Article: Island history plays into Sica's Afro-Puerto Rican rhythms.(Arts and Lifestyle)

Byline: Bob Young

The Buena Vista Social Club may have done a world of good introducing Western audiences to older styles of Cuban music, but it also managed to spread one unfortunate misconception: that Afro-Cuban music is the only tropical sound with roots in Mother Africa.

Not so, says Desmar Guevara, pianist and founder of the band Sica.

"When most people who are not Latino talk about Latin music as only Afro-Cuban," he said, "they don't consider the African influences in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Colombia.

"The African culture is very strong there, too. Especially in Puerto Rico."

Guevara and his ...

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