The City of Matanzas

Matanzas is a city of 250,000 people 100 km east of Havana and is the capital of a province of the same name.  It is a hemispheric seat of African culture, with many cabildos, or self help cultural organizations formed under slavery, and many music groups.  The first of the cabildos dates back to 1806.

The Red Barrial Afrodescendiente has a chapter in Barrio Marina, Matanzas. They are a community organization implanted in many Havana barrios and support community self help. Barrio Marina, Barrio Simpson and Pueblo Nuevo are among the more African areas of Matanzas.

The Centro Cultural Comunitario Nelson Barrera is located in Barrio Marina, where many members of Afrocuba de Matanzas and los Muñequitos de Matanzas live. They are two of the most impressive traditional groups in Cuba. Centro Barrera was founded by rumberas who want to promote a non misogynist approach to culture.

Matanzas is a sister city to Pittsburgh, PA in a program that has enabled both sides to engage their respective institutions and resources in an open structure.  It has for example made possible direct donations to the city hospitals in Matanzas through Global Link, which has a Treasury license to move medical aid.

Matanzas Province was the site of a vicious US biowar attack in 1997 which had long lasting effects on the output of crops grown in the province.

For more on the music in Matanzas, check out our music page under Matanzas for the groups and for the performers.

See also www.afrocuba.org/emoma.htm for an interesting set of pages on artists in Matanzas maintained by Maria Esther Ortiz, whose own page is at www.afrocuba.org/maria.htm