Oriente

Oriente: The eastern region of Cuba, more commonly known as Oriente, has developed and preserved its culture, standing up to its rival Havana, the distant capital some thousand kilometers away. This is where the first clash on Cuban territory took place with the Spanish conquerors, which had turned Santiago de Cuba into a harbor base for the arrival of African slaves.

Despite Havana's securing first place in importance (it became the natural stopover for Spaniards traveling on to Mexico and South America), Santiago and Oriente upheld intense economic activity during quite a few centuries. The region prospered with the arrival of thousands of French colonists and their slaves, which fled from Santo Domingo where an anti slave and anti colonist revolution was taking place. With the addition of the Tainos and Siboneyes Indians, who managed to survive the former conquerors, the region is considered a rich and unique mixture of races with multiple traditions, combining the Spanish, African, French and Indian cultures.

Proud of its rebellious traditions and more impregnated with Africa than Havana is, the Oriente region has been able to preserve its cultural traditions and has invented a handful of major musical forms, among them the son and the bolero.