Two major figures of the era were the organized-crime bosses Sam and Rosario Maceo , who ran the chief casinos and clubs on the island and were heavily involved Cause_to_be_included in the government and the tourism industry .

The festival has included Cause_to_be_included musicians such as Art Ensemble of Chicago , Count Basie , Booker T. & the MG 's , James Brown , Ray Charles , Ornette Coleman , Miles Davis , Dr. John , Al Green , Yusef Lateef , Taj Mahal , Maceo Parker , Sun Ra , Bonnie Raitt , Pharoah Sanders , Archie Shepp , and Cecil Taylor .