(*born 1530 in Santiago de los Caballeros (Dominican Republic); †died 1598 in Santiago de Cuba)
Teodora Ginés, of West African descent and a former slave, was born 1530 in the Dominican Republic.
Together with her sister Micaela migrated to Cuba, where both found employment in the orchestra of the Cathedral of Santiago di Cuba as musicians (violin, bandola).
Teodora Ginés is deemed the composer of "Son de la Ma Teodora" (1562), the oldest traditional musical document of Cuba and furthermore she particularly is one of the first known composers of the new world.
