Anacaona (band)

Anacaona is the name of an all-female orchestra, founded in Havana in the early 1930s by Concepción "Cuchito" Castro Zaldarriaga and her sisters. Eventually, all 11 sisters joined the band.[1] The band was formed during the Machado era when the political situation led to university closings, forcing Cuchito Castro to abandon her studies and her plan to start a dental practice. Instead, she chose a different career in 1932 by proposing a female septet to challenge the male-dominated son music. At the time, it was believed women were not capable of playing son.[2] The band enjoyed close musical ties with well-known Cuban performers, in particular with Ignacio Piñeiro and Lázaro Herrera of the Septeto Nacional.[3] Graciela, whose brother Machito laid the foundations of Latin Jazz, was Anacaona's lead singer for a decade.[4]

  1. ^ BBC interview with Ingrid Kummels, April 30, 2007.
  2. ^ Castro, Alicia (2007). Queens of Havana : the amazing adventures of Anacaona, Cuba's legendary all-girl dance band. Kummels, Ingrid., Schäfer, Manfred. (1st American ed.). New York: Grove Press. ISBN 978-0802118561. OCLC 154669096.
  3. ^ Moore, Robin D. (1997). Nationalizing blackness : afrocubanismo and artistic revolution in Havana, 1920-1940. Pittsburgh, Pa.: University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 9780822956457. OCLC 42854815.
  4. ^ Vazquez, Alexandra T. (3 June 2013). Listening in detail : performances of Cuban music. Durham. ISBN 9780822354581. OCLC 826895169.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)