"Turn the Beat Around"

Showcasing posters, record and sheet music covers, film clips and audio, Turn the Beat Around at FIU's Wolfsonian museum explores the artistic exchange between Cuban and American music and dance from the 1930s through the 1960s. From rumba, conga and Afro-Cuban jazz to mambo, cha-cha-cha and salsa, these infectious rhythms flowed out of tourist-packed Havana cabarets, New York City dance halls and Hollywood films. The exhibition brings to life the musical fusion found between cultures, illustrating how musicians of both nations produced new musical forms by riffing off their neighbors.