Cuban Music 101

Cuban music is a myriad of styles and genres, with a long history. While influences from Africa and Spain were predominant, Cuban music has also been shaped by the music of Europe, Latin-America and American pop music and jazz. Disclaimer: this sampling is by no means meant to be all-inclusive, this is only scratching the surface of Cuban music.

Son
Son is a style of popular dance music that originated in the Oriente province of Cuba. It is the foundation of modern salsa. There are several hybrids of Son, including Son-montuno, Afro-son and Guajira-son. There are two examples here: one very traditional, and one more modern.

Guajira
A derivation of Son, usually played a little slower, and identified by its arpeggiated guitar or piano parts. "Guantanamera" is probably the most famous guajira.

Bolero
A slow, romantic ballad.

Rumba
A secular folkloric form, Rumba consists of drumming, dancing and call-and-response singing both in African and Spanish languages.

Yoruba
Sacred music of the Lucumi religion featuring bata drums. This track features the master akpwon (caller) of Cuba, Lazaro Ros.

Zapateo
A flamenco-derived folk dance once popular throughout Cuba but now confined mostly to rural Oriente and associated with guajira music.

Danzˆ„n
A style of music influenced by European dances, first developed in the late nineteenth century. The form later was expanded to contain a section initially known as "nuevo ritmo," later called mambo.

Mambo
The word mambo can have many meanings, but the samples here are representative of the dance style popularized in the 40's and 50's. The Cachao sample, written by his brother Orestes Lopez, is thought to be the first mambo.

Descarga
Literal translation: to unload. The descarga is the Cuban jam session. Israel "Cachao" Lopez made several classic descarga records in the fifties.

Jazz Cubano
Cuban jazz--self explanatory.

Mozambique
A style of Cuban carnaval music created by Pedro Izquierdo, also known as Pello Afrokˆ°n.

Conga
Another style of Cuban carnaval music.

Pachanga/Charanga
Charanga refers to instrumentation. Flute and violins take the place of brass. Pachanga was a popular style in the 50's and was usually played by Charanga bands.

Pilˆ„n
Pilˆ„n was a popular dance based on the motions of pounding sugarcane. It originated in the Cuban town of the same name.

Timba
The newest and most controversial music out of Cuba, Timba is like salsa on steroids. It incorporates influences from Brazilian music, R&B, hip-hop and salsa. Note the different roles the piano and bass play. Just two samples do not do justice to this anything-goes genre.

Songo
Originated by Los Van Van, Songo was in many ways the predecessor to timba. The roles of the piano and bass were custom-fit to each song, rather than relying on traditional patterns.

Changˆºˆ‚
An early style of Son.