The Sancti Spiritus Punto: identity and cultural heritage of the Cuban nation

Abstract

Introduction. The Punto Cubano is one of the oldest musical expressions within country music. Its use extends mainly from the central to the western region. It includes two variants: Punto Fijo (fixed) and Punto Libre (free) and, in turn, they include historical, cultural and musical specificities. Although there are several studies about its use and history, they lack the specificities that distinguish the Sancti Spiritus region and that contribute a new categorization within country music, given the variety of tunes, the use of voices and the authenticity of the musical instruments used. The objective was to describe the social practice of Sancti Spiritus Punto. Methods. For the development of the research, methods of the qualitative paradigm were used, such as documentary review, unstructured and in-depth interviews, listening to sound files from different historical periods, and participant observation. Case studies of musical bands and radio broadcasting programs were carried out. Results. The following results were obtained: a new conceptualization of the Sancti Spiritus Punto, general characterization of country music in that Cuban province. Socio-historical studies of the country parties of the province; life stories of improvising poets and tonadistas (Punto singers). Conclusions: scientific theoretical elements were provided, based on the characterization carried out in the field work. The results obtained were provided to the cultural institutions of the province and included in the teaching process as well as in university extracurricular activities. An institutional project was created with the objective of safeguarding this practice.