Legacy of Resistance: 18th Edition of Timbalaye: The Rumba Route

Under the slogan “Todos somos rumberos y cimarrones,” and with red as the festival’s signature promotional color, the 18th edition of Timbalaye: The Rumba Route will take place from August 19 to 30 at various venues across Havana.

The festival, which seeks to highlight the historical strength of Afro-descendant communities and their legacy of resistance, will center its program on cimarronaje, recognized as one of the most significant historical and spiritual pillars of Caribbean identity, according to a post by the National Council of Houses of Culture on its Facebook page.

The festival will officially open on Wednesday, August 19, at 10:00 a.m. local time in the Salón de Mayo at Pabellón Cuba. Poet and ethnologist Dr. Miguel Barnet will take part in a conversation with young artists from the Hermanos Saíz Association about the process of cimarronaje.

This year’s festival pays tribute to the 60th anniversary of the first edition of Biography of a Runaway Slave, Barnet’s landmark work. The book recounts the life of Esteban Montejo, considered the last cimarrón known to have been documented, in 1963.

The following day, Thursday, August 20, at 10:00 a.m. local time, Dr. Miguel Barnet will be the keynote speaker at the International Symposium Cimarronaje: Living Memory, to be held at the Casa de África in Havana’s Historic Center. The symposium will also feature Mexican scholar Dr. Patricia González and Italian scholar Dr. Elena Zapponi.

At 5:00 p.m. local time, the Joseíto Fernández Cultural Center will host an afternoon concert featuring performances by professional and amateur artists.

This year’s edition will also feature community activities at the Joseíto Fernández Cultural Center, Callejón de Hamel, the Quisicuaba Project in the municipality of Centro Habana, and Pabellón Cuba.

Translated by Luis E. Amador Dominguez