CubaPLUS Magazine

In these days when Havana celebrates the XIX edition of the International Drum Festival, this seductive proposal reminds us to think and joyfully assume the leading role of that instrument in music and main dance manifestations that have been cultivated for a long time in the largest of the Antilles, with a particular identity seal.

Truth like a temple: the burning sonority, rhythmic or out of control of the rhythm of the drums traveled in the soul and in the thoughts of the unhappy slaves brought from mother Africa and already in these parts they were summoned by good spirits, revived in the material, to give joy, songs and movement. A creation that first came out of suffering hearts to give encouragement and express urgent and necessary feelings to live.

There is no musical genre or cultural and spiritual product, including poetry or religiosity, that today does not have the deep and percussive imprint of the thunder of the different drums that today are scattered throughout the Cuban geography.

The famous Cuban rumba, declared on November 30, 2016 as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, is perhaps the most famous exponent of the powerful influence of drums. But it's not just the rumba, the conga or the so-called guaguancó. All the popular orchestras and musical ensembles of small and medium size cannot do without the drums, not only marking our enviable rhythm, but announcing the perfection of our Cuban identity.

The organizers of the Guillermo Barreto In Memoriam Drum Festival, presided over by the prestigious Giraldo Piloto, know this well. A global invitation. This year, 2022, the venues are the convening Amphitheater of Havana, the Salón Rosado de la Tropical, Arcos de Belén and Hotel Nacional de Cuba, among others.

Percussive competitions, including drums, master classes, dances and other surprises will have the special edition that this March will also extend to four Havana neighborhoods. Without a doubt, the revelry will be enormous, as our omnipresent party drums deserve.