African slaves brought rhythms and ritual dances to Cuba, where they were blended with Spanish guitars and melodies and
then appropriated and developed throughout the Americas (the USA in the 1920s jumped to rumba rhythms, and these, fused
with jazzy horn sections and drums, became the big-band sound). The conga-line dance was developed by slaves shackled
together, while much of contemporary Cuban dance has important associations with Afro-Cuban Santería religion. The most
popular Cuban music today is son, which developed in the hills of the Oriente before the turn of the century and incorporates
guitars, tres (a small Cuban stringed instrument with three pairs of strings), double bass, bongos, claves, maracas and voice.
Mambo, bolero, salsa and chachachá music also derived from this form. The most famous exponents of Cuban music were
Pérez Prado and Benny Moré, but Cuban music continues to evolve and there are a great many artists still making great music.