“We are touring the 17th Timbalaye 2025 International Rumba Festival across Cuban provinces to determine the work methodology we will employ,” the artisan, from the Panamanian province of Colon, told Prensa Latina Radio.

According to Montenegro, “we can help the island with supplies because the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization inscribed the ritual and festive expressions of Panama’s Congo culture as Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2018, and Cuba can also achieve that status.”

After conducting an inventory that includes all the data on Congo culture, we will proceed—given its importance—to develop safeguarding plans, Montenegro explained.

Cuba’s first pilot plan would focus on the artisans who make the drum, since this musical instrument is the central element of communication for the Congolese culture, about which very little is said, he added.

When asked how he feels about his visit to the island, he replied: “Cuba is that little Africa that still keeps its ancestral richness alive, and being here is like being in the Holy Land. It’s a pleasure, and I feel at home,” he emphasized.

Montenegro leads the Panamanian delegation attending the Timbalaye 2025 International Rumba Festival, which will close this August 31, in Sagua la Grande, a city in the central province of Villa Clara.

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