Festival de Comparsa Paso Franco

One of Santiago de Cuba's oldest comparsas, with roots in early twentieth-century Abakua secret societies, Paso Franco made carnival history in 1915 as the first Santiago comparsa to incorporate the corneta china, a Chinese-style trumpet brought to the city by Cuban army soldiers in 1910. Recognised for innovative choreography and rhythmic intensity during its street processions, Paso Franco ranks alongside Los Hoyos, San Agustin, Tivoli, San Pedrito and Guayabito among Santiago's leading carnival comparsas.

Paso Franco ranks among the oldest of Santiago de Cuba's carnival comparsas, with roots reaching back to early twentieth-century Abakua secret societies, the male initiatory fraternities of Congo and Calabar-descended religious tradition that shaped much of eastern Cuba's Afro-Cuban cultural life, giving this comparsa a documented spiritual and social lineage deeper than a purely musical or theatrical origin.