OVERLAND TO LA ESPERANZA 29 



The drums, a prominent feature, beat a tattoo 

 that suggests the barbaric interrupted rhythm of 

 the tom-toms in Haiti. When all appears to be 

 going well and strong, the music abruptly stops, 

 only to begin again by repeating one note in 

 greatly accelerated time. Then it stops for good 

 as you begin to shuffle your feet in hopeless 

 attempt to mark the curious time. The final note 

 is usually not the tonic of the key, hence you are 

 left dissatisfied and wish the orchestra would 

 either finish the composition or move away alto- 

 gether. The curious effect in the rhythm is 

 produced by employment of two tempos — the }i 

 and y^ — at one and the same time, or, frequently 

 the mingling of thirds and seconds in a manner 

 that (on the piano) one hand plays three notes 

 while the other strikes but two. This sort of music 

 is heard over all rural Cuba, but in Havana only 

 at the cheaper places of amusement. Elsewhere 

 in Havana the music is the same as in the United 

 States, and the frolicsome American "rag time" 

 has apparently captured the Habaneros as it has 

 all Europe. 



To the naturalist in search of specimens for his 

 laboratory or cabinet, Viiiales is a paradise indeed. 



