The Republic of Cuba is an island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, 150 kilometers south of Key West, Florida (United States of America)
Cuban Musical Genres
Casino is a type of Cuban dance, in which couples dance choreographed circles, twists and sexy movements. It is a predecessor of salsa dance.
Cha Cha Chá is a popular rhythmic dance style derived from the mambo, created in Cuba in 1954 by Cuban violinist Enrique Jorrin. It was played at first by the Cuban charanga bands and later by Latin jazz and salsa acts. The peculiar scraping and shuffling sounds produced the imitative sound of Cha Cha Chá.
Changüí – An early form of Cuban music from the sugar cane lands, featuring an instrumentation which includes the tres, bongos, güiro, maracas, and the marímbula. Changüí is thought to be the predecessor of son montuno. Its origins are in the rural communities of the Eastern Cuba Mountains of Yateras in the Guantánamo Province. In this genre, the structure and elements of the Spanish canción are combined with African rhythms of Bantú-Arará origin. The Spanish guitar and a variety of African percussion instruments join forces to enhance its timbric richness.
One of the most peculiar instruments used to play changüí is the tres, a Cuban type of guitar that gives the genre its distinctive sound by following the melodic line of the song and reinforcing the harmonic structure of the guitar instruments.
Whenever there was a Changüí dance held, it was never referred to as a ‘party’. It was always referred to as a ‘changüí’ and gave cause for a great celebration. (source: Changüí Santiago)
Charanga – A popular Cuban musical form of dance music featuring violins, flute and rhythm section.
Danzón – read The Cuban Danzón
Guaracha – A very popular song and dance genre, with Spanish roots, that originated in Cuba and became popular in Puerto Rico and New York City.
Habanera – The Habanera owes its name to the Cuban capital Havana (La Habana in Spanish), where, at the beginning of the 19th century, a dance developed which was slow in tempo. It became popular rapidly and was soon known beyond Cuban boundaries. It was this very habanera that the Spanish soldiers brought back home to their native country. These originally Cuban songs were able to cast their roots quickly in the Iberian Peninsula because of the compelling mixture of Antillean musical elements and sad folksongs, so that they soon became an important part of Spain’s musical culture.
La Conga – An Afro-Cuban dance, now popular in many Spanish-speaking countries, characterized by hard beats in 2/4 time. The Conga is performed in a formation known as the Conga chain. The steps are simple, one, two, three, and kick at which time the partners move away from each other.
Mambo – Cuban musicians Israel “Cachao” Lopez and his brother Orestes experimented with danzon and added a new rhythm. They called the result “mambo.” This happened in the late 1930s, and it revolutionized Latin music. There are those who like to credit Pérez Prado for inventing the mambo, but he did not. Prado popularized it because he was at the right place at the right time – in Mexico in 1948. A musicians’ strike in the United States of America prevented recordings in the United States of America. Prado, who was under contract to RCA Records, which at the time was one of the biggest record labels in the world, recorded a tune titled “Que Rico el mambo.” It swept the country. The mambo craze had begun.
Rumba – Afro-Cuban drum and vocal style from Matanzas and Havana.
- Yambú – The oldest and slowest form of rumba played on cajones (wooden boxes). Source: Grupo Afrocuba de Matanzas.
- Rumba Columbia – A type of Cuban rumba played in 6/8 and sung with a combination of Spanish and African phrases. It is also a competitive solo dance for men characterized by athletic movement and fast interplay between the solo drummer and dancer.
- Rumba Matancera – variation of yambú known for its lyrical melodies, tumbadora (conga) drums and one cajón (box). Source: Grupo Afrocuba de Matanzas.
- Guagancó – best known form of rumba. It consists of rhythmic melodies played on tumbadoras (conga drums) and a flirtatious dance parody of the mating ritual. Source: Grupo Afrocuba de Matanzas.
- Batarrumba or batá rumba – this rumba style was created by Francisco Zamora, Pedro Tápanes and AfroCuba de Matanzas in the 1960s. Batarrumba mixes sacred batá drums with secular rhythms and the tumbadora (conga) drums of rumba. Source: Grupo Afrocuba de Matanzas.
Son Cubano – Son is a style of music that originated in Cuba in the 1920s and became one of the catchiest and most popular rhythms worldwide for the next four decades. It combines the structure and elements of Spanish canción and the Spanish guitar with African rhythms and percussion instruments of Bantu and Arará origin. Son is one of the basic foundations of Cuban music.
Son cubano originated in the province of Oriente and was played by small bands, using guitar or tres, maracas, guiro, claves, bongos, a marimbula and a botija. In New York City, son mixed with other musical styles to influence the creation of salsa music.
Songo – A fusion of Cuban son, ritual Yoruba rhythms and American pop.
Timba is essentially, the evolution of the aged-old son which has surrendered its acoustic melodies for a more progressive and electric sound. It is characterized by a fusion of traditional Cuban son with various international influences and it began to evolve out of Cuba in the 1970s as a result of musical influences from funk bands like Kool & the Gang, Earth Wind & Fire and others. Setting itself apart from the international salsa movement, Cuban timba is aggressive not only in the strength of its sound, but also in its intentions and context of text. It is also more elaborate and technically more complex. (source: Ahí Namá)
Trova – A poetic musical form performed by itinerant singer-songwriters who played guitar. “Trova is not a musical genre, but a set of genres that speak of Cuba and its history. It is music that originated in the mid-19th century, when the concept of the Cuban nation was being born and is closely linked to it“, explained writer Luis Fernández Zaurín in his book Biografía de la Trova (2005). He pointed out that the root of this music is two-headed, since it is found in Cuban and Spanish music, with European influences.
In 1967, a new form of trova appeared, called Nueva Trova. The poetic musical aspect was similar to trova, but the lyrics and topics were initially political. Leading artists included Silvio Rodríguez, Pablo Milanés, Santiago Feliú and Vicente Feliú.
Cuban Musicians
Adalberto Alvarez
Addys D’Mercedes
Afro Cuban All Stars
Albita
Alexander Abreu
Alfredo De La Fe
Alfredo Rodríguez
Ana Carla Maza
Arnaldo y su Talisman
Arsenio Rodriguez
Arte Mixto
Arturo Sandoval
Aruán Ortiz
Augusto Enriquez y su Mambo Orquesta
Bamboleo
Barbarito Torres
Bebo Valdés (obituary)
Beny Moré
Bobby Carcassés
Bobi Céspedes
Bola de Nieve
Buena Vista Social Club
Cachaíto
Cachao
Camerata Romeu
Cándido Camero
Cándido Fabré
Caridad Hierrezuelo
Celia Cruz
Changüí de Guantánamo
Changüí Santiago
Changuito (José Luis Quintana)
Chuchito Valdés (Jesús Valdés Jr.)
Chucho Valdés (Jesús Valdés)
Cimafunk
Clave y Guaguancó
Compay Segundo
Cuarteto Patria
¡Cubanismo!
Dany Noel
Daymé Arocena
Dayramir González
Desandann
Eliades Ochoa
Elio Revé
Ernán López-Nussa
Estudiantina Invasora
Francisco Aguabella
Gema y Pável
Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Guajiro Mirabal (Luis Manuel Mirabal Vázquez)
Habana Abierta
Habana Ensemble
Haila Maria Mompie
Hermanas Ferrín
Ibrahim Ferrer
Ignacio Berroa
Ignacio Nachito Herrera
Irakere
Issac Delgado
Jóvenes Clásicos del Son
Jesús Aguaje Ramos
Juan de Marcos González
Juan Carlos Alfonso y su Dan Den
Juan Carlos Formell
Juan Formell
La Familia Valera Miranda
Leyanis Lopez
Los Guanches
Los Fakires
Los Muñequitos de Matanzas
Los Naranjos
Los Papines
Los Van Van
Manolito y su Trabuco
Manuel Galbán
María Ochoa
Mezcla
Mongo Santamaría
Noel Nicola
Omara Portuondo
Orestes Vilató
Orlando “Puntilla” Rios
Orlando Valle “Maraca”
Orquesta América
Orquesta Aragón
Orquesta Cumbre
Orquesta Sublime
Pablo Milanés
Pancho Amat
Pancho Quinto (Francisco Hernández Mora)
Papi Oviedo (Gilberto “Papi” Oviedo la Portilla)
Pedro Luis Ferrer
Paquito D’Rivera
Pepesito Reyes (José Reyes Núñez)
Pupy Pedroso
Radeúnda Lima Caso
Ramón Valle
Raúl Paz
Reinaldo Creagh
Rey Caney
Roberto Carcassés
Roberto Fonseca
Rubén González
Septeto Nacional
Septeto Santiaguero
Sierra Maestra
Sindo Garay
Silvio Rodriguez
Son 14
Tony Martínez
Valle Son
Vieja Trova Santiaguera
Vocal Baobab
Vocal Sampling
X Alfonso
Xiomara Laugart
Yelsy Heredia
Yosvany Terry
Yusa
Cuban Music Books
Cuban Music: From Son and Rumba to the Buena Vista Social Club and Timba Cubana by Maya Roy. Markus Wiener Publishers, 2002. ISBN-10: 1558762825, ISBN-13: 978-1558762824.
Cuba and Its Music by Ned Sublette, Chicago Review Press, 2007. ISBN-10: 1556526326. ISBN-13: 978-1556526329
