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. …showed first 75 words of 983 total…

…showed last 75 words of 983 total…uence into music. He wrote more than 50 contradanzas, distinctive in their rhythmic structure. These contradanzas are the forerunners of the later danzones, and thereby an important source for the many musical directions taken by Cuban music. The first truly Cuban composer was Ignacio Cervantes (1847-1905) whose work was highly instrumental in the development of a national style. He combined European musical composition with elements of afrocaribbean music, his most important works being the 21 danzas cubanas.