The name is made up of two words that come from an African dialect. Yoruba is the name of an African territory in which there are several  peoples and cultures; while Andabo is a Carabali term that means friend, follower, admirer. Therefore, Yoruba Andabo is something like the friends, the admirers, the followers of Yoruba people and their culture.

This band was founded in Havana’s harbor, back in 1961, where a group of employees got together in a band called Guaguancó Marítimo Portuario. They were renamed as Yoruba Andabo right after becoming a professional band, and in 1985, they started performing at the Cuban Writers and Artists’ Union’s House (UNEAC). Their shows at the UNEAC were organized by the Cuban poet Eloy Machado “El Ambia”, who put them in contact with the well-known Cuban singer and songwriter Pablo Milanés. Pablo invited them to take part in the celebration of the 25th anniversary of disc-producer company EGREM, where they got to work with folk music singer Merceditas Valdés. In 1994, they started calling the band Yoruba Andabo Folkloric Company.