Music of Cuba | |
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Religious music | |
Traditional music | |
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Music awards | Beny Moré Award |
Nationalistic and patriotic songs | |
National anthem | La Bayamesa |
Regional music | |
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Nueva trova is a movement in Cuban music that emerged around 1967/68 after the Cuban Revolution of 1959, and the consequent political and social changes.
Nueva trova has its roots in the traditional trova, but differs from it because its content is, in the widest sense, political. It combines traditional folk music idioms with 'progressive' and often politicized lyrics. It is related to nueva canción in Latin America, especially Chile and Argentina. Some of the nueva trova musicians were also influenced by rock and pop of that time.
Nueva trova is defined by its connection with Castro's revolution, and by its lyrics, which tried to escape the banalities of life by concentrating on socialism, injustice, sexism, colonialism, racism and similar 'serious' issues. Haydée Santamaría was the creator and sponsor of this movement.
Nueva trova was one aspect of the Pan-Latin American "new song movement" which tended to use lyrics that were self-consciously literary, formal and schooled. Another influence was that of filín (feeling), a romantic song movement of the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Pablo Milanés, for one, was a filín singer.
At approximately the same time as the rise of nueva trova, similar musical genres across the world were increasing in popularity as part of a roots revival; these involved the popularization of traditional music welded with socio-political lyrics. Nueva trova was most closely influenced by South American (especially Chilean) nueva canción, Spanish Nova Cançó, Bolivian canto nuevo, Portuguese canto livre and nova canção, and Brazilian Tropicalismo. At about the same time, Puerto Ricans like Roy Brown, Andrés Jiménez, Antonio Cabán Vale and the group Haciendo Punto en Otro Son also became popular.