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At once spicy hot and languorously sweet, Putumayo Presents Cuba is a passionate marriage of active and passive, masculine and feminine, a contemporary festival of sound whose roots were born in defiance of onerous distraction and oppression. Based on Afro-Cuban culture, whose music comes from a com...

Salsa, Merengue, Mambo!...

Steel Drum Party...

Cuba Si: Pure Cuban Flavor...

The Caribbean is home to a string of tourism-friendly island nations and some of the world's most amazing music. Along with lush vegetation, sugar-sand beaches, and spicy food, each island is defined by its local sound, which remains fairly consistent whether the lyrics deal with partying, courtship...

A well chosen compilation of 12 songs, "Afro Latino" features artists from both sides of the Atlantic, including some based in the USA. The marriage of African and Cuban rhythm and tradition is incredibly fertile, witnessed by the many different takes on this most sensual and swinging mix from Cuba,...

Afro-Cuba: A Musical Anthology...

When someone is struck with a truly great notion, like this record's concept, you feel grateful, and at the same time you wonder why no one thought of it before. This disc is clearly made from a near-sacred mission to redeem Haiti and its vodou culture. During slavery days, Jacob Boukman, who was sh...

Why is it that island cultures so often create the most magical, deeply individual sounds? Is it because they are usually miles away from corrupting outside influences? Perhaps it is due to the fact that they are forced to create music from their own inner resources. The powerful voices of Jamaican ...

These recordings of Santería drumming and singing rituals feature four Cuban Santería groups calling the gods (orishas) by performing rythmic sequences called orus. Recorded in the Cuban provinces of Matanzas and Havana City in 1983–1984, these ceremonies and drums have their roots in the ancien...