Miguel "Angá" Díaz
One of the key percussionists in timba's development — Miguel "Angá" Díaz was a conga player whose deep Afro-Cuban religious background informed the percussive character of the timba groups he worked with.
About
Angá Díaz was a percussionist rooted in the Afro-Cuban religious traditions of Havana — batá, rumba, and conga — who brought that foundation to the timba context. His work helped establish the character of timba percussion: the way Afro-Cuban religious rhythms are incorporated into the popular dance framework, the dense polyrhythmic layering, the energy level that distinguishes timba's rhythmic texture from earlier Cuban popular music.
He died in 2006, cutting short a career that was central to understanding how Afro-Cuban tradition and contemporary popular music connect in timba.
Timba is the music this site is dedicated to exploring. It emerged as a distinct genre in the late 1980s and crystallized in the early 1990s — born in a moment of social crisis, built on the full accumulated history of Cuban music, and still evolving today.
Lees meer >Rumba is the most African-rooted of all Cuban music and dance forms — born in the streets, courtyards, and docks of Havana and Matanzas in the late 19th century, with no European instruments, no salon setting, and no pretense of European propriety.
Lees meer >Rumba is the most African-rooted of all Cuban music and dance forms — born in the streets, courtyards, and docks of Havana and Matanzas in the late 19th century, with no European instruments, no salon setting, and no pretense of European propriety.
Lees meer >Cuban music is built on percussion. The extraordinary density and variety of Cuban rhythmic culture reflects the meeting of West and Central African drumming traditions with Spanish, Haitian, and creole musical practices over four centuries. The instruments below form the core percussive vocabulary heard across Son, Rumba, Timba, Danzón, and their descendants.
Lees meer >The batá drums are a set of three double-headed hourglass-shaped drums central to Yoruba religious tradition and Afro-Cuban sacred music (Lucumí / Santería).
Lees meer >A Cuban popular dance music genre that emerged in the 1980s–90s
- emerged in the 1980s–90s
- influenced by songo, rumba, funk, blues, jazz, pop, rock and Afro-Cuban rhythms.
- Known for complex rhythm shifts, aggressive bass lines, and high energy that push dancers to improvise.
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