Introduction
In Cuba, slaves were able to preserve their religions and transmit them from generation to generation by way of their music. Slaves were allowed to dance in the streets on certain occasions, such as the Epiphany, the Carnival and the Feast of St. John, which coincided with the summer solstice and the feast of the powerful Yoruba god Oggún. This process of syncretism, or the blending of two heterogeneous cultural traditions that results in a third, accelerated the absorption of African music and rituals into the national culture of Cuba. Cuban music developed along three fundamental lines: religious music, which remained almost intact since its inception and kept very close to its African models; dance hall music, which kept European instrumentation and structures but gradually added African rhythmic cells and percussion, and street music, which was performed regularly in the poor communities known as solares, and during the carnival<more>

Miguel Failde
(1854-1926)
Born in Matanzas into a family of musicians, Failde created his own Orquesta Tipica which played danzas, waltzes, pasodobles and other dance hall pieces. Held in great esteem, Failde's orchestra was in a privileged position to introduce further changes into the danza form. In 1879 he composed "Las Alturas de Simpson," officially considered the first danzon. Other well-known composition by Failde are "Cuba Libre", "El mondonguito",and "A La Habana me voy."

Damaso Perez Prado
(1921-1989)
Known as "The Mambo King," Perez Prado was one of the most influential pop orchestra leaders of the early 1950s. His concept of the mambo began to develop around 1943, incorporating elements of American jazz. Jazz writer and critic Ralph J. Gleason reported that "Prez" talked to him about the mambo as being a combination od Afro-Cuban music with American swing. Mambo produced the greatest world-wide dance craze since the tango and the rumba, appearing in famous movies like Fellini's "La Dolce Vita."

Chano Pozo
(1915-1948)
The legendary Cuban percussionist, singer, dancer and composer Luciano Pozo is credited with being the most influential figure in the development of Latin jazz and incorporating religious drumming into Cuban orchestras, which until then had only used bongos and timbales. He got his start after moving to New York in 1947, where he met Dizzy Gillespie, who had become interested in Afro-Cuban percussion. Among his features with Dizzy were "Cubana Be," "Cubana Bop," "Tin Tin Deo" and "Manteca." Pozo co-wrote "Tin Tin Deo" and "Manteca."