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. In 2021, Petaluma Records released a 3 CD boxed set titled Changüí – The Sound of Guantánamo. Read more: Changüí – A Foundational Genre in Traditional Cuban Music.
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 mainland Spain because of the compelling mixture of Antillean musical elements and sad folksongs. As a consequence, 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 danzón 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
