Oye!

A little shout-out to a professor and friend of mine, Ken Schweitzer, ethnomusicologist and professor of Music and all things syncopated, who has posted a link to his online article about the religious music of Santeria in Cuba. I studied this a bit with him my senior year, and even got to play piano with his Afro-Cuban Ensemble. I became pretty fascinated with his research, and the way the music of Havana is valued as higher than entertainment value, it's a central and highly personal aspect of their entire culture. It's a precious few who get to see the rituals and touch the sacred drums, but over the years Ken has cultivated close friendships to the people and the country to bring back and share with the musically-impassioned such as myself. But I'll let the article speak for itself!