In Dancing with the Enemy Deborah Pacini Hernandez discusses Cuban music and its role in global markets. She discusses the African diaspora, and its affect on world music. A particularly dominant influence on popular music is Afro-Cuban music. She continues by discussing the marketability of African music, especially with respect to its "authenticity". She talks about the evolution of salsa and its cousin salsa romantica as an example of the success of Cuban music on a world stage. The Cuban government steals the focus of her paper, as she begins a discussion of Postrevolutionary Cuban music, after institutionalized racism is removed from Cuba. The embargo of Cuba (and therefore its culture) affected the exchange of musical ideas between American and Cuban musicians, especially after Ronald Reagan "slammed the door". She then discusses the business of making music to be sold in foreign markets - how different countries prefer different variations on the Cuban style of music.
How does isolation play into the authenticity of Cuban music? Like the Lee family's isolation from Sacred Harp music, does isolation equate to a greater degree of authenticity in Afro-Cuban music? Has the cultural embargo of Cuba been a driving factor in Cuban music retaining its 'purity' or 'authenticity'?
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