1. Title of the Project:

Oyá Temple Community Culture Project

2. Name of the Performing Art Concerned in the Project

• Folk dance/roots (Afro-Cuban dance, Haitian dance, Tumba Francesa)
• Percussion

3. Geographic location of the Community

Talla-Piedra District 54, Havana Vieja, Havana City, Republic of Cuba

4. Introduction of the Performing Art

Afro-Cuban Dance
The dances of the individual Yoruba tribal gods (Oricha) are being passed on to the next generation while the value and oral nature of dance is exemplified. When African people were brought to Cuba as slaves, they were forced to accept Catholicism by their planter masters. The Africans created a religious syncretism, pairing ceremonies performed in their native lands with those for Catholic saints.

The faith and customs of the Africans were handed down from generation to generation by Cubans and today constitute a syncretic entity, and part of the cultural identity of Cubans. Currently between 60% and 70% of Cubans are thought to practise a religion known as Regia de Ocha, or the Palo Monte, Ifa, or Abakuá faiths.

Haitian Dance and Tumba Francesa
As with Creole, these dances have been promoted through education by Haitian descendents. They display the traditional cultural values; rhythm and ritual brought into Cuba by the Haitian slaves under colonisation.

Today, Haitian Dance and Tumba Francesa are being passed down to future generations in the three regions of Cuba’s eastern province. As internationally recognised traditions with original expressions, together with Creole these dances were proclaimed “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO in 2003.

Percussion: Percussion Born in Africa
Percussion performances are indispensable for the performance of Afro-Cuban dance, Haitian dance, and Tumba Francesa that have been passed down to us from our ancestors.

5. Problems the community faced before the launch of the project, and the factors which caused the decline of and threatened the performing art

The young people in Talla-Piedra District 54 usually attend school; however, in reality, many young people walk around the slum area. Reaching the age of 13 or 14, they quit school to help their family with work or housework. It affects the high crime-potential index in the area.

Today, these young people attend traditional performing arts classes provided by this project, covering the community’s cultural and social needs. By transforming their behaviour patterns, personal interests, and tastes (sense), some 150 young people are discovering vital motivation and futures for themselves with a more favorable economic outlook.

The main problem within the community was lack of cultural and artistic space. The Cristina Road area has no parks, movie or video theatres, or sporting areas. Residents go to neighbouring areas to meet these needs.

The community projects provide undiscriminating and free opportunities to learn nine different traditional performing arts to interested members of the community and its surrounding communities. These efforts have enabled the participants to use not only their free time but also socially required time effectively, as well as conveying aspects of individual cultural elements and helping to preserve the folk traditions of our country.

6. Details of the project for solving problems of the performing art, especially who and how it started, finance, and involvement of younger generation

Ms Nancy Pullés Méndez has been involved in the organisation of the project. Young people were fascinated by festival music and the images of their ancestors. Ms. Méndez brought the young people to a small, austere Oyá house where such activities have been practiced for 20 years. Because of this, this community had inherent ethnic credentials. Thanks to the young people, a phenomenally large number of people became involved in the project, leading to the preservation of our roots.

The project’s main objectives and goals

• to save and preserve intangible cultural heritage in danger of disappearing by actively practising much of the practical cultural heritage bequeathed and passed down to the present generation by our ancestors
• to provide appropriate education to the young people of this poorly resourced area, enabling them to gain cultural grounding, as well as improve their quality of life by changing their practices, habits, and state of material/spiritual satisfaction, equipping them short-term with the capacity to earn economic compensation
• to transform this project into a large-scale art school; that is to say, transform the project into one of the needs of the community itself