Cuba

Cuba is famous for son cubano, the rhythm that gave the world salsa, and for the dance music that grew out of it: mambo, cha-cha-cha, and timba. The island is also the home of the bolero, of Afro-Cuban jazz, and of the nueva trova singer-songwriter tradition. From Buena Vista Social Club to Gente de Zona, Cuban styles have shaped Latin music worldwide.

Son cubano is the older Cuban music that took shape in the eastern provinces in the late 1800s and reached Havana in the 1920s, built on the clave rhythm with tres, bongos, and vocals. Salsa is the New York reinterpretation of son and related Cuban styles by Puerto Rican and Cuban musicians from the late 1960s onward. Salsa would not exist without son, but son is the older root.

The canonical names include Beny Moré, Pérez Prado, Celia Cruz, Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer, Omara Portuondo, Silvio Rodríguez, Pablo Milanés, Chucho Valdés, and Juan Formell of Los Van Van. Among the modern generation, Gente de Zona and Orishas brought Cuban music to global pop and hip-hop audiences.

Buena Vista Social Club was a 1997 album produced by Ry Cooder that brought together a group of veteran Cuban musicians, most of whom had been retired or out of the spotlight for decades. The record sold millions worldwide, won a Grammy, and reintroduced son and bolero to a new global audience, turning Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer, and Omara Portuondo into late-life international stars.

Contemporary Cuban music is dominated by cubatón, the local strain of reggaeton, and by a still-vital timba scene. The 2021 song Patria y Vida, recorded by Yotuel, Gente de Zona, Descemer Bueno, Maykel Osorbo, and El Funky, became a global protest anthem and won two Latin Grammys. Older masters like Silvio Rodríguez and Omara Portuondo continue to record and perform.

Last reviewed: 2026-05