|
|
Article: The Latin-African theme explored.(The Orange County Register)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- June 17, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
ster
The connections between Latin America and Africa run deep.
How could they not? Five hundred years ago, Spanish conquistadors made their first forays into Latin America, bringing with them African slaves. Slave importation continued for centuries, persisting in countries like Cuba all the way up to the 1880s.
For half a millenium, Spanish, Portuguese, African and indigenous peoples and cultures have mixed, creating wonderful sounds such as cumbia, rumba, samba, festejo, son and Afro-Cuban jazz.
While these sounds have been the lifeblood of Latin Americans for generations, it's only been recently that the Western recording industry ...