The triumph of Cuban folk song

By Rafael Lam

One of the most relevant happenings in 2017 was the inclusion of

Punto Cubano in the list of Unesco’s December 6 file as World
Intangible Patrimony.

This recognition is based on the authenticity and popularity of an art

expression that originally was cultivated in rural areas of the country
and later extended to urban zones.

Accompanying the Spanish colonial settlers came the eloquent

folksong singer, who combined old Mediterranean singing styles and
the versified - rhymed lyrics of Arab influence that years later was
modified in the colonies. The folksong singer sang to the daily life of
the Spanish people through a wide variety of tunes, ten-verse
stanzas called Décima, poetry and folk songs, composed for all
occasions , including collective balls, fairs, and wedding parties
among many other festive activities.

Punto Cubano is an autochthonous gender, musically accompanied

by guitar using improvised lyrics and a wide variety of tunes. And
this has been the triumph of Celina González(Queen of country
music); Guillermo Portabales, (King of the ballroom country music);
Ramón Veloz, Coralia Fernández, Radeunda Lima, Juan Marichal ,
Patricio Lastra, Chanito Isidrón, Justo Vega, Angelito Valiente, Nene
Cruz La Calandria , José Ramón Sánchez El Madrugador ,
Rigoberto Rizo, Luis Gómez, Inocente Iznaga, Pedro Guerra and
master of the Décima ,Jesús Orta Ruiz, aka El Indio Naborí.

It is also the triumph of instrumentalists like Juan Pagés, Martín

Silveira, Miguel Puertas, Panchito Lara, Alejandro Aguilar, Raúl
Lima, Juanito Rodríguez, Miguel Ojeda, Barbarito Torres, Marcelo
Lamas and an extensive cohort of followers of the Punto Cubano,
champions of Cuban identity.