as Alias , Firefly Gina...

- Actress
Rosario Dawson
Rosario Dawson
Rosario Isabel Dawson is an American actress, singer, and writer. She has appeared in films such as Kids, Men in Black II, 25th Hour, Sin City, Clerks II, Rent, Death Proof, The Rundown, Eagle Eye, Alexander, Seven Pounds, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and Unstoppable.-Early...

- Actress
Faizon Love
Faizon Love
Faizon Andre Love is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for roles in the films Friday, Elf, Made, and Couples Retreat.-Life and career:...

- Actor
Lola Falana
Lola Falana
Lola Falana is an American singer, dancer, and actress of Cuban and African American descent. Falana's father left Cuba to become a welder in the United States, where he met his wife...
Luis Moro
Luis Moro
Luis Moro is a Cuban-born American actor, filmmaker, and writer. He first gained notability for co-writing, producing and acting in the film Anne B. Real, which was nominated for two Independent Spirit Award...

- Actor/Filmmaker
Matt Cedeño
Matt Cedeño
Matt Cedeño is an American actor and former male fashion model.He was born in Moses Lake, Washington to an Afro-Cuban father and an Irish-English mother. He became a model doing gigs in Milan, Spain, New York and Los Angeles, which Cedeno juggled, along with academics, until he finished school...

- Actor/Model
Renny Arozarena
Renny Arozarena
Renny Arozarena is a Cuban actor, born in Havana in 1971.He started acting as a child, making his professional debut on the stage in leading roles in Andoba, Santa Camila de la Habana Vieja, Romeo et Juliette, Othello, among others. He is now director of a theatre group...

- Actor
Juan Almeida Bosque
Juan Almeida Bosque
Juan Almeida Bosque was a Cuban politician and one of the original commanders of the Cuban Revolution. After the 1959 revolution, he was a prominent figure in the Communist Party of Cuba; at the time of his death in 2009, he was a Vice-President of the Cuban Council of State and was its third...

- Politician and composer
Esteban Lazo Hernández
Esteban Lazo Hernández
Juan Esteban Lazo Hernández is a vice-president of the Cuban Council of State and a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba.- References :...

- Politician
Juan Gomez Gonzalez Garcia Hernandez - Luchador (Masked Wrestler)
Pia Conde
Pia Conde
Pia Conde is a Swedish journalist and television presenter at SVT.She started her career at TV4 hosting the daily news broadcast TV4Nyheterna, and later the Sunday breakfast television programme Söndagsmorgon....

- Swedish journalist and TV-personality
Laz Alonso
Laz Alonso
Lazaro "Laz" Alonso is an American film and television actor. He is best known for playing Tsu'tey in James Cameron's science fiction film Avatar. He is also well known for his role as Fenix "Rise" Calderon in the film Fast & Furious. Alonso has had roles in other films such as Jarhead, This...

- Actor

Human rights and democracy activists

Jorge Luis García Pérez
Jorge Luis García Pérez
Jorge Luis García Pérez is a human right and democracy activist in Cuba.Antúnez was jailed for 17 years from 1990 to 2007. Other dissidents have referred to Antúnez as Cuba's Nelson Mandela....

- the famous democracy activist spent 17 years in jail
Guillermo Fariñas
Guillermo Fariñas
Guillermo Fariñas Hernández is a Cuban doctor of psychology, independent journalist and political dissident in Cuba. He has conducted 23 hunger strikes over the years to protest various elements of the Cuban regime. He has stated that he is ready to die in the struggle against censorship in...
Oscar Elías Biscet
Oscar Elías Biscet
Óscar Elías Biscet González , is a Cuban medical professional and a noted advocate for human rights and democratic freedoms in Cuba. He is also the founder of the Lawton Foundation....
Orlando Zapata Tamayo
Orlando Zapata Tamayo
Orlando Zapata Tamayo was a Cuban mason, plumber, and political activist and prisoner who died after fasting for more than 80 days.-Political affiliation:...

- Famous prisoner who died fasting to protest unjust imprisonment and torture of political prisoners. Has become a martyr among human right activists.

Afrocubanismo Movement in the 1920s and 1930s

History of the Movement

Results of the Movement

Demographics

Afro-Cuban descendants in Africa

Religion

Music

Language

Racial Consciousness

Haitian Creole among Afro-Cubans

List of Famous Afro-Cubans

Human rights and democracy activists

See also