Table of Contents

The Highest-Priced Slaves; Drums of War; "We Have Always Had the Drum"; Zarabanda's Mambo; The Areito and the Romance; By Post from the Indies; The Shipyard; The Fertile Crescent; The Atlantis of the Caribbean; Buying Whites and Selling Blacks: A Contradanza; La Nuit des Tropiques; The Western and Central Sudanic Blues; The Congo That Was Cuba; A Secret Language, for Men Only; Hiding in Plain Sight; The Romance of Revolution; Rumba; Fire; Marti's Monster; Guitar and Piano; If He Bathes, He Splashes You; The Tango Age; Tres and Bongo; The Dance of the Millions; The Son Boom; The Mulata Love triangles; The Peanut Vendor; The Fall; The Revolution of 1933; The Liberation of the Drum; Nague, Nague, Nague, Nague; Mano a Mano; Biablo!; Life is a Dream; Mambo Number Five; Television; Index.

About the Author

Ned Sublette is the co-founder of the Qbadisc record label. He has co-produced the public radio program 'Afropop Worldwide' for seven years and travelled frequently to Cuba since 1990. He lives in New York City.

Reviews

"As enthralling as it is comprehensive, [Sublette's] book breathes life and fire into the whole history of Cuban music." --Bonnie Raitt

"As enthralling as it is comprehensive, [Sublette's] book breathes life and fire into the whole history of Cuban music." --Bonnie Raitt

As the cofounder of the important Cuban music label Qbadisc and coproducer of public radio's Afropop Worldwide, Sublette is a well-known figure among elite mambo aficionados. Still, the sheer size and historical precision that makes this volume essential is a bit surprising coming from this proud nonacademic. The first two chapters, for instance, offer a fascinating narrative that explains the complex formulation of Iberian culture, beginning with the appearance of Phoenician traders in what is now the southern Spanish city of C diz in 1104 B.C. When the Cuban story finally kicks in with chapter five, Sublette makes the most of his prehistory to create a visceral and astute vision of the island as incubator of musical revolution. Most of the story has been told before, but rarely in such painstaking detail, and Sublette's easygoing and engaging writing style makes the reading almost painless, although sometimes his analysis is overly determined by politics. His most important accomplishment is combining information from rarely translated musicological works from Cuba with data from his active involvement with surviving giants of the music to produce one sustained, living history. Given all this, it is odd that he ends the book so abruptly, in 1952, especially since he has participated so much in the music's recent permutations. While not exactly for beginners, this book is a solid, supremely lush effort. (June) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.