Afro-Cuban - Afrocubanismo Movement in The 1920s and 1930s - History of The Movement

History of The Movement

The movement evolved from an interest in the rediscovery of African heritage. It developed in two very different stages. The first stage stemmed from European artists and intellectuals who were interested in African art and musical folk forms. This stage paralleled the Harlem Renaissance in New York, Négritude in the French Caribbean, and coincided with stylistic European Vanguard (like cubism and its representation of African masks). It was characterized by the participation of white intellectuals like Cubans Alejo Carpentier, Fortunato Vizcarrondo and Lydia Cabrera, Puerto Rican Luis Palés Matos, and Spaniards Pablo Picasso and Roger de Lauria. The African-inspired art that was produced in this early part of the movement was extremely picturesque but lacked a true understanding of black culture. The art tended to represent Afro-Cubans with cliché images like a black man sitting beneath a palm tree with a cigar.

Although the depth of the first stage was shallow, it paved the way for Afro-Cubans to be recognized for their artistic ability. The influence of black writers in Cuba dates back to the early 17th century but it took the participation of the white intellectuals to bring their talent to the foreground.

Once white poets and intellectuals began publishing their work in the 20s with an Afro-Cuban subject matter, other poems and essays by black writers began to be published in the 30s in newspapers, magazines and books where they discussed their own personal heritage. Afro-Cuban artists began to realize that the movement brought light to the once-marginalized black race and culture. It became a symbol of empowerment and individuality for Afro-Cubans within the established Western culture of the Americas and Europe.

This empowerment became a catalyst for the second stage to be characterized by Afro-Cuban artists making art that truly reflected what it meant to be Afro-Cuban. Beginning in the 1930s this stage depicted a more serious view of black culture like African religions and the struggles associated with slavery. The main protagonist during this stage of the movement was Nicolas Guillen.