Contradanza criolla has its origins in the European contradanza, specifically the French contradanza. Its name means country dance, derived from the English words “country” and “dance.” It is an instrumental ballroom dance genre that has enjoyed great popularity in Cuban society since the beginning of the 19th century.

In its early days, it was performed by Black and mixed-race musicians who played it with their own rhythm, incorporating musical elements characteristic of Cuban music. This is how the Cuban contradanza emerged. The oldest surviving Creole contradanza is titled “San Pascual Bailón” and is an anonymous work.

The Contradanza was a choreographed dance. It had a two-part structure of eight bars each, which, when repeated, became 16 bars. It had a contrasting binary form, with 2/4 time predominating, although there were contradanzas in 6/8 time. It was performed by the typical orchestra, dominated by the habanera bass. There were marked differences in composition between the provinces of Oriente and Havana. The Habanera Contradanza had a more elegant quality, while the Oriental Contradanza had a more popular quality. Around 1842, contradanzas began to be composed with singing, which later gave way to the Habanera.

The contradanzas were published in the artistic and literary magazines of the time, preferably with sparkling, colorful titles such as: No lo puedo remedior (I Can’t Remedy It), Ahora no que están mirando (Not Now That They’re Watching), and La blandita (The Soft One). Through the titles of the contradanzas, we can perceive all the happenings in Cuban daily life; they reflect the immediate atmosphere of the time, a characteristic that the Danza and the Danzón would inherit. The themes they addressed were popular figures and national and international events, and they also used phrases, cries, and jokes, which were captured in the titles of the contradanzas.

The main growers of the time were: Tomás Vuelta y Flores, Enrique Peña, Manuel Saumell and Miguel Faílde, among others.

The Creole Contradanza was strongly represented in 19th-century Cuban music. The way it was performed by Cuban musicians of the time led it to evolve, giving rise to the Creole Dance.