Founded by Diógenes Manfarrol Medrano on December 24th, 1999 in the patio of Santiago de Cuba’s Bacardi Museum, Changüí Santiago began performing in all local events and soon after found its way to some of Cuba’s top music festivals such as the Cubadisco International Record Industry Fair.
The ensemble also participated along with other 70 Cuban bands in the longest son concert party ever held, which took place in Havana for a period of 342 hours (registered in the Guinness World Record Book).
Changüí Santiago has shared the stage with prestigious Cuban musicians such as Adalberto Alvarez, Pancho Amat and Cándido Fabré.
Musically, Changüí Santiago takes pride in playing the Changüí genre, following extensive research, as it was in its heydays back in the early 20th century.
The band uses the original, seemingly rudimentary yet amazingly effective instruments: the bongo de monte criollo, the marimbula (the rural Cuban bass: a square box with a resonance hole on a side and seven metal straps. Looks like a large thumb harp), the guayo (originally a home made coconut grater), the maracas, the botija (an old clay vase previously used to store oil; turned into a wind instrument after opening a hole on one of its sides) and the tres.
Changüí Santiago also plays Changüí songs in combination with later urban musical genres such as the yambú and the rumba. Other genres also making the band’s repertoire are: the Negún, the Kiribé, the Sucu sucu and the Son Montuno, among others.
The dance side of Changüí is introduced by the band’s dance duet; rendering in each performance and along with the music, a faithful depiction of the atmosphere of the parties held in Yateras in the early 20th century.
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Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
