Punto Cubano Nominated as UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage

Punto is practiced all around Cuba, and it is estimated that there are more than 30000 practitioners bearers in the country

The Punto cubano, a traditional folk music and poetry genre is on one of the nominations included in UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity for 2017.

Punto is the poetry and the music of Cuban peasants; a tune or melody over which a person sings an improvised or learned stanza of ten octameter verse lines called décima conceived with a rhyme scheme. The accompanying music uses string instruments like lute, tres, guitar, bass, could use clave, güiro or marímbula– and percussion instruments like bongo and conga drum.

Punto is practiced all around Cuba, and it is estimated that there are more than 30000 practitioners bearers in the 15 provinces of the country. 

Other requests from Latin America to be added this year to UNESCO´s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity include Bolivia´s ritual journeys in La Paz during Alasita, the artisanal processes and plant fibers techniques for talcos, crinejas and pintas weaving of the pinta’o hat in Panama and the traditional system of Corongo’s water judges in Peru.

The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO will meet from 4 to 9 December on Jeju Island of the Republic of Korea. In their gathering they will decide whether to accept them on the list.

Last year Cuba succeeded with the inclusion of the Rumba in the list.

There are currently 365 elements inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It seeks to enhance visibility for the traditions and know-how of communities without recognizing standards of excellence or exclusivity.