Afro-Cuban

The claves. The timbales. The congas. The horns. Afro-Cuban music is more than a combination of instruments and sounds. It's more than the mixture of epochal rhythms from Africa and sinuous melodies from Spain. It's a passionate vibe, heat and movement — a music that shakes you and makes dancing utterly irresistible.

Buena Vista Social Club reminded us what we already knew — that some of the world's hottest Latin music came out of Cuba. Just begin moving to these songs, and you'll understand why dancing to Afro-Cuban music is a vertical expression of a horizontal desire.

The sizzling sounds that came from the unique mix of cultures found in Cuba inspired generations of music around the world, from African soukous to the New York mambo kings to the Miami Sound Machine. These Deep Cuts capture the music at its purest — Afro-Cuban rhythms played by brilliant musicians.

On the island of Cuba, the rhythms (and loins) of Spanish colonials and African slaves combined, giving birth to a whole new sound (and generation). From the dawn of the rumba to today's son matunos, this selection of Afro-Cuban gems captures the heat and desire of the island's unique and now universal sound.