Cuba’s Trinidad opened its arms to 2024 Timbalaye Festival

The 16th edition of the 2024 Timbalaye International Festival: The Route of Rumba, held in Trinidad, Cuba, shows the validity of cultural and religious traditions preserved in this area of the country.

The event, which is taking place in all Cuban provinces, is dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Route of Enslaved People, sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The Festival began on La Boca beach, in front of the blue waters, where musicians from different folkloric groups accompanied a soloist who played Yemayá (virgin of Regla), a deity belonging to the Yoruba pantheon.

The program also included a visit to the temple houses of Yemayá and San Lázaro (Babalú Ayé), where the sound of drums and güiros was heard, and there was space for a conference that addressed the issues of both temple houses from an anthropological perspective.

Researcher and museologist José Antonio Pérez spoke about the process of transculturization in Trinidad and Cuba, and pointed out that in Cuba’s third village, “African presence was very important.”

He noted that in the so-called Museum City of the Caribbean, “the legacy of singing in the African language is preserved,” something that must continue to be preserved, he added.

The priest of the temple house of Yemayá and representative of the Baba locha house, Israel Bravo, was in charge of the opening on La Boca beach, while in the afternoon Noslen Vega welcomed the visitors at the temple house of San Lázaro, as its representative.

Bravo told Prensa Latina that the Yemayá temple house has been open since 1978, and “people from all over the country and even foreign tourists who visit this heritage city come to it.”

“Attributes found in this house, which still preserves the slaves’ quarters, are dedicated to this deity. Yemayá is the mother of water and fish, a symbol of life, represented by a black image with a white child in her arms,” he explained.