Cuba
CUBA - I came accross this exciting scene while traveling through the country working on a project about the roots of African music in Cuba for Rolling Stone Magazine. We stopped in Matanzas, a city on the north shore of the island about one hour east of Havana known for it Afro-Cuban folklore. Our goal was to spend sometime with the folkloric group Los Munequitos de Matanzas, and our visit with them led to an invitation to a Santeria ceremony. Santeria is a system of beliefs that merges the Yoruba religion (brought to Cuba by enslaved West Africans) with Roman Catholic and Native American traditions. The visual convergence of cultures mixed with a back ground of intense drumming was the culmination of our journey.