The passing of Cuban dancer Zenaida Armenteros not only leaves the legacy of her art, but also that of her concern to preserve Cuba’s cultural heritage
It seems that she was always at the top: first dancer, first singer and first actress of the Conjunto Folclorico Nacional (National Folkloric Ensemble), and one of its founders; called by critics “the most complete folklorist in Cuba” and “one of the most integral Cuban artists”; known as the Ayagba (which in the Yoruba language means The Queen). She also was given the National Dance Award in 2005 and Artist of Merit from UNEAC.
But Zenaida Armenteros, who died in September 2025 in Havana, at the age of 94, came from very humble origins. She was born in 1931 in the Carraguao neighbourhood, in a working-class family. In school the teachers taught her to love Martí and Maceo; and from life in her community in Cerro her passion and talent for singing and dancing emerged.
Many years later she said: “Dancing is part of my life, and I have so many experiences of all these African traditions since I was a child, that it gives me strength to interpret all the orishas”.
Those were not easy times in her early youth to make a living from art, but Zenaida sought paths in radio, television, cinema and cabaret; and without ever going to a music school she laid the foundations of an exquisite professionalism, which blossomed with the creation of the Foclorico, and the lessons of Rogelio Martínez Furé, Rodolfo Reyes and Ramiro Guerra. Because she not only had aptitude, but the memory of people in herself.
From the first performances of the Folclorico, Zenaida sang and danced the Yoruba and Congo cycles, the comparsas and the popular dances, and introduced guarachas and habaneras, sones and criollas. “She fully understood and projected what Ramiro Guerra called the theatricalization of folklore in works such as Alafín de Oyó and Palenque, in which she streamed her knowledge and multiple talents to become one of the icons of popular culture brought to the stage, applauded in more than 50 countries on all continents.”
On hearing the news of her death, many Cuban personalities and institutions have conveyed their sorrow; among them the Cuban President, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, who deeply regretted “the death of one of the greatest exponents of Cuban folklore.”
In addition to her energy on stage, her albums, the films, Zenaida was a teacher, who was very concerned about taking care of traditions, because “there are places where the songs and melodic lines are being deformed, and we have to fight so that this does not happen”. She called for study and preservation: “The richness of African culture is very great and very important for us.” In pursuit of this, she watched over the group to which she dedicated a good part of her life, and in the workshops and courses she taught.
And there, distinguished, honoured, awarded, she continued to find all the impulse in her roots: “I feel an immense love for my people. I owe my successes to them.” Behind her a path has been cleared: the Ayagba will continue to reign.
About folkloric dance and the CFNC
The Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba was founded after the Revolution in 1962 to preserve Cuban dances and music with African roots. It brought ritual dances into a secular setting and in choreographed versions on national stages. It laid the foundation for a new Cuban identity and was important to strengthen the African culture of the island as a part of national heritage. Contemporary productions always had a focus on folkloric elements and the history of the island.
The fusion of European-Spanish traditions with African elements is well-known for popular dances, such as salsa, son, bolero, danzón or cha cha chá. Over the centuries of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, different ethnic groups from West and Central Africa arrived. Some of them re-established themselves in “cabildos de nación”, mutual-aid societies. Their dances, drums and languages with specific origins became a part of Cuban culture. Many are practiced in the sphere of religious and ritual communities, like santería, palo, arará or abakuá, others are secular, like rumba, conga or tumba francesa.
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