Rumba from Colonialism to Castro

If there is one rhythm that is representative of transformations in Cuban identity through colonialism and slavery, liberation and republic, revolution and dictatorship, and socialist republic— it is the rumba. Its transformation from a prohibited working-class dance in colonial times to a national symbol of Cuba promoted by the socialist government of Castro is a testament to the powerful interplay of politics and culture in the creation of national identity.
The rumba originated on the docks and streets of Matanza and Havana. Ethnomusicologists assert that it began in the mid-nineteenth century as a recreation rhythm for working-class people in the cities. Communities in the urban capitals would gather to dance and play the rumba. In the colonial period, the rumba was a condemned genre because it was lower class and viewed as lewd and improper revelry. But what was once a dance of only lower class black Cubans has become a national symbol in the second half of the twentieth century. Its nationalization was promoted by the Castro government, which understood that the dance was representative of the masses— the working class— that constituted the demographic bedrock of the communist state. The revolution signified a change in lifestyle, and the promotion of the rumba was a legitimizing tactic. The rhythm, which was once perceived as a threat to the government and that colonial governments ordered to be repressed, was considered by Castro to possess the spirit of the masses and therefore was in harmony with the communist ideology.