Afro-Cuban

American  

[af-roh-kyoo-buhn] / ˈæf roʊˈkyu bən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Black people of Cuban origin and African ancestry.

   an Afro-Cuban movie director.

2. combining elements of Black African culture with those of Cuban culture.

   Afro-Cuban religion.

---

noun

1. a Black person of Cuban origin and African ancestry.

   an engineering scholarship for Afro-Cubans.

2. percussive Latin music originating in Cuba and showing strong African rhythmic influence.

   a distinctive blend of jazz, Afro-Cuban, and hip-hop.

Afro-Cuban British  

adjective

1. of or relating to a type of jazz influenced by Cuban variants of African rhythms Compare Cu-bop

---

Etymology

Origin of Afro-Cuban

First recorded in 1890–95; Afro- ( def. ) + Cuban ( def. )

Example Sentences

When photographer Tyler Mitchell first visited Havana over a decade ago, he was captivated by Afro-Cuban culture—the centuries-old buildings and spiritual practices rooted in West African traditions.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026

Roughly 8 feet square, this dense frontal forest of figures—part human, part animal, part vegetal—in acidic blues, yellows and greens, is Cubist, Surrealist, Afro-Cuban.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 31, 2026

Experts estimate that as many, or more, also follow Afro-Cuban traditions such as Santeria that intermingle with Catholicism.

From Seattle Times • May 16, 2024

In some ways, Arocena’s tendency to mix Afro-Cuban folkloric music, post-salsa “timba” music and outside influences like R&B reflected the mid-2010s Havana scene that Peterson encountered, one that produced the funk master Cimafunk.

From New York Times • Feb. 20, 2024

The families in our building are a mix of Sephardic Jews from Turkey and Afro-Cubans, and Teresita’s family is Afro-Cuban.

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar