2-612-958 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Theater Villanueva. On January 22 1869, Flor de Cuba played in musical theatre. Cuban Bufo theatre was a form of comedy, ribald and satirical, with stock figures imitating types that might be found anywhere. They contained a musical form, guarachas, with spicy lyrics on current events and personalities. The band was playing in the Teatro Villanueva in Havana in 1869 when the Spanish Voluntarios attacked the theatre, killing some ten or so patrons who had been watching. The Ten Years' War had started the previous year, when Carlos Manuel de Céspedes had freed his slaves, and declared Cuban independence. Creole sentiments were running high, and the Colonial government and their rich Spanish traders were reacting. Not for the first time, politics and music were closely intertwined.Cigar card from the History of Cuba, Geografico Universal, Propaganda de los Cigarros Susini y La Corona, Tabacalera Cubana.