Ambassadors of Rumba

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national ambassadors of rumba.

Performances by this troupe of fifteen singers, dancers, and drummers are like living lessons in 500 years of Afro-Cuban history. This show is their first visit to Ann Arbor since a sold-out show at Power Center in 1998. That performance, in typical Muñequitos form, dazzled the audience with a scorching blend of artistry and athleticism. As is customary in Cuba, their concert opened with an invocation of African Yoruba and Abacua orishas (deities) accompanied by the bata (a two-headed drum), congas, claves (rhythm sticks), and cajones (wooden boxes). Originally makeshift instruments (empty codfish containers) played by slaves when drums were banned by the Spanish, cajones are now an integral part of Cuban rumba.