Africando All Stars

Africa and Cuba may be separated by thousands of miles of ocean, but they share profound cultural connections. Cuban music is heavily rooted in the rythmes and instruments brought by African slaves to the New World. In the 1930s, Cuban 78s began making their way back to Africa, where people heard something familiar and compelling deep within the syncopated rhytmes and call-and-response melodies. By the 1950s and 60s, the influence of the Cuban sound had swept across West Africa. The connection between African and Cuban music is maintained in the work of Africando, which was founded in 1992 by Cuban-trained Malian musician Boncana Maïga, Senegalese producer Ibrahim Sylla and a trio of West African vocalists. With a constantly shifting roster that unites Latin and African music legends, Africando blends the best of two worlds to create an exciting fusion with global appeal. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.