Danzon, Cuba’s National Dance, Lives on in Mexico Agence France-Presse
go to original November 4, 2017

Danzon In Veracruz (Gary Conklin)

Glowing in a yellow lace dress, Carolina Salinas fans herself languidly while the band burns through the sultry rhythms of the “danzon,” Cuba’s national dance.

But this is no Havana night club. In fact, danzon has virtually vanished from Cuba. Today, it is being kept alive thanks largely to a passionate group of Mexican fans like Salinas.

Danzon, a music and dance style blending European and African influences, was born in Cuba in the 19th century.

Its birthday is often given as January 1, 1879 — the date of a New Year’s concert where Cuban composer Miguel Failde premiered a new song, Las Alturas de Simpson , that took the traditional French contredanse and injected it with spicy Latin beats.

The dance that grew up around this new genre is characterised by upright posture, swaying steps and repeating refrains during which the couples strut arm in arm or the women fan themselves coquettishly.

In the Mexican port of Veracruz, across the Gulf of Mexico from Cuba, couples gather four times a week to dance danzon, twirling around the central square in fedoras and evening gowns that evoke a bygone era.

Read the rest at Agence France-Presse

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