416 Chapter 18
measure their standard of life by more than their access to dollars. I do
not wish to assert that Matanzas musicians have no avenues for earn-
ing money within the informal economy: foreign students of folkloric
music and dance—usually those who are already somewhat familiar
with the different Afro-Cuban secular and sacred repertoires—do
seek out teachers in Matanzas in order to profundizar (deepen) their
knowledge, and, just as in Havana, folkloric musicians make much of
their supplemental income playing at private Afro-Cuban religious
ceremonies. Notwithstanding these economic opportunities, Matan-
zas musicians rarely “stumble upon” foreign students of folkloric tra-
ditions as Havana musicians do, because unless foreigners are already
knowledgeable, they will not generally travel to Matanzas. Further-
more, because there are no regular rumba performances, there are no
venues that facilitate first encounters between local musicians and the
few tourists who do travel to Matanzas; tourists might travel to
Matanzas and be interested in lessons, but unless they have the name
of a musician, it is unlikely they will find one. In other words, the eco-
nomic and spatial positions of Havana and Matanzas within the tour-
ist sector influence their respective musicians’ livelihoods and access
to supplemental income.
The audience demographics at rumba events in Havana and
Matanzas also reflect their different, respective statuses within the
tourism industry. The principal axes along which the two cities differ
are in the nationality of the audiences, i.e., the ratio of Cubans to for-
eigners, and the class status of the Cuban spectators. At Havana
rumba events there is much more intermingling between Cubans and
foreigners, which in turn means a higher presence of folkloric hus-
tling. In Matanzas, on the other hand, audiences tend to be composed
exclusively of Cubans or of foreigners. Whereas one’s access to dollars
does not make much of a difference in terms of audience demograph-
ics at Matanzas rumba events, because no one is paying to get in, it is a
determining factor in the capital. Due to the existence of “for-profit”
gigs in Havana, the class status of the Cuban audiences tends to be
highly correlated with the price of admission at any given event.