Afro-Cuban

[af-roh-kyoo-buhn]

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

adjective

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Afro-Cuban¹

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

Example Sentences

Born in Cuba’s working-class neighborhoods — known colloquially as repartos — this hyperkinetic fusion of reggaetón, timba and Afro-Cuban rhythms has become the island’s score.

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In 2010, a Super Bowl in Miami — home of salsa and Afro-Cuban jazz — gave us the Who ... who are also from England.

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Premiering on Friday, this new documentary tells the story of Omara Portuondo, the legendary Afro-Cuban chanteuse who rose to international fame with the Buena Vista Social Club.

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Directed by Hugo Perez, the feature — which premieres Sept. 26 on your local PBS channel — tells Portuondo’s personal history not only through the lens of her Afro-Cuban heritage but also through the prism of a woman confronting the realities of Cuba’s longstanding political strife.

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“Afro-Cuban is where we get the music,” explained Palmieri in a 2012 interview with the Smithsonian Oral History Project.

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