When people, in general, think or speak about Cuban music, they mostly refer to the music generally known as Afro Cuban music. While it is true that Cuban music has a strong African element, there is a fundamental difference between the two: the Cuban sound has a strong melodic element that comes from Spanish roots. A marriage of traditional European music, Flamenco and Yoruba drums have given Cuban music the power to sweep the world.
When the Spanish arrived in Cubanacan, as the aboriginal inhabitants called the Island, they found it populated by Tainos, Guanatabeyes and Siboneyes, people of Arawak origin who had emigrated from the Orinoco region of present day Colombia and Venezuela. These people arrived on the Island about 900 A.D. and were established throughout the Island. The Taino lived an agricultural lifestyle and spent there days hunting and gathering .
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