14 April 2016 / leggypeggy

Dance—at the heart of Cuba

Cuban dancers move to the music on Obispo Street

Did you know that Cuba gave the world two famous dances—the Cha Cha and the Mambo? Or that these two dances helped to inspire the Salsa, that hit the scene in the 1970s in New York City?

Yeah, I didn’t know either.

But on our last night in Cuba, a group of Havana’s young and energetic dancers treated us to an amazing display of their moves and talent.

Yes, he tossed her up and twirled her around. Glad it wasn’t me

It started in the late afternoon when Poor John and I were having a leisurely stroll around Old Havana. You have to soak up the culture whenever and wherever you can!

We came upon a plaza we’d visited several times before and noticed a crowd gathering in anticipation. But it wasn’t just the crowds. There were amplifiers, microphones, band instruments and the makings of a dance floor (made out of taped-together pieces of cardboard).

The street band

The singers

This is when you just have to stop and wait to see what’s going to happen. As it turned out, we waited almost an hour before anything happened. I was impressed that the crowd remained so placid and patient—not necessarily a Latin characteristic! 🙂 Although one little girl burst into tears after 20 minutes and her mum left to take her home.

But when the action started, the dancers, singers and musicians hardly took a breath—and never missed a beat or a note or a step. Or if they did, we never noticed.

I have to admit that I don’t know what dances they performed, or in what order, but they made me grin and tap my toe and want the whole experience to never end.

They even changed costumes a couple of times, which floored me because the pace was so fast I still have no idea how they managed that.

Check out these dancing moves

Even Poor John, who cringes when the word ‘dance’ is mentioned, loved the whole production. And, of course, he was mightily relieved when they didn’t drag anyone (meaning him) out of the audience to perform with them. 🙂

I don’t know if this dance extravaganza is repeated every night of the week (I sure hope so). But if you are ever in Havana in the late afternoon, head down to the far end of Obispo Street and wait for the action to begin.

P.S. Cuba’s national dance is the Danzón, and I have no idea whether it was part of this display. I presume it was. No matter, we loved every minute of this performance. What a great last night in Cuba.