Fernando Ortiz (Born: Havana, Cuba 1881 – Died: 1969).
Ortiz was a prolific polymath dedicated to exploring, recording and understanding all aspects of indiginous Cuban culture, he is particulalry renowned and respected as an early ethnomusicologist and scholar of Afro-Cuban culture.
Disillusioned with politics in the 'Psuedo-Republic' period of Cuban history - having been a member of the Liberal Party, and a Liberal member of its House of Representatives from 1917 to 1922 - he became active in the early nationalist civic revival movement.
He helped found the journals Revista Bimestre Cubana, Archivos del Folklore Cubano and Estudios Afrocubanos.
His major publications include:
- La hampa afrocubana: Los negros brujos (The Afro-Cuban Underworld: Black Obeah, 1902),
- Las rebelliones de los afro-cubanos (Afro-Cuban Rebellions, 1910),
- Entre cubanos: psicologia tropical (Among Cubans: Tropical Psychology, 1913),
- Hampa afro-cubana: Los negros esclavos (Afro-Cuban Underworld: The Black Slaves, 1916),
- La fiesta afrocubana del 'Dia de Reyes'(The Afro-Cuban Festival 'Day of the Kings', 1920),
- Historia de la arqueologia indocubana (History of Indo-Cuban Archeology, 1922),
- Glosario de afronegrismos (Glossary of Black Africanisms, 1924) *Glosario de cubanismos (Glossary of Cubanisms, 1924)
- Contrapunteo cubano del tobaco y el azucar (Cuban Counterpoint of Sugar and Tobacco, 1940),
- Marti y las razas (Marti and the Races, 1942),
- Las cuatro culturas indias de Cuba (The Four Indian Cultures of Cuba, 1943),
- El engano de las razas (The Deception of the Races, 1945),
- El huracan, su mitologia y sus simboles (The Hurricane, its Mythology and Symbols, 1950),
- Los Bailes y el teatro de los negros en el folklore de Cuba (Black Dance and Theater in Cuban Folklore, 1951),
- La africania de la musica afrocubana (The African in Afro-Cuban Music, 1955),
- Los instrumentos de la musica afrocubana (The Instruments of Afro-Cuban Music, 1955),
- Historia de una pelea cubana contra los demonios (History of a Cuban Fight Against the Demons, 1959).
Posthumous publications include:
- Bio-bibliografia de Fernando Ortiz (Orbit of Fernando Ortiz, 1973) and
- Los negros curros (Black Dandies, 1986)
