Punto Cubano: Cuba's Sung Poetry Declared UNESCO Heritage

In the Cuban countryside, where royal palms sway in the breeze and the scent of tobacco fills the air, one of the Caribbean’s most extraordinary poetic traditions was born: punto cubano. This musical expression of the guajiros —Cuba’s farmers— was recognized in December 2017 as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, an honor celebrating centuries of sung poetry, improvisation, and peasant soul.

Origins: From Spain to the Cuban Countryside

Punto cubano traces its roots to the Spanish poetic tradition brought to Cuba by the first colonizers in the 16th and 17th centuries. The décima espinela —a ten-line octosyllabic stanza with an ABBAACCDDC rhyme scheme created by poet Vicente Espinel (1550-1624)— found fertile ground on the island where it blossomed in ways its creator never imagined.

In the rustic bohíos (peasant huts), far from cities and elite salons, guajiros adopted the décima as their natural form of expression. They didn’t need to read or write: the rhythmic structure of the décima facilitated oral transmission, and generation after generation, Cuban farmers perfected the art of singing improvised verses.

By the 18th century, the décima had become a distinctly Cuban form. The poet Juan Cristóbal Nápoles Fajardo, known as El Cucalambé, established it as the quintessential stanza of peasant poetry in the 19th century, fusing the image of the guajiro with Cuba’s natural landscape.

Anatomy of Punto Cubano

The Music

Punto cubano is performed with a typical ensemble including:

• The Cuban tres: a guitar with three pairs of strings, the melodic soul of punto
• The laúd: of Arab-Spanish origin, providing melodic ornaments
• The guitar: harmonic support
• Claves: marking the base rhythm
• The güiro: characteristic percussion
• The bandurria (in some regions)

Two main styles exist: punto fijo (with a set melody) and punto libre (where the singer adapts the melody to their décima). In provinces like Pinar del Río, punto libre predominates, while in Las Villas and Camagüey, punto fijo is preferred.

The Sung Décima

Each décima is a small masterpiece of ten lines where the poet must:

1. Respect the ABBAACCDDC rhyme scheme
2. Maintain eight syllables per line
3. Develop a coherent theme
4. Close with a line that summarizes or surprises

Themes range from love and nature to social satire and politics. A skilled decimista can make you laugh, cry, or think in just ten verses.

Repentismo: Poetry in Real Time

The most spectacular form of punto cubano is repentismo —instant poetic improvisation—. Repentistas create complete décimas on the spot, without preparation, responding to a theme proposed by the audience or to another poet’s verses.

The Controversia

The controversia is the supreme duel: two decimistas face off alternating décimas on the same theme, each responding to the other with wit, humor, and poetic virtuosity. The most famous controversias in Cuban history —such as those between Justo Vega and Adolfo Alfonso on the TV show Palmas y Cañas— are legendary and remembered as true cultural events.

Indio Naborí (Jesús Orta Ruiz, 1922-2005), considered Cuba’s greatest repentista, published décimas daily on radio and in newspapers for decades, elevating the peasant form to recognized literary art.

Great Voices of Punto Cubano

• Celina y Reutilio: The most emblematic duo of Cuban peasant music. Yo soy el punto cubano became the genre’s anthem.
• Indio Naborí: The greatest poet of repentismo, author of thousands of décimas and master improviser.
• Justo Vega: Legendary controversista, protagonist of unforgettable poetic duels.
• Ramón Veloz: “The Poet of the Furrow,” an unmistakable voice of the Cuban countryside.
• El Jilguero de Cienfuegos: Virtuoso exponent of the Cienfuegos style.
• Coralia Fernández: One of the great female voices of punto.
• Tomasita Quiala: Santiago singer who kept the tradition alive in eastern Cuba.

Palmas y Cañas: The Television Window

The TV show Palmas y Cañas, broadcast on Cuban television since 1962, was fundamental to punto cubano’s survival. For decades, it brought controversias and peasant singing into millions of Cuban homes, turning rural decimistas into nationally recognized figures.

The show proved that punto cubano wasn’t a relic of the past but a living tradition, capable of captivating modern audiences with the same magic as in the tobacco fields.

UNESCO Recognition (2017)

On December 6, 2017, during the 12th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage held in Jeju (South Korea), UNESCO inscribed punto cubano on its Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Cuba thus joined a select group of musical traditions recognized worldwide.

UNESCO highlighted that punto cubano:

• Transmits knowledge, values, and history of rural communities
• Fosters cultural identity and social cohesion
• Is a living form of expression that constantly renews itself
• Uniquely integrates poetry, music, and improvisation

Punto Cubano Today

Despite challenges —rural migration, cultural shifts, competition from urban genres like reggaetón— punto cubano remains alive. Festivals like the Jornada Cucalambeana in Las Tunas, the most important repentismo event in Cuba, gather thousands of fans and decimistas from across the island and abroad each year.

In the Cuban diaspora, especially in Miami and Spain, the tradition also endures. New generations of repentistas learn the art from their elders, proving that the décima has the flexibility to address any contemporary topic.

Punto cubano is, in essence, the poetic voice of Cuba’s peasant soul. As long as there’s a guajiro with a tres and a décima on their lips, this tradition will keep flourishing.

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If you’re passionate about Cuban music, also discover the history of son cubano, Cuban rumba UNESCO heritage, and the legacy of Benny Moré.