afro-cuban

afro-cuban — adjective

1. linked to people in Cuba whose ancestors came from Africa, or to the music, danc

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

linked to people in Cuba whose ancestors came from Africa, or to the music, dance, and religious traditions that grew from blending African and Cuban cultures.

Example

Mongo Santamaría helped bring Afro-Cuban rhythms to American jazz audiences in the 1950s.

attributive: Afro-Cuban + noun (rhythms)

The dance class teaches steps from rumba, mambo, and other Afro-Cuban traditions.

collocation: Afro-Cuban traditions / dance

Common collocations
  • Afro-Cuban jazz
  • Afro-Cuban rhythms
  • Afro-Cuban music
  • Afro-Cuban dance
  • Afro-Cuban religion
  • Afro-Cuban traditions
  • Afro-Cuban community
Synonyms
  • Cuban-African

    rare reversal; not the standard form in music or academic writing

Grammar Patterns

Afro-Cuban + noun (music, dance, religion, community)

Usage Note

Always written with two capital letters and a hyphen: 'Afro-Cuban', not 'afro cuban' or 'afrocuban'. Most often used attributively before nouns like 'music', 'jazz', 'rhythms', 'dance', or 'religion'; less common when describing people directly.

Common Mistakes

She loves afrocuban music.
She loves Afro-Cuban music.
the word needs both capitals and a hyphen.
The drummer plays African-Cuban jazz.
The drummer plays Afro-Cuban jazz.
the fixed form uses the prefix 'Afro-', not the full word 'African'.

Word family

  • Afro-Cuban jazz
    nounC1

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • Afro-Cuban jazz
  • Afro-Cuban rhythms
  • Afro-Cuban culture

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Formed in English in the early 20th century by combining the prefix 'Afro-' (from Latin 'Afer', meaning African) with 'Cuban'. The term spread globally from the 1940s onward as musicians like Mario Bauzá and Dizzy Gillespie fused Cuban dance rhythms with American jazz, giving rise to the genre label 'Afro-Cuban jazz'.