When enjoying art, music, literature, etc., it’s so easy to get fixated on big names – the Picassos, Beethovens, or Dickens (Dickenses?). Over-indulgence of these big names often means little gems get overlooked. José Silvestre White Lafitte was an Afro-Cuban virtuoso violinist who left us only a few composed works. He lived a long life, traveled the world, and received accolades for his violin playing. Here is his “La Bella Cubana”, a habanera, which (likely) captures the sound of 19th century Cuba in a more authentic way than some more famous 20th century American examples.

The music is great. The video, however, changes camera angles  WAY too often. The piece ends at 5:45, and after that it’s a fade-out replay.