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The Depository documents 10 techniques in Cuba; by risk level: 3 vulnerable, 6 stable. Each record opens with a public summary; the full research record is free to view once registered.
The tailoring and hand-embroidery of the guayabera, Cuba's national men's shirt — declared Cuba's National Garment in 2010 — distinguished by its alforzas (vertical pleats), four patch pockets, and fine embroidery or openwork (rejilla).
PARTIAL RECORD BY DESIGN. The stringing of colored glass or acrylic beads into elekes (collares) — necklaces worn in Cuban Santería (Regla de Ocha/Lukumí), each corresponding in bead color, count, and pattern to a specific orisha (Yoruba…
Bobbin lace-making and hand embroidery centered on Trinidad, Cuba, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the island's south coast.
PARTIAL RECORD BY DESIGN. The construction of the batá — a family of three double-headed, hourglass-shaped hand drums (iyá, itótele, and okónkolo) carved from a single piece of wood and headed with animal skin — central to Cuban Santería…
The staved-barrel construction of the tumbadora, or conga drum — a tall, narrow, single-headed drum central to Cuban rumba, conga (carnival street music), and, from the mid-20th century onward, salsa and Latin jazz globally.
The making of the tinajón — a large, wide-bellied, narrow-mouthed earthenware jar traditionally used to catch and store rainwater — using iron-rich red clay from the Sierra de Cubitas near Camagüey, Cuba's third-largest city and a UNESCO…
The hand-weaving of hats, and secondarily baskets, bags, and fans, from the leaves of the yarey palm (Copernicia yarey, also called guano), originating in Camajuaní, Villa Clara province, in central Cuba.
Traditional stone lithography, woodcut, and metal-plate etching printmaking centered on the Taller Experimental de Gráfica de La Habana (TEG), Cuba's oldest and premier printmaking studio, founded in 1962.
The year-round design and construction of costumes, banners, and elaborate parade floats (carrozas) for Santiago de Cuba's comparsas — neighborhood-based music, dance, and performance troupes that compete each July during Carnaval Santiago…
The cultivation, curing, fermentation, and hand-rolling of premium cigars (habanos) centered on the Vuelta Abajo district of Pinar del Río province, Cuba's westernmost and most celebrated tobacco region.