CubaPLUS Magazine

The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage approved the inclusion of the Cuban point or guajiro point in its representative list, reported Unesco. At this week's meeting on the island of Jeju, in the Republic of Korea, the Cuban point got the nod to enter that list, which includes forms of expression that testify to the diversity of intangible heritage and contribute to raise awareness about its importance. According to the statement released by Unesco from its headquarters in Paris, the point is a poetic and musical expression of the Cuban guajiros consisting of a tune or melody accompanied by the voice of a person who sings poetic compositions in tenths, improvised or learned . "This musical practice is an essential element of the Cuban intangible cultural heritage, open to all, which encourages dialogue and expresses the feelings, knowledge and values ​​of the communities that practice it," added the text. He also said that techniques and knowledge linked to the Guajiro point are transmitted essentially through imitation, and also through a teaching program taught in the Houses of Culture throughout the country, with workshops encouraged by the depositaries and practitioners of this musical genre. The candidacy file submitted by the Caribbean nation indicated that 'the point is the poetry and music of the Cuban peasants', and although it is characteristic of the countryside, it has spread to the rest of the population. "The families that dominate this discipline form groups, manufacture their own instruments, and organize and promote the representations," the text said. In addition to the Cuban point, another eight new inscriptions were also decided on the list of intangible heritage, such as the ritual tours in La Paz during the Alasita Fair in Bolivia; the Kochari, a traditional Armenian collective dance; and the cabinetry of Konjic, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Last year Cuba achieved the inclusion of the rumba in the list, a recognition to that musical and danceable genre representative of the culture and tradition in the Caribbean nation.