"Cuba: Dos Siglos de Musica" by Gloria Antolítia represents an important scholarly contribution to Cuban musicology, tracing two centuries of musical development from the 16th and 17th centuries. Published by Editorial Letras Cubanas in 1984 to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Triumph of the Revolution, the book features an elegantly restrained cover design by Raúl Martínez. Departing from his signature bold geometric patterns, Martínez created a design that directly references the book's subject matter through horizontal musical staff lines rendered in red, yellow, and green against a natural kraft paper background, with musical notes strategically placed across the composition.
This cover demonstrates Martínez's remarkable versatility as a graphic designer—his ability to create conceptually appropriate designs that serve the content rather than impose a house style. The understated color palette and linear structure evoke both the historical nature of the subject and the visual language of musical notation itself, making the cover immediately legible as a music history text. The typographic treatment uses a distinctive Art Nouveau-inspired blackletter font that suggests historical depth while maintaining readability. Produced at the Combinado Poligráfico "Alfredo López" in August 1984, this publication exemplifies how Cuban book design during the revolutionary period balanced artistic innovation with scholarly rigor, creating covers that were both intellectually serious and visually compelling, representing the intersection of Cuba's rich musical heritage with contemporary graphic design excellence.