Music and Dance Treasures of La Tropical

To seek the Cuban character we have to visit high value places. La Tropical stands out among them

Many times we have asked what Cubans are and what features identify us. Everyone attempts to find the answer in him or herself.

It’s difficult to find accurate definitions, but there are key factors common to us all. Researcher Fernando Ortiz said we are a great mixture in reference to the different cultural backgrounds shaping us, and music is part of it.

Music and dance is closely related to Cuban tradition, as the sense of rhythm has been a legacy from our ancestors. A variety of African sonorities intertwined giving birth to rumba and guaguancó. The results keep multiple intermediary processes. That’s why today’s genres have evolved through many years of changes.

I think about it while I walk around La Tropical, emblematic spot for dancers. Immediately the origins of the resounding timba are tracked by thinking and I imagine a great number of people cheering the orchestra.

How can we not think of all those who have ever been there offering the best of their art? With a very eloquent name this place sends its invitation to dance with the Caribbean music.

And in every note is the tribute to the greats, who left their trace in that hall, like Juan Formell. Other followers of his work make possible that casino routines be abundant today. The list would be huge; but El Charangón with Elito Revé, Alexander Abreu and Havana de Primera, Maykel Blanco and Salsa Mayor or so many other bands of great talent are worthy of the mention.

Seeking the Cuban character will need the search around different places with multiple values and La tropical stands out among them. The accelerated rhythm of life we have interferes with our appraisal of some spaces within the cultural universe.

Preserving identity also means registering the areas where the creative focus in line with our traditions is produced. It’s true that not all Cubans are expert dancers, that would be a cliché, but the instinct to move in the time with the tumbadora is common to all Cubans.

When we seek the quality we have connecting us to Cuba, we’ll find dance. This is one which is obvious to me and makes me proud of having the most musical hall of Latin America. La Tropical de la Habana, as the refrain goes, is the dancers’ palace.