Some Important Cuban Internet Pages Dedicated To Music and Culture
By Bill Tilford, all rights reserved

At the Cubadisco 2014 International Symposium, some very spirited discussions took place regarding the need for the Cuban music industry to expand its presence on the Internet. Technological questions aside, there appear to be some different opinions in circulation about the pace and the appropriate architecture for that expansion, but there also appears to be a broad consensus that there is a genuine need for the expansion itself, the questions are how and how quickly, and how much should be centralized vs. how much controlled by the artists themselves.   During the Symposium there was a discussion of social media strategies as well as a discussion of the relatively new website Suenacubano.com, which is  performing multiple functions including providing an information portal about numerous performing artists. It also has a presence in YouTube, Google +, Facebook and Twitter.  Although relatively few bands have individual websites at the moment, many of them now have profiles within Suenacubano.com, which is positioning itself to become a key portal for learning about these musicans on a Cuban website. It is worth mentioning that many artists that do not have individual websites DO have Facebook pages, and that situation is likely to continue as a trend, at least in the short term. 

Facebook Pages of Interest

This list is already incomplete, and as the Cuban presence in Facebook continues to expand, it probably always will be.  Nevertheless, that presence is also more extensive than many people probably realize, and one of the best ways to encourage more of this activity is to visit these pages and "Like" them. We will add to this list in the future as more information becomes available.  There are several other Facebook pages that are dedicated to Cuban culture in general, but the following pages have a strong musical core:
 
Bis Music:  This is the Facebook page for the Bis Music company, which has released a lot of the recordings of special interest to Timba.com's readers: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bis-Music-Casa-Discogr%C3%A1fica-y-Editora-Musical-de-Artex-SA/709246802431583
Cartelera:  This is the Facebook page for a cultural magazine that is particularly useful if you a contemplating a trip to Cuba in the near future::  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Revista-Cartelera-magaz%C3%ADn-cultural-tur%C3%ADstico-y-comercial/216693015202187
Cubadisco:  This Facebook page is dedicated to Cubadisco but also publishes other items related to groups that were recognized by it:   https://www.facebook.com/Cubadiscoferia
Cubarte English:  This is the English-language Facebook page for Cubarte, which is a more broad-spectrum cultural page that includes music: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cubarte-English/145849468810479
Cubarte Spanish: This is the English-language Facebook page for Cubarte, which is a more broad-spectrum cultural page that includes music: https://www.facebook.com/cubarteEs
D'CubaJazz:  This is the Facebook page for a very interesting blog about the Jazz scene in Cuba: https://www.facebook.com/DCubaJazz
EGREM:  This is EGREM's Facebook page, and it frequently includes fresh content regarding new releases and related performances: https://www.facebook.com/laspuertasdelamusica
Instituto Cubano de la Música:  This is the Facebook page for one of the most important musical institutions in Cuba: https://www.facebook.com/musicubana
Producciones Colibrí: This is the Facebook page for the Producciones Colibrí label: 
https://www.facebook.com/ProduccionesCoibri?ref=br_tf
Suena Cubano:  The is the Facebook page for the rapidly-growing and well-constructed website dedicated to Cuban music and musicians.    https://www.facebook.com/suenacubano

Websites: 

Estudios Abdala:  http://www.abdala.cu/
Bis Music:  http://www.bismusic.com/
Cubarte English: http://www.cubarte-english.cult.cu/paginas/index.php
Cubarte Spanish: http://www.cubarte.cult.cu/paginas/index.php
D'CubaJazz: http://www.decubajazz.cult.cu/
EGREM: http://www.egrem.com.cu/
La Papeleta (Cultural Calendar):  http://www.lapapeleta.cult.cu/
Revista Clave (an academic journal of the ICM): http://www.clave.icm.cu/
Suenacubano.com:  http://suenacubano.com/