CUBAN RUMBA POSTCARD

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. Rhythmically, rumba is based on the five-stroke pattern called clave (rhythm) and the inherent structure it conveys.[1] Rumba developed in the Cuban provinces of Havana and Matanzas in the late 19th century. As an energetic Afro-Cuban dance, Rumba was often suppressed and restricted because it was viewed as dangerous and lewd. Afro-Cuban rumba is entirely different than Ballroom Rumba, or the African style of pop music called rumba. Rumba developed in rural Cuba, and is still danced in Havana, Mantanzas and other Cuban cities as well as rural areas, especially those with a significant or predominant African community, although now it is infused with influences from Jazz and Hip hop.