San Cristóbal de Regla was recently invited to perform, for the first time ever outside Cuba, at the Festival de l'Imaginaire in Paris, France.
The band from Havana brought its spiritual music with percussion instruments to share with the audience. This is associated with the practice of different Afro-Cuban rituals.
'Palo Monte' is one of the main syncretic Cuban religions, with roots in the Bantu-speaking area of central Africa. 'Santería' is another Afro-Cuban religion based on the Yoruba culture, mainly from Nigeria, Togo and Benin, in west Africa.
Both 'Palo Monte' and 'Santería' originated during the Spanish colonial period in the late 16th century in the ‘cabildos de nación’, organisations composed of African slaves, free Africans and their descendants born in Cuba.
