Musical “Avant-garde” and “rearguard” in Cuba: historical narratives and polemics (1961-1971)

Abstract

This work starts from a question: which has been the historiographical narrative of the Cuban musical avant-garde and its polemics? Its aim is to define the tensions that took place in musical creation at the beginning of the Cuban Revolution by examining the historiographic sources signed by its protagonists. The musical avant-garde in Cuba is located in the incipient context of the Revolution and was initially led by Juan Blanco (1919-2008) and Leo Brouwer (1939). This movement not only stood out for the technical, aesthetic and social innovation of its proposal, but it also became an artistic and ideological elite. At the same time, there was another discourse in the compositional and critical field, described as “musical rearguard” (Martín, 1971) and, therefore, postponed in the recognition and visibility of its creators. The analysis of publications where the composers debated between 1961 and 1971, on a recurring basis, La Gaceta de Cuba and the bulletin Mensajes (UNEAC) are taken as documentary reference. It reflects on four central issues identified in this controversy: the definition of “new music”, the confrontation between “avant-garde” and “musical rearguard”, the political commitment of the composers and the appreciation by the public.