Dr Kent Windress
Queensland, Australia
Dr Kent Windress is a distinguished musician, musicologist, percussionist, educator — and a rare bridge between academic research and living Afro-Cuban ceremonial tradition. He was the **first Australian-born person initiated as a babalawo (senior priest) in the Afro-Cuban religion Santería, and is also initiated as omo añá — a consecrated son of the sacred batá drums.
Kent’s deep engagement with Afro-Cuban music began during travels to Cuba in 2005 to study percussion and ritual practice. What started as scholarly interest quickly became a lifelong commitment — encompassing training in batá drumming, immersion in Santería philosophy, and ongoing performance of both sacred and secular Afro-Cuban rhythms.
He completed his Ph.D. at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, with a dissertation titled “Cuban Ceremonial Batá Drumming and YouTube: Understanding Tradition, Change and Video-Sharing in the 21st Century”, exploring how traditional ceremonial music is transmitted, mediated and transformed through digital platforms.
Across Australia, Kent is recognised as one of the foremost performers and educators of batá drumming — a sacred percussion tradition at the heart of Santería worship — and he regularly leads workshops that introduce both rhythmic technique and cultural context. His work includes presentations at major arts and cultural events, public lectures, and collaborations with diverse musical communities.
At Afrekete, Kent brings both scholarly insight and embodied musical authority to his batá workshops — offering participants a rare opportunity to experience Afro-Cuban sacred rhythm from someone steeped in both its academic study and spiritual practice.
