The practice of Cuban Son declared World Cultural Heritage

The practice of Cuban Son was inscribed in December 2025 on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, organised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Son is a traditional music and dance practice that blends singing, instruments, rhythm and movement. It is performed in pairs or groups and combines improvisation with structured patterns. Son includes lyrics drawn from daily life, which are passed down orally, and brings together African and European musical influences. The dance is closely connected to the music, with the bass and instruments guiding the dancers’ steps. The practice involves various roles such as singers, dancers, composers, musicians and instrument makers. The singer leads the performance, often improvising verses and guiding the dance, while the ‘tres’ (a string instrument) plays a key musical role.

Son can be danced freely or with set choreography, often with the man leading the rhythm and steps. Son is passed down through both formal and informal education. Families, community gatherings and bands play an important part in transmitting the skills and traditions to younger generations. Elders share their knowledge, and schools and cultural centres include Son in their programmes to keep the practice alive. Son strengthens community bonds and contributes to the oral transmission of popular culture. It also promotes creativity, communication and a shared sense of heritage, belonging and identity both within and beyond the community.

Francisco “Pancho” Amat who is one of the best exponents of Cuban Son and a prestigious Cuban tres player said: “…In addition to the Cubans who are celebrating this great news, the Caribbean people who have contributed new nuances, the Europeans, the Asians and all those who practice it through music, dance, and singing, those who listen to it and love it, everyone is celebrating today.”

Son is one of the artistic expressions that identify Cuban popular and traditional culture and therefore has special importance in the formation of the nation’s cultural identity.

The practice of this genre, in its different variations, has transcended time. It maintains total vitality throughout the country and all over the entire world, and an example of it is the work carried out by prestigious musicians such as the Puerto Rican Gilberto Santa Rosa, who said:

“…Please, allow me to join the celebration. I think that such recognition has been possible thanks to the work carried out by Cuban Maestro Adalberto Álvarez, and also to all son followers of all times for having defended Cuban Son and kept it alive. I am pleased to celebrate it with you and, at the same time, to celebrate myself, because I am a lifelong follower of Son…”.

From its origins in eastern Cuba, the particular way of creating Cuban son has become a cornerstone of Cuban music, rooted in African and Spanish cultures.

Link to original declaration of UNESCO