This recognition was also a way to commemorate that, one December eight years ago, this musical genre was inscribed by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Therefore, this final month of the year is fitting for a brief tribute to Cuban Punto, recalling that this poetic and musical expression of the Cuban countryside, performed in décimas, "fosters dialogue and expresses the feelings, knowledge and values of the communities that practice it," according to the statement released by UNESCO.

The origins of what is also known as Punto Guajiro date back to the musical traditions of Andalusia and the Canary Islands in Spain, consolidating as a genre in Cuba from the 18th century onward.

It is performed with instruments such as the Spanish guitar, the tres, the laúd, and the triple, as well as claves and maracas.

Cuban Punto, which has transcended rural borders, laid the foundation for the emergence of other musical forms and genres in this geography, such as montuno, guaracha, changüí, sucu-sucu, and son.

With the authenticity of its poetry and melody, it has sung to Cuban history, from the wars of independence to the present day.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff