January 21: Rumba!

Erin Lynch

Whoever thought I would look forward to a Monday! Today's agenda included classroom time in the morning, lunch, and then a visit to Casa de Africa and Rumba Lessons! Unfortunately, our visit to Casa de Africa was postponed a day, and so instead we visited the Union de Escritores and Artistas de Cuba (Writers and Artists of Cuba).

Students waiting patiently outside Casa de Africa

At the UNEAC, we heard from an author and what it takes to write and publish books in Cuba, and afterward we visited their bookstore.

At 4pm, we were scheduled for our group Rumba Lesson. We had very few dancers in the group, but overall, I think we did pretty well. It was so interesting to hear the origins of the dance. What was very interesting is that there was live music! No audio files to mess with just a lovely band to keep the rhythm going.

After our lesson, the two instructors showed us some more complex dancing. The long skirt can be replaced with a scarf, and like many dance styles, it is a complex game of cat and mouse.

We all had fun, we learned more about the written word and the importance of dance in Cuba, and had a pretty good day.