Also enjoyed by more than just practicing Santeros is the musical influences of Santeria. Since an entire generation of Cuban artists fled or were exiled from the island when the Communist Fidel Castro came into power, the development of Cuban music suffered greatly. As a result of this missing domestic creativity, modern Cuban music is a fusion of different genres from abroad. With each imported genre, Cubans have added their own spin to the music. Though pure Cuban music is now rare, one surviving element of the native music is the upbeat rhythm produced by the usage of 3 different hand drums called tambors. These drums are thought to have a soul and stem from Santerian rituals. Each drum is believed to communicate with a voice specific to itself and are the voice of the orishas. One such drum is the bata. This drum is used to produce rhythms known as a "conversation." It is played at …show more content…
It is widely known that many Cuban leaders have were practicing Santeros during their tenure as the head of the nation. Former Cuban president Gerardo Machado y Morales, and former dictator Fulgencio Batista, were acknowledged active practitioners of Santeria. Not only do Santeros believe that these leaders manage the island nation according to their Santerian beliefs, but also that the leaders themselves are chosen due to their religious involvement. The most recent regime change between Batista and Fidel Castro, in Castro’s favor, is supposed to have occurred because of the many ebbos made on his behalf (Gonzalez, 1994). Castro is said to be a devout Santero and one of the strongest spiritually. With this revelation, it’s no mystery why Santeria survived and flourished during a half-century of religious oppression, while numbers in the Cuban Catholic church