Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Havana, August 25 - The 17th International Rumba Festival Timbalaye kicks off today with a program centered around ancestral voices, under the slogan “Hay un congo cara,” highlighting elements brought from Africa that have shaped the identity of this island. The 2025 edition will emphasize the voice of the Congo ethnic group, which arrived here on slave ships, along with the rich cultural heritage they have left over the past five centuries.
From August 25 to 31, the festival will take place along the Route of the Rumba to convey that vibrant essence throughout the provinces, as expressed by Irma Castillo, the vice president of Timbalaye, in a press conference.
The ancestral voices of the congos in the rumba, Castillo added, will be the focal point of the festival this year, and the event will be characterized by green, a color symbolizing the energy of this group.
On Sunday, August 24, a pre-festival took place at the Pabellón Cuba with children’s projects and cultural promoters.
The opening ceremony will be held at the Casa de Las Américas featuring the international Timbalaye colloquium and a keynote lecture on the congos and Palo Monte by ethnologist Miguel Barnet.
However, the official inauguration will take place at Plaza Vieja, in the heart of Old Havana, an area where cultural centers, such as galleries, art development venues, concert halls, and a wide array of leisure and entertainment spaces converge.
The 2025 International Rumba Festival Timbalaye has been organized with a structure deeply rooted in our ancestors.
According to the vice president of the event, the program is structured around very specific activities, such as “Tras las huellas del legado” (In the Footsteps of the Legacy), which emphasizes oral tradition; “Las voces ancestrales” (The Ancestral Voices), which focuses on identifying songs; and exploring the legacy of dance, highlighting the importance of fostering the movement that transmits and preserves this knowledge.
“Living in the neighborhoods,” she added, because it is in the community where these types of knowledge and experiences can be experienced, and in every territory, we can witness living expressions of heritage related to the congos, emphasized Castillo.
In the following days, the festival will travel through various neighborhoods in Havana and will extend to provinces like Matanzas, Cienfuegos, and Villa Clara, where the festival will conclude its journey across Cuba.
Among the congos, a green color associated with life, renewal, energy, and strength, along with a plant called siguaraya that will also have a prominent role with plantings across the country, will feature in the rumba performances in Cuba, embodying the hope of preserving our entire cultural heritage.
Timbalaye is an international promoter of Cuban culture, founded in 1999 by Castillo, María Elena Mora, and Ulises Mora. Its driving force is the Rumba, recognized as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, a genre that connects the island with the world. (PL) (Photo: Internet)
