BERRY, MAYA J. 2025. Defending Rumba in Havana: The Sacred and Black Corporeal Undercommons. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 311 pg., ISBN 9781478031338           

Outsiders to Rumba may mistakenly view the art form as just one of a number of dances with Afro-Latin historical origins. Western images of Rumba tend to portray the dance with images of sweaty bodies displaying forms of rhythm and sexuality. Dances are reduced to exotic displays of tropical escapism. However, Rumba is far more complex. It is an art form that speaks to issues such as agency, power and gender. It is a powerful spiritual tool communicating narratives of social rebellion in the face of colonialism. It is empowering as it enables discussions and displays related to race, gender, and social roles.  

Rumba is far more than Hollywood depictions and tourist displays. In Defending Rumba in Havana: The Sacred and Black Corporeal Undercommons author Maya J. Berry takes readers into the etic physical realm of Rumba in Havana Cuba while leading us on the journey to the emic where we learn of the significance of Rumba as a conduit of the human experience.

Berry opens the book with some fundamental information about Rumba. In 2016 UNESCO nominated Cuban Rumba as an intangible cultural heritage. While this is an important recognition, Berry shares that Rumberos claim to be heirs to enslaved and African diaspora co-presences. It is an artform that serves as a symbol against capitalism and racial discrimination. The author explains that the use of the terms ‘Black Corporeal Undercommons’ refers to a Black geography grounded by the spiritual maneuvers of everyday Black people. The term ‘under’ is used to allude to outsider perceptions of Rumba and Rumberos as ‘under’ respectabilities. The term ‘under’ is also a term that was used by Cuban criminologist Fernando Ortiz in his early writings on Afro-Latin spiritual traditions. Some of these traditions such as the Abakuá societies that came from the Efik and Ekpe people of the Cross R