The practice of Cuban Son | Global Knowledge Systems

Overview

Son is a traditional music and dance practice that blends singing, instruments, rhythm and movement. It is performed in pairs or groups and combines improvisation with structured patterns. Son includes lyrics drawn from daily life, which are passed down orally, and brings together African and European musical influences. The dance is closely connected to the music, with the bass and instruments guiding the dancers steps. The practice involves various roles such as singers, dancers, composers, musicians and instrument makers. The singer leads the performance, often improvising verses and guiding the dance, while the ‘tres’ (a string instrument) plays a key musical role. Son can be danced freely or with set choreography, often with the man leading the rhythm and steps. Son is passed down through both formal and informal education. Families, community gatherings and bands play an...

This record is imported from the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage public dataset as discovery metadata. ARED has not independently verified community authority, access protocols or local naming beyond the source record.

Community and Authority

Communities: Cuba
Languages: Not specified in UNESCO dataset
Cultural territories: Cuba
Countries: Cuba

How the System Works

Music, Performance and Oral Literature Material Culture, Design and Technology Migration, Diaspora and Urban Life Ways of Knowing and Knowledge Transmission

Sources and Evidence

Imported from UNESCO DataHub dataset ich001. Field-level provenance is retained in the record metadata.

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage ListsDataset

Open original source record

Field-Level Provenance

title: UNESCO DataHub field title_en
preferredTitle: UNESCO DataHub field title_fr
summary: UNESCO DataHub field description_en
type: UNESCO DataHub fields type_of_element_en and type_acronym
countries: UNESCO DataHub field countries, ISO codes resolved with ISO-3166 regional metadata
categories: ARED category inference from UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names and title
relationships: UNESCO concepts_primary_names, concepts_secondary_names, type fields and World Heritage links
sourceUrl: UNESCO DataHub field http_url_en
rights: UNESCO DataHub dataset metadata license and license_url

Original Source Metadata

uuid1be1ab35-737b-40d8-8122-82b00c6a2708

ich_public_ref2299

inscription_year2025

title_enThe practice of Cuban Son

title_frLa pratique du son cubain

type_of_element_enRepresentative List

type_acronymRL

countriesCU

http_url_enhttps://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/02299

concepts_primary_namesDance, Instrumental music, Vocal music

concepts_secondary_namesChoreography, Community participation, Diaspora, Emotions, Family role, Improvisation, Instrument making, Multiculturalism, Urban spaces

main_image_urlhttps://ich.unesco.org/img/photo/thumb/18485-LRG.jpg

main_image_caption_enPresentation of the group Los Richards in the Céspedes Park of the city of Bayamo

main_image_copyrightConsejo Nacional de Patrimonio, 2023, Cuba

main_image_authorArchive of the National Council of Cultural Heritage

videos

images[object Object], [object Object], [object Object]

Why This Record Is Credible

This public record is connected to 1 source and has been labelled Source Supported. ARED separates evidence sources from cultural authority so users can see both provenance and review limits.

Cultural Access

Use this as public discovery metadata only. It does not replace community authority or local access protocols.

Relationships

Dance Instrumental music Vocal music Choreography Community participation Diaspora Emotions Family role Improvisation Instrument making Multiculturalism UNESCO representative list

Review and Corrections

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