Afro-Cuban Traditional Music and Transculturation

the long version

How are new musical traditions formed? This is the central question guiding this book on an Afro-Cuban ceremony sometimes called cajón pa` los muertos, a spirit-possession ritual that has been developed in Cuba over the past few decades. Cajón ceremonies are deftly sculpted from a wealth of religious influences including Santeria, Palo, Espiritismo, and Catholicism. Grupo Cuero y Cajón, the case study for this book, provide insight into how songs and rhythms are created for these ceremonies while also bringing together older separate traditions into a new whole. This process of transculturation requires preservation and innovation but also shows musicians as integral to the creation of religious practices. As the first work in any language to study Cajón ceremonies, this book documents the songs used in the ceremonies and the eclectic drum rhythms that accompany them.