ETHNOMUS 108B Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Nueva Trova, Gerardo Machado, Fulgencio Batista
13 Dec 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Lecture 12 05/19/2016
Cuban Son
Historical Overview
● Indigenous peoples since 3100 BC
○ Taino, Siboney, Guanahatabey
● Colonial period began 1511
● Independence struggle: 1868-1898
● Occupied by US (1898-1902)
○ And two other times in early 20th cent
● Gerardo Machado dictatorship (1925-1933)
● Fulgencio Batista dictatorship until Jan 1, 1959
● Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro, Che Guevara
○ U.S embargo 1960
○ Officially communist in 1961
○ Subsidies from Soviet Union until 1991
■ Then entered economic “Special Period”
● “Thawing” relations with US (2014-present)
○ Reopening of embassies, etc
● 1990s: Cajon de Muerto
○ Cuba’s communist revolution funding from Soviet Union cut
Cuban Music
● Five meta-level genres of Cuban folkloric/popular music
○ Punto
■ Musica guajira: with controversias improvised in decima poems
○ Rumba
■ Three main types: yambu, guaguanco, columbia
○ Son
■ Two main related genres: changui and son (salsa)
○ Danzon
○ Cancion cubana
■ Trova sung by trovadores (troubadours)
● Nueva Trova
■ Not usually for dancing
Cuban Son: Changui
● One of the types of sones
● A predecessor to Cuban son
○ Originated in and around Guantanamo (eastern Cuba)
● Guantanamo is home to Changui
● Changui is also the name of a rural party
○ Moving from one house to the other
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● Instrumentation
○ Tres: guitar with 6 strings in 3 courses:
■ Plucked
○ Bongo
○ Marimbula
○ Maracas
○ Guayo (metal scraper)
Cuban Son: Proper
● Son Proper
● Authentic: true Cuban Son
● Sonero and Tresero
○ Sonero: musician plays the son
○ Tresero: musician plays the tres
○ Music as labor (not just about being a star or just art)
○ Isaac Oviedo: making money in the countryside
● “Manciero” by Moises Simon
● Distinction:
○ Higher pitched bongo
○ Multiple tres
○ No marimbula
○ Upright bass (replaced marimbula)
○ Clave
Son or Rhumba
● Commercialized versions of the son
● Don Azpiazu and Xavier Cugat
○ Made son famous abroad
■ Though not as important in Cuba today
○ Made the image of Cuban music in the U.S
○ Led to confusion between terms “rhumba” and “son”
● Azipiazu’s group featured a “rumba” dance in 1930
○ Anglicized version “rhumba” applied to all their music
Son en Havanna
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
