The contradanza is an historically important dance. It arrived in Cuba in the late 18th century from Europe. The contradanza is a communal sequence dance, with the dance figures in a set pattern. The tempo and style of the music was bright and fairly fast. The earliest Cuban composition of a contradanza is "San Pascual bailon", published in 1803. The Cubans developed a number of creolized version, which is an early example of the influence of African tradition in the Caribbean. Most of the musicians were black or mulatto: even early in the 19th century there were many freed slaves and mixed race persons living in Cuban towns.