Music in Havana at the Dawn of the perıódo especial: the Emergence of Timba

At the beginning of the 1990s, the disintegration of the Soviet Union precipitated Cuba into an abysmal economic and social crisis. Within the space of a few months, the island lost most of her foreign trade partners and saw the living conditions of her citizens reach fourth world levels. The beginning of the perı´odo especial, as it was euphemistically called, brought to Cubans material problems and spiritual suffering in every possible aspect of their lives, and marked dramatic social changes. To try to revive the country’s waning finances, the government turned to tourism and introduced a series of previously inconceivable economic reforms, softening its position on ideological matters.