What is Cuban music?
'''Cuban music''' comes from the [[Caribbean]] island of [[Cuba]]. Cuba has developed a wide range of musical styles, which draw on its cultural origins in [[Europe]] and [[Africa]]. Cuba's music has been hugely popular and influential throughout the world. It has been perhaps the most popular form of [[world music]] since the introduction of recording technology. The music of Cuba, including the instruments and the dances, is mostly of European ([[Spain|Spanish]]) and African origin. Most forms of the present day are fusions and mixtures of these two great sources. The original inhabitants of Cuba died out, and little remains of their traditions. == Overview == Large numbers of African slaves and European (mostly Spanish) immigrants came to Cuba and brought their own forms of music to the island. European dances and folk musics included the [[zapateo]], the [[fandango]], the [[paso doble]], the [[minuet]], the [[gavotte]], the [[contradanza]], and the [[waltz]] appeared among the urban whites. The African slaves and their descendants made many percussion instruments and preserved rhythms they had known in their homeland.<ref>Ortiz, Fernando 1952. ''Los instrumentos de la musica Afrocubana''. 5 volumes, La Habana.</ref> The most important instruments were the drums. Also important are the [[claves]], two short hardwood batons, and the [[cajón]], a wooden box, originally made from crates. Claves are still used often, and cajons (''cajones'') were used widely during periods when the drum was banned. The great instrumental contribution of the Spanish was their [[guitar]], but even more important was the tradition of European [[musical notation]] and techniques of [[musical composition]].<ref>Discussed in more detail by Carpentier, Alejo 2001 [1945]. ''Music in Cuba''. Minniapolis MN.</ref> Fernando Ortíz described Cuba's musical innovations as arising from the interplay between African slaves settled on large [[sugar]] [[plantation]]s and Spanish or [[Canary Islands|Canary Island]]ers who grew [[tobacco]] on sm