Ignacio Cervantes is a key figure of Latin American piano music. As the cultural and national identity of his native Cuba gained strength through the...

Ignacio Cervantes is a key figure of Latin American piano music. As the cultural and national identity of his native Cuba gained strength through the 19th century, the genres of danza and contradanza became a fixture of the island’s dance and concert halls, providing a bridge between different sections of society. Cervantes’s pieces, which display a similar swing and verve to Scott Joplin’s ubiquitous Rags, synthesize Cuban local humour and colour with the Romantic aesthetic of Chopin. Their titles range from the poignant Adiós a Cuba, to the laughter of La carcajada.