Violin - Mediating Musical Style and Devotional Practice in 21st-Century Cuba

Afrodescendant religious music in the Caribbean and Latin America typically foregrounds drumming and centuries-old songs of praise to spirit deities. In recent years, a new form of worship, known as a violín or toque de violín, which features the violin alongside the guitar, electronic piano, and/or other instruments commonly associated with popular music, has gained popularity in Cuba. Violines can be understood as loosely defined spaces for performance that developed in a context of cultural oppression and dominance. They can be viewed as a concession to Eurocentric and secular tastes, or as a blackening/creolizing of those same practices, or both. They express religious faith in pluralistic ways, incorporating repertoire from various Black religions alongside influences from folk Catholicism, and classical, commercial, and folkloric music. Drawing from an encyclopedic knowledge of Cuban music, ethnographic work, and interviews, Robin D. Moore's groundbreaking book is the first to explore the compelling violín ceremony in detail.

List of contents

List of figures; Acknowledgments; Glossary; Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Situating violines; 3. Spiritism and Violines Espirituales; 4. Violines a Ochún and Orisha Praise; 5. Performance dynamics in Toques de Violín; 6. Violines abroad; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

About the author

Robin D. Moore is Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of Texas, Austin. He is the editor and co-author of Music and Revolution. Cultural Change in Socialist Cuba (2006), Musics of Latin America (2012), College Music Curricula for a New Century (2017), and Fernando Ortiz on Music (2018).

Product details

• Authors: Robin D. Moore, Robin D. (University of Texas Moore
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 30.11.2025
• EAN: 9781009584012
• ISBN: 978-1-0-0958401-2
• No. of pages: 246
• Series: Afro-Latin America
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Music > Music theory; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Music, History: specific events & topics, North America, Cuba, HISTORY / Latin America / General, 21st Century, Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography, 21st century history: from c 2000 -, 21st century, c 2000 to c 2100, History of Music, Theory of music & musicology, Social and cultural anthropology, History of the Americas, Popular Music, Black & Asian Studies, Theory of music and musicology, Sacred and religious music, Sacred & Religious Music, Other non-Christian religions, Relating to people of the African diasporas / heritage, Afro-American / African diaspora religions