ANACAONA

the Anacaona story

biography

film, images and music

music

links

black beans

 and rum

guest book

e-mail us

imprint

ANACAONA – that’s how the Castro sisters call their son septet in 1932, taking the name from a famous native American woman who resisted the Spanish invaders in the Caribbean. They are the first women who dare to perform in public with electrifying son music and cheeky texts. Gradually all of the eleven sisters of the Castro family join the band, playing jazz, rumba, mambo and chachachá. Their popularity soars in 1938, when they tour the USA and France. The sisters impressed the audiences during six decades. As members of the eldest all-women orchestra of Cuba they retired in 1989.

back to  language selection

Copyright  ©

Manfred Schäfer/Ingrid Kummels