ABSTRACT
In March 1964, the Jose Marti National Library and the Folklore Department of the National Theater of Cuba produced an unprecedented evening performance, El Concierto de Musica Abakua. It was directed by Argeliers Leon, an ethno-musicologist and protege of Fernando Ortiz. The new National Theater of Cuba was founded soon after the January 1959 triumphal entrance of Fidel Castro into Havana and the American-sponsored flight of dictator Fulgencio Batista into exile. It was housed in the modern National Theater building with its monument to Jose Marti and Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Folklore education, including music and dance, quickly became part of the national school curriculum, and a system of aficionado schools for amateur performers was established. The new institution's organization reflected the historical demographic profile of Cuban government, academy, media and society. Black faces were simply hard to find in the new revolutionary hierarchy but they were plentiful in the performance stratum of the Conjunto.
