Music of Cuba

The Caribbean island of Cuba has been influential in the development of multiple musical styles in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Overview

The music of Cuba, including the instruments and the dances, is mostly of European (Spanish) and African origin. Most forms of the present day are creolized fusions and mixtures of these two great sources. Almost nothing remains of the original Indian traditions, except in some of the place names, such as Guanabacoa. Maracas are probably native in origin.

Large numbers of African slaves and European immigrants came to Cuba and brought their own forms of music to the island. European dances and folk musics included zapateo, fandango, zampado, paso doble, retambico and canción. Later, northern European forms like minuet, gavotte, mazurka, contradanza, and the waltz appeared among urban whites. There was also an immigration of Chinese indentured laborers later in the 19th century.

Fernando Ortíz, a Cuban folklorist, described Cuba's musical innovations as arising from the interplay between African slaves settled on large sugar plantations and Spanish or Canary Islanders who grew tobacco on small farms. The African slaves and their descendants reconstructed large numbers of percussive instruments and corresponding rhythms, the most important instruments being the cajon made from cod fish crates on the docks of Matanzas and/or dresser drawers, claves, congas and batá drums. Chinese immigrants contributed the corneta china (Chinese cornet), a Chinese wind instrument which is still played in the comparsas, or carnival groups, of Santiago de Cuba.

Hernando de la Parra's archives give some of our earliest available information on Cuban music. He reported instruments including the clarinet, violin and vihuela. There were few professional musicians at the time, and fewer still of their songs survive. One of the earliest is Ma Teodora, by a freed slave, Teodora Gines of Santiago de Cuba, who was famous for her compositions. It comes to us as the Son de la Ma Teodora.

DOND-de es-TA la MA teo-DO-ra? (Carpentier's emphasis)

The piece is said to be similar to ecclesiastic European forms and 16th century folk songs.

Cuban music has its principal roots in Spain and West Africa, but over time has been influenced by diverse genres from different countries. Most important among these are France, the United States, and Jamaica. Reciprocally, Cuban music has been immensely influential in other countries, contributing not only to the development of jazz and salsa, but also to Argentinian tango, Ghanaian high-life, West African Afrobeat, and Spanish Nuevo flamenco. Cuban music of high quality includes classical music, some with predominantly European influences, and much of it inspired by both Afro-Cuban and Spanish music. Several Cuban-born composers (of "serious" music) have recently received a much-deserved revival. Within Cuba, there are many popular musicians working in the rock and reggaeton idioms, not to mention the never ending list of salsa bands.

The roots of most Afro-cuban musical forms lie in the cabildos, self-organized social clubs for the African slaves, separate cabildos for separate cultures. The cabildos were formed mainly from four groups: the Yoruba (the Lucumi in Cuba); the Congolese (Palo in Cuba); the Calabar (Carabali in Cuba, or Abakua); Dahomey (the Fon or arara). Other cultures were undoubtedly present (such as the Ganga and the Igbo), but in smaller numbers, and they did not leave such a distinctive presence. Cabildos preserved African cultural traditions, even after the abolition of slavery in 1886. At the same time, African religions were transmitted from generation to generation throughout Cuba, Haiti, other islands and Brazil. These religions, which had a similar but not identical structure, were known as Lucumi or Regla de Ocha if they derived from the Yoruba, Palo from the Congo, Vodu in Haiti, and so on. The term Santeria was first introduced to account for the way African spirits were joined to Catholic saints, especialy by people who were both baptized and initiated, and so were genuinely members of both groups. Outsiders picked up the word and have tended to use it somewhat indiscriminately. It has become a kind of catch-all word, rather like salsa in music.

The African beliefs and practices certainly influenced Cuba's music. Polyrhythmic percussion is an inherent part of African life & music, as melody is part of European music. The result is that most Cuban popular music is creollized. Each orisha, or spirit, is associated with colors, emotions, Roman Catholic saints and drum patterns called toques. Creolization of Cuban life has been happening for a long time, and by the 20th century, elements of African belief, music and dance were well integrated into popular and folk forms.

18th to 20th century

18th/19th centuries

Among internationally heralded composers of the "serious" genre can be counted the Baroque composer Esteban Salas (Havana, 25 December 1725 -- Santiago de Cuba, 14 July 1803), who spent much of his life teaching and writing music for the Church. Some of his music recently has been released on CDs. Some consider him the most advanced composer in the New World at the close of the eighteenth century. In the 19th century, several major composers came from Cuba. These included Manuel Saumell (19 April 1818 -- 14 August 1870), the father of Cuban criole musical development. He helped transform the contradanza, and had a hand in the habanera, the danzon, the guajira, the criolla and other forms.

"After Saumell's visionary work, all that was left to do was to develop his innovations, all of which profoundly influenced the history of Cuban nationalist musical movements." Helio Orovio

Laureano Fuentes (3 July 1825 -- 30 September 1898) wrote an opera, Selia, that is still well-remembered. Gaspar Villate (Havana, 27 January 1851 -- Paris, 9 October 1891) spent much of his life in Europe, but also wrote creole works La virgen tropical and Adios a Cuba, and contradanzas which are considered to be his most important pieces. Jose White (Matanzas, 1 January 1836 -- Paris, 12 March 1918), a mulatto of a Spanish father and an Afrocuban mother, was a composer and a violinist of international merit. He learnt to play sixteen instruments, and lived, variously, in Cuba, Latin America and Paris. He finally settled in the French capital. His Concerto for Violin and Orchestra is reminiscent of Mendelssohn; he also wrote pieces in the Cuban vein. His most famous work is La bella cubana, a habanera.

During the middle years of the 19th century, a young American musician came to Havana: Louis Moreau Gottschalk (New Orleans, 8 May 1829 -- Tijuca, Brazil, 18 December 1869). His father was a jewish doctor, and his mother was a mulatta; he was brought up mostly by his black grandmother and nurse Sally, both from Dominique. He was a piano prodigy who had listened to the music and seen the dancing in Congo Square, New Orleans from childhood. At 13 he went to Paris to study music, and then spent much of his life travelling and giving concerts. His period in Cuba lasted from 1853 to 1862, with visits to Puerto Rico and Martinique squeezed in. He was a huge influence on the other composers in Havana, and composed many creollized pieces himself, such as the habanera Bamboula (Danse de negres), El cocuye, the contradanza Ojos criollos (Danse cubaine). These numbers made use of the typical Cuban rhythmical patterns. In February 1860 Gottschalk produced his huge work La nuit des tropiques in Havana. The work used about 250 musicians and a choir of 200 singers plus a tumba francesa group from Santiago de Cuba. He produced another huge concert the following year, with new material. These shows probably dwarfed anything seen in the island before or since, and no doubt were unforgettable for those who attended.

It was Ignacio Cervantes (Havana, 31 July 1847 -– Havana, 29 April 1905), who was probably most influenced by Gottschalk. Trained in Paris, he did much to assert a sense of Cuban musical nationalism in his compositions. Aaron Copeland once referred to him as a "Cuban Chopin" because of his Chopinesque piano compositions. Cervantes' reputation today rests almost solely upon his famous forty-one Danzas Cubanas, of which Carpentier said "occupy the place that the Norwegian Dances of Grieg or the Slavic Dances of Dvorak occupy in the musics of their respective countries.". Cervantes' never-finished opera, Maledetto, is forgotten.

20th century classical and art music

The early 20th century saw the beginning of an independent Cuba (independence from both Spain and the USA: 1902).

"Amadeo Roldan (Paris, 12 June 1900 -– Havana, 7 March 1939) and Alejandro García Caturla (Remedios, Cuba, 1906 -- 1940) were Cuba's symphonic revolutionaries [though] their music is rarely played today" They both played a part in Afrocubanismo: the movement in black-themed Cuban culture with origins in the 1920s, and extensively analysed by Fernando Ortiz.

Roldan, born in Paris to a Cuban mulata and a Spanish father, came to Cuba in 1919 and became the concert-master (first-chair violin) of the new Orquesta Sinfonica de La Habana in 1922. There he met Caturla, at sixteen a second violin. Roldan's compositions included Overture on Cuban themes (1925), Three little poems: (Oriente, Pregon, Fiesta negra: 1926), La Rebambaramba (a ballet colonial in two parts: 1928), a ballet (El milagro de Anaquille, (1929). There followed a series of Ritmicas and Poema negra (1930) and Tres toques (march, rites, dance) (1931). In Motivos de son (1934) he wrote eight pieces for voice and instruments based on the poet Nicolas Guillen's set of poems with the same title. His last composition was two Piezas infantiles for piano (1937). Roldan died young, at 38, of a disfiguring facial cancer (he had been an inveterate smoker).

After his student days, Caturla lived all his life in the small central town of Remedios, where he became a lawyer to support his growing family. He had relationships with a number of black women and fathered eleven children by them, which he adopted and supported. His Tres danzas cubanas for symphony orchestra was first performed in Spain in 1929. Bembe was premiered in Havana the same year. In 1932 he founded the Caibarien Concert Society, whose orchestra he conducted on many occasions. His Obertura cubana won first prize in a national contest in 1938. Caturla was a fine man, and an example of a universal musician, happily combining classical and folkloric themes with modern musical ideas. He was murdered at 34 by a young gambler who was due to be sentenced only hours later.

Gonzalo Roig (Havana, 20 July 1890 -- 13 June 1970), was a major force in the first half of the century. A composer and band leader, he qualified in piano, violin and composition theory. In 1922 he was one of the founders of the National Symphony Orchestra, which he conducted. In 1927 he was appointed Director of the Havana School of Music. As a composer he specialized in the zarzuela, a musical theatre form, very popular up to World War II. In 1930 he made a successful tour of the United States, in which he conducted a number of their military bands. In 1931 he co-founded a Bufo company (comic theatre) at the Marti Theatre in Havana. He was the composer of the most well-known Cuban zarzuela, Cecilia Valdés, based on the famous 19th century novel about a Cuban mulata. It was premiered in 1932. He founded various organizations connected for authors and musicians, and himself wrote frequently on musical topics.

One of the greatest Cuban pianist/composers of the twentieth century was Ernesto Lecuona (Guanabacoa, 6 August 1895 -- Canary Islands, 29 November 1963). Lecuona composed over six hundred pieces, mostly in the Cuban vein, and was a pianist of exceptional quality. He was a prolific composer of songs and music for stage and film. His works consisted of zarzuela, Afro-Cuban and Cuban rhythms, suites and many songs which became latin standards. They include Siboney, Malagueña and The Breeze And I (Andalucía). In 1942 his great hit Always in my heart (Siempre en mi Corazon) was nominated for an Oscar for Best Song; however, it lost out to White Christmas. The Ernesto Lecuona Symphonic Orchestra performed the premiere of Lecuona's Black Rhapsody in the Cuban Liberation Day Concert at Carnegie Hall on 10 October 1943.

Although, in Cuba, many composers have written both classical and popular creole types of music, the distinction became clearer after 1960, when (at least initially) the regime frowned on popular music and provided financial support for classical music rather than creole forms. From then on most musicians have kept their careers on one side of the invisible line or the other. After the Cuban Revolution in 1959, a new crop of classical musicians came onto the scene. The most important of these is guitarist Leo Brouwer, who made significant innovations in classical guitar, and is currently the director of the Havana Symphonic Orchestra. His directorship in the early 1970s of the Cuban Institute of Instrumental and Cinematographic Arts (ICAIC) was instrumental in the formation and consolidation of the nueva trova movement.

Cuban-born classical pianists include many who have recorded with the world's greatest symphonies, including Jorge Bolet (friend of Rachmaninoff and Liszt specialist), Horacio Gutierrez (former Tchaikovsky Competition silver medalist), and prize-winning pianist and owner of the "Elan" classical CD company, Santiago Rodriguez, a Russian-music specialist. Cuban-born classical pianist and Juno Award nominee Zeyda Ruga Suzuki has been recorded on the Toshiba and Gakken music record labels in Japan, as well as the Select music record label in Canada. A number of Cuban concert pianists still living in Cuba have been recorded on various major music record labels. Guitarist Manuel Barrueco is considered by some to be the world's greatest classical guitarist.

Popular music

claves

Música campesina

Música campesina is a rural form of music derived from a local form of décima and verso called punto. It has been popularized by artists like Celina González, and has become an important influence on modern son.

While remaining mainly unchanged in its forms (thus provoking a steady decline in interest among the Cuban youth), some artists have tried to renew música campesina with new styles, lyrics, themes and arrangements.

Guajira

Main article: Guajira (music)

The original guajira was earthy, strident rural acoustic music, possibly related to Puerto Rican jibaro. It appeared in the early 20th century, and is led by a 6-string guitar called a tres, known for a distinctive tuning.

Contradanza

Main article: Contradanza

Main article: Contra dance

The contradanza is an important precursor of several later popular dances. It arrived in Cuba in the late 18th century from Europe where it had been developed first as the English country dance, and then as the French contradanse. The origin of the word is a corruption of the English term.

The dance is a communal sequence dance, with the music and the dance figures conforming to a set pattern. The time signatures are 6/8, but rhythmically it is 3/4 time. There are two parts of 16 bars each, danced as a sequence dance of line or square format. The earliest Cuban composition of a contradanza is San Pascual bailon, published in 1803. The cubans developed a number of creolized version, such as the paseo, cadena, ostenido and cadazo. This creolization is an early example of the influence of the African traditions in the Caribbean. Most of the musicians were black or mulatto (even early in the 19th century there were many freed slaves and mixed race persons living in Cuban towns).

"The women of Havana have a furious taste for dancing; they spend entire nights elevated, agitated, crazy and pouring sweat until they fall spent."

The contradanza supplanted the minuet as the most popular dance until from 1842 on, it gave way to the habanera.

Danza

The child of the contradanza, this was a brisker form of music and dance which could be in double or triple time. A repeated 8-bar paseo was followed by two 16-bar sections called the primera and segunda. Two famous composers of danzas were Ignacio Cervantes and Manuel Saumell. This type of dance was eventually replaced by the danzon.

The Walz

The walz (El Vals) arrived in Cuba by 1814. It was the first dance in which couples were not linked by a communal sequence pattern. It was, and still is, danced in 3/4 time with the accent on the first beat. It was originally thought scandalous because couples faced each other, held each other and, so to speak, ignored the surrounding community. The walz entered all countries in the Americas; its relative popularity in Cuba is hard to estimate.

Indigenous Cuban dances did not follow this free-moving style until the danzon later in the century.

Habanera

Main article: Habanera (music)

The habanera developed at more or less at the same time as the contradanza: end 18th to early 19th century. Like the contradanza its development was at least partly due to the influence of French-speaking immigrants. The Haitian revolution of 1791 led to many colonial French and their slaves fleeing to Oriente. They brought with them rhythms from Africa which helped the development of the tango congo or habanera. The cinquillo is one important rhythmical pattern which made its first appearance at this time.

The dance style of the habanera is slower and more stately than the contradanza; it included vocals from the mid-century. It became popular in many Latin countries: by the 1840s there were habaneras written, sung and danced in Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Spain. Later in the nineteenth century the habanera gave way to the danzón. Since about 1900 the habanera has been a relic dance; but the music has a period charm, and there are some famous compositions, such as Tu, versions of which have been recorded many times.

Versions of habanera-type compositions have appeared in the music of Ravel, Bizet, Saint-Saens, Debussy, Faure, Albeniz. The rhythm is similar to that of the tango, and some believe the habanera is the musical father of the tango.

In 1995 a modern Cuban artist recorded a complete disc in the Habanera genre, when singer/songwriter Liuba Maria Hevia recorded some songs researched by musicologist Maria Teresa Linares. The artist, unhappy with the technical conditions at the time (Cuba was in the middle of the so-called Periodo Especial), re-recorded most of the songs on the 2005 CD Angel y su habanera. The original CD Habaneras en el tiempo (1995) sold poorly in Cuba, which underlines the fading interest in this kind of music there, contrasting with the vigorous popularity of the Habanera in the Mediterranean coast of Spain.

Danzón

Main article: Danzón

Main article: Charanga

The European influence on Cuba's later musical development is represented by danzón, an elegant musical form that was once more popular than the son in Cuba. It was exported to popular acclaim throughout Latin America, especially Mexico. The danzón was developed by Miguel Failde in Matanzas, the official date of origin being 1879. Failde used an orquesta typica, a form derived from military bands, using brass, kettle-drums &c. The later development of the charanga was more suited to the indoor salon and is an orchestral format still popular today in Cuba and some other countries. The charanga uses double bass, cello, violins, flute, piano, timbal and guiro. Failde paved the way for future artists like José Urfé, Antonio María Romeu and Enrique Jorrín.

The danzón also marks the change which took place from the communal sequence dance style of the late eighteenth century to the couple dances of later times. The stimulus for this was the success of the once-scandalous walz, where couples danced independently, not as part of a pre-set structure. The danzón was the first Cuban dance to adopt such methods.

The danzón later acquired some African influences in its musical structure. In other words, it became synchopated, especially in its third part. The credit for this is given to Jose Urfé, who worked elements of the son into the last part of the danzón in his composition El bombin de Barreto (1910). In its original form the danzón as a dance is now a musical relic in Cuba, though it and the charanga line-up have been strongly influential in later developments.

Danzonete

Early danzons were purely intrumental. The first to introduce a vocal part was Aniceto Diaz in 1927 in Matanzas: Rompiendo la rutina. Later, the black singer Barbarito Diez joined the charanga of Antonio Ma. Romeu in 1935 and, over the years, recorded eleven albums of danzonetes.

Bolero

This is a song and dance form quite different from its Spanish namesake. It originated in the last third of the 19th century with the traditional trova of Santiago de Cuba. Originally, there were two sections of 16 bars in 2/4 time separated by an instrumental section on the Spanish guitar called the pasacalle. The bolero proved to be exceptionally adaptable, and led to many variants. Typical was the introduction of sychopation leading to the bolero-moruno, bolero-beguine, bolero-mambo, bolero-cha. The bolero-son became for several decades the most popular rhythm for dancing in Cuba, and it was this rhythm that the international dance community picked up and taught as the 'rumba'.

The Cuban bolero was exported all over the world, and is still popular. Leading composers of the bolero were Agustin Lara (Mexico), Rafael Hernández (Puerto Rico) and Rosendo Ruiz Jr (Cuba).

Son

Main article: Son Cubano

File:Sonmusic.jpg

Son band

Son is a major genre of Cuban music, and has helped lay the foundation for most of what came after. It can fairly be said that son is to Cuba what the tango is to Argentina, or the samba to Brazil. In addition, it is perhaps the most flexible of all forms of Latin-American music. Its great strength is its fusion between European and African musical traditions. Son arose in Oriente, the eastern part of the island, merging the Spanish guitar and lyrical traditions with African percussion abd rhythms.

Son's characteristics vary widely today, with the defining characteristic a synchopated bass pulse that comes before the downbeat, giving son and its derivatives (including salsa) its distinctive rhythm; this is known as the anticipated bass.

Son traditionally concerns itself with themes like love and patriotism, though more modern artists are socially or politically-oriented. Son lyrics were originally decima (ten line), octosyllabic verse, and performed in 2/4 time. The son clave has both a reverse and forward clave, which differ in that a forward clave has a three note bar (tresillo), followed by a two note bar, while the reverse is the opposite.

Changuí

Main article: Changuí

Changuí is a rapid form of son from the eastern provinces (Santiago and Guantánamo, known together as Oriente), and is best exemplified by Elio Revé. It is unclear how the changuí originated, and whether it is a precursor to the classical son, but it seems that the two developed along parallel lines. Changuí is characterised by its strong emphasis on the downbeat, as well as being fast and very percussive. While it was Elio Revé who modernised the changuí, musicians such as Cándido Fabré and more recently Los Dan Den gave it the contemporary feel it has today. Most importantly Los Van Van, led by Juan Formell, drew on changuí, adding trombones, synthesizers and more percussion, to create the songo.

African heritage

In this section music of African heritage which owes little or nothing to Spanish tradition.

Rumba

Main articles: Cuban Rumba and Rumba

Rumba is a music of Cuban origin, but entirely African in style, traditionally using only voice, percussion and dance. It is a secular musical style. Rumba musicians use conga drums, palitos to play a cáscara rhythm, claves and call and response vocals. All this combines to make a danceable and popular form of music. The word rumba may stem from the verb rumbear, which means something like to have a good time, party. The rhythm is the most important part of rumba, which is always primarily meant for dancing.

The Cuban rumba was spontaneous, improvised and lively, coming from the docks and the less prosperous areas of Havana and Matanzas. Now it is seldom seen except for the performances of professional groups on set occasions. This may bear some relation to the Cuban government's dislike of unplanned happenings on the streets of Havana. Also, the tide may be running against purely African traditions in Cuba and elsewhere as societies get more integrated.

There are three basic rumba forms which survive today (there were more): columbia, guaguanco and yambú. The Columbia, played in 6/8 time, is generally danced only by men, often as a solo dance, and is very swift, with aggressive and acrobatic moves. The guagancó, played in 2/4, is danced with one man and one woman, and is slower. The dance simulates the man's pursuit of the woman, and is thus sexually charged. The yambú, known as "the old people's rumba", is played more slowly. Yambú is now a relic and is played almost exclusively by folkloric ensembles.

Note also two other uses of the word, both technically incorrect:

• Rumba as a cover-all term for faster Cuban music. This usage started in the 1930s and 40s with the Peanut Vendor. In this sense it has been replaced by salsa, which is also a cover-all term for marketing the music to non-Cubans.
• Rumba in the international Latin-American dance syllabus is a misnomer for the slow Cuban rhythm more accurately called the bolero-son.

Batá and yuka drums

Main articles: Batá and Yuka

Religious traditions of African origin have survived in Cuba, and are the basis of music, song and dance quite distinct from the secular music and dance. Traditions of Yoruban origin are known as Lucumi or Regla de Ocha; traditions of Congolese origin are known as Palo. There are also, in the Oriente region, forms of Haitian ritual together with its own instruments, music &c.

In Lukumí ceremonies, consecrated batá drums are played at ceremonies, and gourd ensembles called abwe. In the 1950s, a collection of Havana-area batá drummers called Santero helped bring Lucumí styles into mainstream Cuban music, while artists like Mezcla and Lázaro Ros melded the style with other forms, including zouk.

The Kongo cabildo uses yuka drums, as well as gallos (a form of song contest), makuta and mani dances, the latter being closely related to the Brazilian martial dance capoeira.

Other forms

Black immigrants from Haiti have settled in Oriente and established their own style of music, called the tumba francesa, which uses its own type of drum, dance and song. This survives to the present day in Santiago de Cuba.

Diversification and Popularization

Musicians at the Hotel Nacional, Havana. October 2002

1920s and '30s

Son music came to Havana, probably early in the century. By the 1920s it was one of the most popular forms (see 1920 in music): recordings of the Sexteto Bologna exist from 1918. In the 1930s recordings by famous groups like the Septeto Nacional and the Trío Matamoros went round the world. Son was urbanized, with trumpets and other new instruments, leading to its tremendous influence on most later forms of Cuban music. In Havana, influences such as American popular music and jazz via the radio were also popular.

The son sextetos gave way to the septetos, including guitar or tres, marímbulas or double bass, bongos, claves and maracas. The trumpet was introduced in the latter part of the 1920s to improve the sonority, that is, mainly to increase the sound. Lead singers improvised lyrics and embellished melody lines while the claves laid down the basic clave rhythm.

The son has always had a wide range of interpretations, from the Oriente style, where even the lyrics could be Afrocuban, with reference to various santos and rituals, to the silky salon style of groups like Conjunto Palmas y Canas. It was, and still is, played by individual trovadores, conjuntos and big bands.

Cuban music enters the United States

In the 1930s, Don Aspiazu had the first million-selling record of Cuban music: the Peanut Vendor (El Manisero). The Lecuona Cuban Boys became the best-known Cuban touring ensemble, and in 1941 Desi Arnaz popularized the conga in the U.S. Later Arsenio Rodriguez developed the son further with his conjunto. Son, guaracha, mambo, chachachá, rumba and conga became important sources for salsa.

Danzon

In the late 1930s and 40s, danzon performer Arcaño y sus Maravillas incorporated more syncopation and added a montuno (as in son), paving the way for the mixing of Latin musical forms, including guaracha, played by a charanga orchestra. Guaracha, whose origin lies first in the comic theatre called Bufo, and later in music played in the brothels of Havana, has been extremely popular and continues to entertain audiences.

1940s and '50s

Arsenio Rodriguez, one of Cuba's most famous tres players and conjunto leaders, is considered to have brought son back to its African roots in the 1940s by adapting the guaguanco style to son, and by adding a cowbell and conga to the rhythm section. He also expanded the role of the tres as a solo instrument. Rodriguez introduced the montuno (or mambo section) for melodic solos and his style became known as son montuno.

In the 1940s, Chano Pozo formed part of the bebop revolution in jazz, playing conga and other Afro-Cuban drums. Conga was integral part of what became known as Latin jazz, which began in the 1940s among Cubans in New York City.

The big band era

The big band era arrived in Cuba in the 1940s, and became a dominant format which survives even today. Two great arranger-bandleaders deserve special credit for this. One, Armando Romeu Jr, led the Tropicana Caberet orchestra for 25 years, starting in 1941. He had experience playing with visiting American jazz groups as well as a complete mastery of Cuban forms of music. In his hands the Tropicana presented not only Afrocuban and other popular Cuban music, but also Latin jazz and American big band compositions. Later he conducted the Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna.

The other arranger who introduced the big band style to Cuban music was the famous Damaso Perez Prado, who had a number of hits which sold more 78s than any other latin music of the day. He took over the role of pianist/arranger for the Orquesta Casino de la Playa in 1944, and immediately began introducing new elements into its sound. The orchestra began to sound more Afrocuban, and at the same time Prado took influences from Stravinsky, Stan Kenton and elsewhere. By the time he left the orchestra in 1946 he had put together the elements of his big band mambo.

"Above all, we must point out the work of Perez Prado as an arranger, or better yet, composer and arranger, and his clear influence on most other Cuban arrangers from then on."

Benny Moré, considered by many as the greatest Cuban singer of all time, was at his heyday in the 1950s. He was gifted with an innate musicality and fluid tenor voice which he colored and phrased with great expressivity. Although he could not read music, Moré was a master of all the genres, including son montuno, mambo, guaracha, guajira, cha cha cha, afro, canción, guaguancó, and bolero. His orchestra, the Banda Giganta, and his music, was a development – more flexible and fluid in style – of the Perez Prado orchestra, with which he had sung in 1949–1950.

Cuban music in the US

Main articles: Chachachá and Mambo

A charanga group called Orquesta America, led by violinist Enrique Jorrín, helped invent chachachá, which became an international fad in the 1950s. Chachachá was popularized by bands led by Tito Puente, Perez Prado and other superstars.

The mambo first entered the mainstream market in the United States around 1950. The first number with the title, "Mambo", by Orestes "Cachao" Lopez, had been written in 1938, and recorded some years later. It was a danzon, with some extra synchopation in its final part. The mambo as understood in the United States was considerably different. It was a big band product, the work of Perez Prado, who made some sensational recordings for RCA in their new recording studios in Mexico City in the late 40s. About 27 of those recordings had Benny More as the singer, though the best sellers were mainly instrumentals. The big hits included Que rico el mambo (Mambo Jambo); Mambo #5; Mambo #8; Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White. The later (1955) hit Patricia was a mambo/rock fusion. Mambo of the Prado kind was more a descendent of the son and the guaracha than the danzon. In the U.S. the mambo craze lasted from about 1950 to 1956, but its influence on the bugaloo and salsa that followed it was considerable.

Other influential musicians prior to the revolution were Ernesto Lecuona, Chano Pozo, Bola de Nieve, who lived in Mexico, and Mario Bauza, who, along with such "Nuyoricans" Ray Barretto and Tito Puente made innovation in mambo which gradually would produce Latin jazz and later salsa. A large number of musicians left Cuba between 1966 and 1968, after the Cuban government nationalised the remaining nightclubs and the recording industry. Among these was Celia Cruz, a guaracha singer, who gave strong impulses to the development of salsa. In later years Cubans were very active in Latin jazz and early salsa, such as percussionist Patato Valdés of the Cuban-oriented "Tipíca '73", linked to the Fania All-Stars. Several former members of Irakere have also become highly successful in the USA, among them Paquito D'Rivera and Arturo Sandoval.

Tata Güines became a famous percussionist playing the conga. moved to New York City in 1957, playing there with great jazz players such as Dizzy Gillespie, Maynard Ferguson, and Miles Davis at Birdland. As a percussionist, he performed with Josephine Baker and Frank Sinatra. He returned to Cuba in 1959 after Fidel Castro came to power in the Cuban revolution which he helped fund by contributions from his earnings as a musician.

1960s and '70s

Modern Cuban music is known for its relentless mixing of genres. For example, the 1970s saw Los Irakere use batá in a big band setting; this became known as son-batá or batá-rock. Later artists created the mozambique, which mixed conga and mambo, and batá-rumba, which mixed rumba and batá drum music. Mixtures including elements of hip hop, jazz and rock and roll are also common, like in Habana Abierta's rockoson.

Revolutionary Cuba and Cuban exiles

The triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959 signified on one side mass exile to Puerto Rico, Florida and New York, and the protection of artists by the Socialist state, reflected in state-owned record labels like EGREM.However, the Castro government abolished copyright laws in Cuba after the Revolution, and forced young musicians to study classical music and not popular music. In Cuba, the Nueva Trova movement (including Pablo Milanés) reflected the new leftist ideals. Young musicians learned in music school. The state-run cabaret Tropicana was a popular attraction for foreign tourists, though some tourists sought out local casas de la Trova. Musicians were full-time and paid by the state after graduating from a conservatory. The fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s eventually changed the situation quite a bit, and musicians were then allowed to tour abroad and earn a living outside the state-run system.

Famous artists from the Cuban exile includeCelia Cruz and the whole conjunto she sang with, the Sonora Matancera. 'Patato' (Carlos Valdes), Cachao, La Lupe, Arturo Sandoval, Willy Chirino, Paquito D'Rivera and Gloria Estefan are some others. Many of these musicians, especially Cruz, became closely associated with the anti-revolutionary movement.

Salsa

Main article: Salsa music

Because Cuba has so many indigenous types of music there has always been a problem in marketing the 'product' abroad to people who did not understand the differences between rhythms that, to a Cuban, are quite distinct. So, twice in the 20th century, a kind of product label was developed to solve this problem. The first occasion was in the 1930s after the Peanut Vendor became an international success. It was called a 'rumba' even though it really had nothing to do with genuine rumba: the number was obviously a son pregon. The label 'rumba' was used outside Cuba for years as a catch-all for Cuban popular music.

The second occasion happened during the period 1965-1975 in New York, as musicians of Cuban and Puerto-Rican origin combined to produce the great music of the post Cha-cha-cha period. This music acquired the label of 'salsa'. No-one really knows how this happened, but everyone recognised what a benefit it was to have a common label for son, mambo, guaracha, guijira, guaguanco &c. Cubans have always said "Salsa is just a name for our music"; but over time salsa bands worked in other influences. For example, in the late 60s Willie Colon developed numbers that made use of Brazilian rhythms. N.Y. radio programmes offered 'salsarengue' as a further combination. Later still 'Salsa romantica' was the label for an especially sugary type of bolero.

Nueva trova

Main article: Nueva trova

A local musical house Casa de la Trova at Santiago de Cuba.

Paralleling nueva canción in Chile and Argentina, Cuba's political and social turmoil in the 1960s and '70s produced a socially aware form of new music called nueva trova. Silvio Rodríguez and Pablo Milanés became the most important exponents of this style. It arose from travelling trovadores in the early 20th century, including popular musicians like Sindo Garay (best-known for "La Bayamesa"), Nico Saquito, Carlos Puebla and Joseíto Fernández (best-known for "Guantanamera"). Nueva trova was always intimately connected with Castro's revolution, but its lyrics frequently expressed personal rather than social issues, focusing on intense emotional issues.

Nueva Trova began to evolve after the fall of the Soviet Union, adapting to the new times. Examples of a new, non-political line in the Nueva Trova movement could be Liuba María Hevia, whose lyrics are focused on other subjects like love and solitude, sharing with the rest a highly poetical style. On the other side of the spectrum, Carlos Varela is famous in Cuba for his open criticism of some aspects of Castro's revolution, while at the same time being included in the Nueva Trova genre.

The term Novísima Trova (literally 'Newest song') is often used to describe a new generation of songwriters whose main references are Silvio Rodriguez and Pablo Milanés.

1980s to the present

Son remains the basis of most popular forms of modern Cuban music. Son is represented by long-standing groups like Septeto Nacional, which was re-established in 1985, Orquesta Aragón, Orquesta Ritmo Oriental and Orquesta Original de Manzanillo. Sierra Maestra, is famous for having sparked a revival in traditional son in the 1980s. Nueva trova still has influence, but the overtly political themes of the 1960s are well out of fashion. Meanwhile, Irakere fused traditional Cuban music with jazz, and groups like NG La Banda, Orishas and Son 14 continued to add new elements to son, especially hip hop and funk, to form timba music; this process was aided by the acquisition of imported electronic equipment. There are still many practitioners of traditional son montuno, such as Eliades Ochoa, who have recorded and toured widely as a result of interest in the son montuno after the Buena Vista Social Club success.

In the 1990s, increased interest in world music coincided with the post-Soviet Union periodo especial in Cuba, during which the economy began opening up to tourism. Orquesta Aragon, Charanga Habanera and Cándido Fabré y su Banda have been long-time players in the charanga scene, and helped form the popular timba scene of the late 1990s. The biggest award in modern Cuban music is the Beny Moré Award. The antagonism between Cuban politicians in Florida and on the island forced the celebration of the Latin Grammy Awards awards in Los Angeles instead of Miami.

The Orishas (band) is a very popular rap band from Cuba. Founded in 1999, the group has received national and global notoriety. The group's music is well-known throughout the country, especially with hits such as "Represent." Europe based female singer Addys D'Mercedes fuses her Cuban heritage with elements of rock, hip hop, house and RnB. Last few years reggaeton has made a big increase in Cuba, and lots of singers and bands exists, one of the most famous band is Eddy K.

After the trade embargo and the collapse of the Soviet Union, existing racial inequalities and poverty became more visible in Cuba. In the 1990s, some Cubans start to contest this by means of rap and hip-hop. Through lyrics and music, the rappers become to start a revolution within the revolution, in the clubs, and in the recording studios. Primera Base (First Base), one of the first Cuban hip-hop group, help the movement and the audience to develop. The result was such that Hip hop was not referred to as a rebellion anymore but instead as "an authentic expression of Cuban Culture." [1]. In Cuba, hip hop is useful to really describe the way they live and thus, it grows away from hip hop in America, where superficiality and “bling bling” are worshipped.

During this time, the Special Period, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Cuban government took measures to try and get the economy going again. Havana's music venues started to cater for tourists as well as locals. Before that time tourists were quite a rareity. When hip-hop emerged, the Cuban government opposed the vulgar image that rappers portrayed, but later recognized (1999) it might be better to have hip-hop under the influence of the Ministry of Culture as an "authentic expression of Cuban Culture".

Rap/Hip-Hop/Reggaeton

There has been an increasing interest amongst the young in aspects of U.S. and Jamaican street culture. Unlike salsa, which is an indigenous dance music, rap music in Cuba has taken on a different role. Rather than guns, young rebellious Cubans use lyrics, rather than march, they dance. "Hip hop is the rebellion within the revolution." Rap groups such as Anomino Consejo uses rhyming as an effective outlet through which they express feelings on Cuban politics. Although some rap groups have prided themselves for remaining loyal to true hip hop essence, others like the Orishas, the only Cuban rap group to make it big in Latin America, have been criticized for using salsa beats to generate a greater commercial appeal.

Like hip hop, Reggaeton is a new genre for the Cubans. Although reggaeton is seen as a music from Puerto Rico, it recently became very large in Cuba. Reggaeton production aided new underground initiatives, which indirectly caused by the innovation of computer hard and software that helped to distribute music unofficially and illegally first time in Cuban history. Most of the music is not solely of Cuban origin; it includes aspects of the American hip hop culture. Most of the songs contain sexual action as a main theme. Los Gatos, for example, implies a woman's instability for sex in their music. "By 2005, reggaeton became large, because of lyrics and the dance moves" (Jan Fairley). Both lyrics and dance movements were criticised. Reggaeton musicians responded by making songs that defended their music. Despite their efforts, the Ministry of Culture has ruled that reggaeton is not to be used in teaching intuitions, parties and at discos.

Government and Hip-Hop

Rap began growing in Cuba in the 1990s. Some of the first groups include groups such as Amenaxa (The Threat) and Primera Base (First Base). The main theme in their music was criticizing the racial inequality in the country.

Hip-hop in Cuba has developed by "a rebellion... nourished by a stifling trade embargo, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and racial inequality". The Cuban raperos started to sing about poverty and racism. "Freehole Negro", one of the emerging groups in Cuba, for example, talks about how the Cuban government is disconnected with Afro-Cubans. The groups vary, from kids rapping in the streets to club performers, and small number recording in studios. Cuban hip-hop incorporates instruments like batas, congas, Drum kits and guitar bass. Some even incorporate rumba and mambo.

Hip-hop being tolerated by the government of Cuba is something out of the ordinary. In Cuba the rappers talk about global issues such as racism, war, and environmental pollution. At the same time performers are provided with venues and equipment by the government. There is debate, mostly futile, as to what is considered “authentic” Cuban hip-hop. Since the advent of reggaeton and the addition of synthetic sound into the music, some associate this label of authenticity with hip-hop that is poetically lyrical and very simplistic in its beat; this is because the “true” hip-hop artists in Cuba did not have a lot of money and were found recording from their own bedrooms.

The "Cuban Rap Agency." was founded in 2002 by the Cuban government. Under this scheme, the government supports rap and hip-hop groups by giving them time on mass media devices in return for hip-hop artists limiting self expression and presenting the government in a positive way. The hip-hop artists talk about everyday life and the great things that occur in Cuba such as bars, night clubs, beaches, etc. However, most critics believe that the Cuban Rap Agency will hide people's opinions of the Cuban government. The government evidently recognises that rap and hip-hop is an empowering and growing form of music in Cuba, and would in any event be difficult or impossible to eliminate.

The Cuban rap and hip-hop scene sought out the involvement of the Ministry of Culture in the production and promotion of their music, which would otherwise have been impossible to accomplish. By 1999, the Cuban government had endorsed Cuban hip-hop as "authentic Cuban Culture", and the advent of the Cuban Rap Agency in 2002 provided the Cuban rap scene with a state-sponsored record label, magazine, and Cuba's own hip-hop festival.

Timba

Main article: Timba

Since its appearance in the early 1990s timba has become the most popular dance music in Cuba, rivalled only lately by Reggaetón, the Cuban version of Jamaican ragga and dancehall music. Though derived from the same roots as salsa, timba has its own characteristics, and is intimately tied to the life and culture of Cuba, and especially Havana.

Buena Vista Social Club

Main article: Buena Vista Social Club

The watershed event was the release of Buena Vista Social Club (1997), a recording of veteran Cuban musicians organized by the American musician and producer, Ry Cooder. Buena Vista Social Club became an immense worldwide hit, selling millions of copies, and made stars of octogenarian Cuban musicians such Ibrahim Ferrer, Joseíto Fernández, and Compay Segundo, whose careers had stagnated in the 1950s.

Buena Vista resulted in several followup recordings and spawned a film of the same name, as well as tremendous interest in other Cuban groups. In subsequent years, dozens of singers and conjuntos made recordings for foreign labels and toured internationally. The interest of world audiences in exile and pre-revolutionary musicians has stirred some resentment among younger musicians that feel that their work and evolution of forty years is being ignored.

See also

• Culture of Cuba
• Latin American music
• Buena Vista Social Club
• Arawak Jah's Cuban Reggae
• Anónimo consejo

References

The references below are source material for all aspects of traditional Cuban popular music; the titles in Spanish are those which have not been translated into English.

• Acosta, Leonardo 1987. From the drum to the synthesiser. Martí, Havana, Cuba. Articles written from 1976 to 1982.

• Acosta, Leonardo 2003. Cubano be, cubano bop: one hundred years of jazz in Cuba. Transl. Daniel S. Whitesell. Smithsonian, Washington DC. Outstanding review by former conjunto trumpeter.

• Betancur Alvarez, Fabio 1993. Sin clave y bongó no hay son: música afrocubano y confluencias musicales de Columbia y Cuba. Antioqia, Medellín, Columbia.

• Calderon, Jorge 1983. Maria Teresa Vera. La Habana.

• Calvo Ospina, Hernando 1995. Salsa! Havana heat, Bronx beat. Latin American Bureau.

• Canizares, Dulcila 1995. La trova tradicional. 2nd ed, La Habana.

• Canizares, Dulcila 1999. Gonzalo Roig, hombre y creador.

• Carpentier, Aljejo 2001 [1945]. Music in Cuba. Minniapolis MN.

• Chediak, Natalio 1998. Diccioanrio del jazz latino. Fundacion Autor, Barcelona.

• Collazo, Bobby 1987. La ultima noche que pase contigo: 40 anos de fanandula Cubana. Cubanacan, Puerto Rico.

• Depestre Catony, Leonardo 1989. Homenaje a la musica cubana. Oriente, Santiago de Cuba. Biographies of Abelardo Barroso, Joseíto Fernández, Paulina Alvarez, Roberto Faz and Pacho Alonzo.

• Depestre Catony, Leonardo 1990. Cuatro musicos de una villa. Letras Cubanss, La Habana. Biogrphies of four musicians from Guanabacoa: Ernesto Lecuona, Rita Montaner, Bola de Nieve and Juan Arrondo.

• Diaz Ayala, Cristobal 1981. Música cubana del Areyto a la Nueva Trova. 2nd rev ed, Cubanacan, San Juan P.R. Excellent history up to 1960s, with a chapter on Cuban music in the USA.

• Diaz Ayala, Cristobal 1988. Si te quieres por el poco divertir: historia del pregón musical latinoamericano. Cubanacan, San Juan P.R. Music based on street-sellers cries; title is taken from lyric of Peanut Vendor.

• Diaz Ayala, Cristobal 1998. Cuando sali de la Habana 1898-1997: cien anos de musica cubana por el mundo. Cubanacan, San Juan P.R.

• Failde, Osvalde Castillo 1964. Miguel Failde: créador musical del Danzón. Consejo Nacional de Cultura, La Habana.

• Fairley, Jan. 2000. Troubadours old and new, and ¡Que rico bailo yo! How well I dance. In S. Broughton and M. Ellingham, with J. McConnachie and O. Duane, (eds) World Music, Vol. 2: Latin & North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific p386-413. Rough Guides, Penguin. ISBN 1-85828-636-0

• Fajardo, Ramon 1993. Rita Montaner. La Habana.

• Fajardo, Ramon 1997. Rita Montaner: testimonio de una epoca. La Habana.

• Fernando Robaina, Tomas 1983. Recuerdos secretos de los mujeres publicas. La Habana.

• Galan, Natalio 1983. Cuba y sus sones. Pre-Textos, Valencia.

• Giro, Radames (ed) 1993. El mambo. La Habana. Nine essays by Cuban musicians and musicologists.

• Giro, Radames (ed) 1998. Panorama de la musica popular Cubana. Letras Cubanas, La Habana. Reprints some important essays on Cuban popular music.

• Grenet, Emilio 1939. Popular Cuban music. Havana.

• Leon, Carmela de 1990. Sindo Garay: memoria de un trovador. La Habana.

• Leon, Argeliers 1964. Musica folklorica cubana. Biblioteca Nacional Jose Marti, La Habana.

• Leymarie, Isabelle 2002. Cuban fire: the story of salsa and Latin jazz. Continuum, London; orig. publ. Paris 1997.

• Linares, María Teresa 1970. La música popular. La Habana, Cuba. Illustrated introduction.

• Linares, María Teresa 1981. La música y el pueblo. La Habana, Cuba.

• Lowinger, Rosa and Ofelia Fox 2005. Tropicana nights: the life and times of the legendary Cuban nightclub. Harcourt, Orlando FL. Fox (1924-2006) was the wife of the owner.

• Loyola Fernandez, Jose 1996. El ritmo en bolero: el bolero en la musica bailable cubana. Huracan, Rio Piedras.

• Manuel, Peter (ed) 1991. Essays on Cuban music: North America and Cuban perspectives. Lanham MD.

• Manuel, Peter, with K. Bilby and M. Largey. 2006. Caribbean currents: Caribbean music from rumba to reggae 2nd ed. Temple University. ISBN 1-59213-463-7

• Martinez, Orlando 1989. Ernesto Lecuona. La Habana, Cuba.

• Naser, Amín E. 1985. Benny Moré: perfil libre. La Habana, Cuba.

• Orovio, Helio 1995. El bolero latino. La Habana.

• Orovio, Helio 2004. Cuban music from A to Z. Revised by Sue Steward. ISBN 0822331861 A biographical dictionary of Cuban music, artists, composers, groups and terms. Duke University, Durham NC; Tumi, Bath.

• Ortiz, Fernando 1950. La Afrocania de la musica folklorica cubana de Cuba. La Habana, revised ed 1965.

• Ortiz, Fernando 1951. Los bailes y el teatro de los negros en el folklore de Cuba. Letras Cubanas, La Habana. Continuation of the previous book; contains transcriptions of percussion in notation and lyrics of toques and cantos a los santos variously in Lucumi and Spanish.

• Ortiz, Fernando 1952. Los instrumentos de la musica Afrocubana. 5 volumes, La Habana.

• Pichardo, Esteban 1835 (repr 1985). Diccionario provincial casi razionado de voces y frases cubanos. La Habana. Includes contemporary explanations of musical and dance names.

• Roberts, John Storm 1979. The Latin tinge: the impact of Latin American music on the United States. Oxford. One of the first on this theme; still excellent.

• Roberts, John Storm 1999. Latin jazz: the first of the fusions, 1880s to today. Schirmer, N.Y.

• Roy, Maya 2002. Cuban music: from son and rumba to the Buena Vista Social Club and timba cubana. Latin American Bureau/Wiener.

• Steward, Sue 1991. Salsa: musical heartbeat of Latin America. Thames & Hudson, London. Highly illustrated.

• Sublette, Ned 2004. Cuba and its music: from the first drums to the mambo. Chicago. ISBN 1-55652-516-8 First of two planned volumes, covers up to March 1952.

• Sweeney, Philip 2001. The Rough Guide to Cuban music: the history, the artists, the best CDs. Rough Guides, London. Small format.

• Thomas, Hugh 1971. Cuba, or the pursuit of freedom. Eyre & Spottiswoode, London. Revised and abridged edition 2001, Picador, London. The abridged edition, a slim-line 1151 pages, has shortened the section of Cuba's early history. The standard work in English.

• Thomas, Hugh 1997. The slave trade: the history of the Atlantic slave trade 1440-1870. Picador, London. 925 pages.

• Urfé, Odilio 1965. El danzón. La Habana.

External links

• http://www.timba.com "Home of Cuban Music on the Web!"
• http://www.cubamusic.com Cubamusic
• List of Cuban artists and recordings played in Cuba up to 1959.
• Travel website article on Cuban music

Video

• Documentary 52': CUBA SON
• Documentary 52': HAVANA, HIP HOP UNDERGROUND
• Los Viejos de las Montanas
• Cuba Videos (1959 - present): Documentaries, Television; Programs, Commercials, Movies and etc...
• Cuban Music and Dance Video Gallery: Salsa Cubana, Rumba, Son, Danzon, Carnaval, Orisha and more