This series of invaluable albums, recorded in situ in different areas of Cuba—and produced by musicologist María Teresa Linares—constitute one of the best-preserved records of the diverse roots of most of Afro-Latin music today. The volume we selected, dedicated to the tradition of the Tambor Yuka, of Congo origin, and preserved in rural communities in the province of Pinar del Río in the west of the island, is particularly special, since this tradition predates many of the genres developed near Havana. The Tambor Yuka is essentially a party, where people eat roasted pork, drink aguardiente, and sing and dance to a group of drums made of wood from avocado trees and tuned by way of fire.

“Se Formó un Dilema” not only is a sort of jam session at the party, but also a piece where we can hear the traditional Yuka drums and the clave—the fundamental rhythm of salsa—coexisting together in a conversational and rhythmic flow.