Timbalaye Festival reasserts African influence on Cuba

CAMAGÜEY, Cuba, August 26 (ACN) The 17th International Festival “Timbalaye”, dedicated to exalting the culture of Congo and the African diaspora in the Caribbean as a pillar of Cuban identity, concluded in this city.

According to Yoelxy Pillinier, president of the Slave Route Committee, “Timbalaye” strengthens the link with rumba as a source of pride in the legacy of the ancestors, in line with the Congolese proverb that guides the festival: The footprints of those who walked together never fade.

“This edition consolidates the festival as an essential space for the study and preservation of the African roots that make up the Cuban cultural universe and project its identity to the world”, he pointed out.

During the panel "Traces of Congo Culture in the Province of Camagüey", held on Monday, Professor Isel Balibrea remarked that this region was a major economic source developed mostly by Congolese, Carabalí, and Mandinka slaves, who created town councils and mutual aid societies to adapt to the new environment, where they left their mark on music, dance, the visual arts, and culinary practices.

Roberto Peña, a scholar of religious traditions, presented the results of research (2017-2019) on the particularities of the Palo Monte tradition in the province and emphasized the need to protect it as part of the formation of Cuba's identity.