This thesis is an ethnography and biographical study that examines the impact of the immense socioeconomic changes underway in Cuba at the turn of the 21st century and the flexible identity categories through which individuals navigate a social crisis. The biography and ethnography in this thesis are centered on the life of Violeta Aldama, an aging revolutionary and Afro-Cuban mother who struggles to make ends meet while fighting to steer her son, Brian, through a classical music education and into a music career. Amid growing racial inequalities when many Afro-Cubans are locked out of the most lucrative jobs in the new tourism sector and less likely to have family abroad sending remittances, the booming dance music industry offers the greatest promise for advancement and wealth than possibly any other profession. With the retraction of the state in a growing market economy, Violeta must scramble to build new networks of support while also coming to terms with the idea that the system she fought for all of her life will no longer be able to sustain her son. This study argues that individuals navigate through social crises through identity categories that are both socially constructed and subjectively fluid. In the process, they rely on these identity categories to build new contacts for support while also finding in them meaning and agency. I frame this thesis around three broad identity categories - race, class and national identity. The study also shows how Violeta in turn experienced these categories - as well as motherhood and her revolutionary roles - and the ways that she used them to build networks of support. The thesis is guided by the theory on lo informal developed by scholar Damián Fernández: the split in individuals between ideals and passionate beliefs versus life on the black market to help loved ones survive. The study's methodology draws from feminist ethnography, examining not only Violeta's position in society as an Afro-Cuban woman and aging revolutionary, but also my relationship with her and her son as a white, middle-class American researcher during a time when relationships with foreigners became a crucial means of social advancement. This research bridges academic areas of study regarding Cuba's growing racial inequalities and the rising economic power of the music industry. It also contributes to the academic canon on social movements by highlighting roles of individuals - not just the state or opposition alliances - as social actors.

La timba aparece en Cuba bajo el contexto del Periodo Especial, finales de la década del 80 y comienzos de los 90 del siglo pasado, período en donde el país llega a la extrema pobreza debido al colapso de la Unión Soviética y sufre represiones políticas y sociales. Bajo este difícil contexto se crea esta nueva música, trayendo consigo el sentir y la agresividad del pueblo. La presente investigación nace motivada por la ausencia de un estudio relacionado con la influencia de la performance en vivo en la ejecución del bajo eléctrico de la timba cubana de los años 90 y tiene un enfoque cualitativo, de tipo descriptivo. Se hizo una revisión bibliográfica para abarcar el contexto socio-cultural sobre el cual se desarrolla esta música, luego, se realizó una selección de dos temas representativos de la timba cubana de la década del 90 para comparar su versión estudio con la performance en vivo. “Una aventura loca” de Manolín El Médico de la Salsa (1994) y “Luz Viajera” de Issac Delgado (1997) son las canciones que se analizaron con el objetivo de identificar los aportes de la performance en vivo a la línea de bajo eléctrico de las versiones estudio, pues, en la timba, esta ejecución cobra un valor especial para los músicos que la interpretan. Asimismo, se entrevistó a dos bajistas representativos de la timba cubana para comparar sus puntos de vista, ellos son Victoriano Nápoles, bajista fundador de la orquesta de Manolín y Raúl “Avi” García, bajista actual de Havana D´Primera / Timba appears in Cuba in the context of the Special Period, at the end of the 80s and beginning of 90s of the last century, a period in which the country reached extreme poverty due to the collapse of the Soviet Union and suffered political and social repressions. Under this difficult context, this new music is created, bringing with it the feeling and aggressiveness of the people. The present investigation was born motivated by the absence of a study related to the influence of live performance on the execution of the electric bass of the Cuban timba of the 90s and has a qualitative, descriptive approach. A bibliographical review was made to cover the socio-cultural context on which this music develops, then, a selection of two representative songs of Cuban timba from the 90s was made to compare its studio version with the live performance. “Una Aventura Loca” by Manolín El Médico de la Salsa (1994) and “Luz Viajera” by Issac Delgado (1997) are the songs that were analyzed in order to identify the contributions of live performance to the electric bass line of the studio versions, therefore, in timba, this performance takes on a special value for the musicians who interpret it. Likewise, two representative bassists of Cuban timba were interviewed to compare their points of view, they are Victoriano Nápoles, founding bassist of Manolín´s orchestra and Raúl "Avi" García, current bassist of Havana D´Primera.

La Timba es un género musical cubano que causó furor en la sociedad desde el momento en que tocó los escenarios, pues cae en un momento de crisis cubana y, en medio de la represión por parte del estado cubano, la timba surge no solo como canalizador o escape del arte de su nación, sino como el reflejo del mensaje de la personalidad cubana. Por obvias razones, resulta mal vista para las autoridades de la época, pues expresa tanto el mensaje del pueblo, como las maneras en la que pretenden demostrarlo: mensajes de superación en la vida, quién toca la música más “sabrosa”; una nueva faceta romántica, balanceándose entre el deseo, el amor, la misoginia, y la seducción, provocando diversas respuestas tanto al oyente como al bailador, sin dejar de mencionar a los críticos y a la población en general. Es así como, en esta investigación, busco mostrar la manera en la que el consumo de las letras de timba cubana influye en el establecimiento de estereotipos respecto a la identidad social de la juventud cubana en la década de los 90, pues este intergénero permitió nuevos referentes de identidad social que viabilizaron esta exuberante expresión artística como instrumento de denuncia contra la dictadura cubana de la década de los ´90. Asimismo, se revisarán artículos de revistas, libros y distintos trabajos de investigación de índole musicológica, además de entrevistas y estudios de la industria musical, pues su importancia es debido a sus registros en una época tan conflictiva y la presencia de otro tipo de investigación cuando se trata de la timba cubana, un intergénero que llegó a convertirse en un fenómeno musical en todo el país. / Timba is a Cuban musical genre that caused a furor in society from the moment it hit the stages, because it falls in a moment of Cuban crisis and, in the midst of repression by the Cuban state, timba emerges not only as a channel or escape from the art of their nation, but as a reflection of the message of the Cuban personality. For obvious reasons, it is frowned upon by the authorities of the time, as it expresses both the message of the people and the ways in which they intend to demonstrate it: messages of overcoming life, who plays the "tastiest" music; a new romantic facet, swinging between desire, love, misogyny, and seduction, provoking diverse responses to both the listener and the dancer, not to mention the critics and the population in general. Thus, in this research, I seek to show the way in which the consumption of Cuban timba lyrics influences the establishment of stereotypes regarding the social identity of Cuban youth in the 1990s, since this intergenre allowed new referents of social identity that made this exuberant artistic expression viable as an instrument of denunciation against the Cuban dictatorship of the 1990s. Likewise, magazine articles, books and different research works of a musicological nature will be reviewed, in addition to interviews and studies of the music industry, since its importance is due to its records in such a conflictive period and the presence of another type of research when it comes to Cuban timba, an intergenre that became a musical phenomenon throughout the country.