When Cuba is mentioned in the world, many images come to mind. A picture of the Capitol, the paradisiacal beaches of white sands, a good tobacco from Pinar del Río and, above all, the rhythm, that rhythm that each Cuban carries inside and that everyone who visits our island comes to love.

Really knowing Cuba means walking through its streets under the hot sun, sitting in front of the sea in the evenings just to refresh, dance with our music in every corner, and enjoy the pregones in the streets of our villages. To truly visit Cuba is to live its culture and experience its traditions.

And the thing is that music in Cuba is like air: it is everywhere and you cannot escape from it. This Caribbean island is known for its virtuous singers, for its catchy rhythms, for the skill of its musicians.

From percussion to jazz

In Cuba the mixture of rhythms is the most common, the same is heard a yoruba drum that a violin, as well as mixed with funk. Innovation, always in the hands of tradition, characterises the musicians of the island who have been internationally recognised for their compositions.

From the famous bongosero Mongo Santamaría, winner of the Latin Grammy in 1976; Pancho Terry, the well-known King of the Chequeré, who dazzles on stage with the most prestigious jazz orchestras in Cuba; even the young and equally talented Ernán López Nussa and Papacho Savón, our country has great percussionists and jazz players, recognised all over the world.

The fusion in Cuba: where to listen to the best music

Music fusion is one of the most developed genres on the island in recent decades. With a born curiosity that leads its musicians to mix the best of the classic rhythms of the island, with the most outstanding at an international level, the fusion on the island has led to the birth of artists of the stature of the young Cimafunk, who mixes the Afro-Cuban genres with modern funk and the famous Eme Alfonso, heiress of one of the most prestigious musical families of the island. There are also groups such as Pablo Menéndez and his band Mezcla, with a contagious mix of jazz, trova, rock and rumba.

Approaching music in Cuba is really simple. The island always seeks to promote young musicians and highlights spaces in which the groups can present themselves. Places like the Fábrica de Arte Cubano, perfect mix of music, art, fashion and coffee; El Submarino Amarillo, where rock and roll has a perennial dwelling; festivals such as the International Drum Festival, the International Jazz Festival of Havana and the renowned Havana World Music that gathers groups from all over the world in a single point of the Havana capital, are just some samples of how music is lived in Cuba.

Do not miss our island, enjoy our traditional rhythms, and dance with the best and newest of our music. To listen to us is to surprise you, it is to love every little detail that makes us Cubans and of which we are so proud.

Havana Music School invites you not only to listen, but also to learn.