Women Drummers Break Barriers in Traditional Cuba Percussion

A group of defiant women paved the way in the 1990s.

A Boys' Club No More - Traditionally considered a boys' club, Cuba’s rich percussion scene is now experiencing a boom in women drummers. Keep reading to learn more about those female pioneers who defiantly took up the instrument in the 1990s and the new generation following their lead.—Patrice Peck with reporting from AP. (Photo: AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

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A Boys' Club No More - Traditionally considered a boys' club, Cuba’s rich percussion scene is now experiencing a boom in women drummers. Keep reading to learn more about those female pioneers who defiantly took up the instrument in the 1990s and the new generation following their lead.—Patrice Peck with reporting from AP. (Photo: AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

Held Back by Religion and Bias - Prior to this renaissance, women were believed to be too weak for the physical demands of drumming. Men also shut women out from participating due to the art form’s religious background. The sacred, two-sided “bata” drums, in particular, were historically meant for men percussionists only. (Photo: AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

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Held Back by Religion and Bias - Prior to this renaissance, women were believed to be too weak for the physical demands of drumming. Men also shut women out from participating due to the art form’s religious background. The sacred, two-sided “bata” drums, in particular, were historically meant for men percussionists only. (Photo: AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

Into the Unknown - "I threw myself into the unknown,” Eva Despaigne, the 60-year-old director of Obini Bata, told AP. Despaigne leads Cuba's first all-female bata orchestra (pictured), which takes its name from the Yoruban word for woman. As a young Afro-Cuban folkloric dancer, she gradually convinced male batistas (bata players) to allow her to play the bata not for religion, but to expand her development as an artist. (Photo: AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

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Into the Unknown - "I threw myself into the unknown,” Eva Despaigne, the 60-year-old director of Obini Bata, told AP. Despaigne leads Cuba's first all-female bata orchestra (pictured), which takes its name from the Yoruban word for woman. As a young Afro-Cuban folkloric dancer, she gradually convinced male batistas (bata players) to allow her to play the bata not for religion, but to expand her development as an artist. (Photo: AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

An Increase in Women Drummers - "From the 1990s to today, the girls have begun studying percussion [more] and the number of those who have graduated is great," Mercedes Lay, a percussionist and musicologist who works with the governmental Center for Research of Cuban Music, told AP.(Photo: AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

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An Increase in Women Drummers - "From the 1990s to today, the girls have begun studying percussion [more] and the number of those who have graduated is great," Mercedes Lay, a percussionist and musicologist who works with the governmental Center for Research of Cuban Music, told AP.(Photo: AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

Technique and Taste - "In percussion it's not, as people sometimes think, all about strength and speed. It's a matter of technique and taste," said Raul Fernandez, a social scientist at the University of California, Irvine, who researches Cuban music. "Even among male percussionists, often one who plays with lots of vigor and speed doesn't play as well as one with better technique and taste."(Photo: AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

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Technique and Taste - "In percussion it's not, as people sometimes think, all about strength and speed. It's a matter of technique and taste," said Raul Fernandez, a social scientist at the University of California, Irvine, who researches Cuban music. "Even among male percussionists, often one who plays with lots of vigor and speed doesn't play as well as one with better technique and taste."(Photo: AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

A Wave of Changes - Although traditional Afro-Cuban priests still consider female batistas as sacrilegious, the wave of women drummers emerging in national rumba and rock groups and teaching and performing overseas reflects a groundbreaking inclusion by their male peers like never before. (Photo: AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)

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A Wave of Changes - Although traditional Afro-Cuban priests still consider female batistas as sacrilegious, the wave of women drummers emerging in national rumba and rock groups and teaching and performing overseas reflects a groundbreaking inclusion by their male peers like never before. (Photo: AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)