Willow Springs, Illinois 60480, United States
Origens and Roots of Popular Cuban Dance Music
RUMBA
Generic term of a family of Cuban urban music
ORIGENS
Ports of Matanzas and Havana, Cuba in the mid-19th century
MUSIC
Roots: Rhythmic patterns are from two secular Bantu dances: YUKA
and MAKUTA and the musical traditions of Spain
Syles: Columbia Guaguanco, Yambo, Mimeticas
Ensemble: Conjunto de rumba
Instruments: 3 drums (Tumbadora, Seguidor and Quinto), palitos, cajones and
claves
Vocals Leader and chorus
DANCE
Styles: Columbia (male solo dancer)
Guaguanco (couples)
Yambu (couples)
and various Rumbas Mimeticas
Sad Note: This is not the "rumba" from the Cuban/Latin ballroom dance syllabus, which is not only a misnomer, but it has it all wrong.
What they dance is actually a very stylized Bolero/Son if they can get the music that goes with it right.
How did this ballroom dance get its name wrong?
It must have been a dance instructor in the USA who started teaching this way after getting back from a trip to Cuba. This typical process of assimilation into Ballroom dances also happened to other international Latin dances (Mambo, Pasodoble, Samba, Tango and Cha cha cha) and is what has happed to "Salsa".
With progress in the Latin countries, professional international instructors and the internet we now know better; however, their federations continue with their unchanged standards. SAD cultural appropriation in our opinion.
SON
Generic term of a family of Cuban country music and a style within this family
ORIGENS
Guantanamo and Baracoa, Cuba in the 19th century. It reached Havana in 1910's
MUSIC
Roots Guajiro music a mix from
Bantu and Arara (Africa)
Tumba Francesa (Haiti, France)
Spain (Andalucia, Canary Islands, Castilla and Galicia) and
The sonority of Taino indigenous hand- held instruments.
Syles Depends on the ensemble of instruments.
Nengon, Kiriba, Changui, and various Son Montuno styles.
Ensemble: Trio, Bunga, Conjunto and Orchestra
Instruments: Bongo, maracas, claves, guiro/guayo, marimbula (later replaced
by the bajo/bass guitar), Tres (Cuban guitar later replaced by the
piano), tumbadoras, pailas (timbales) cajon, and trumpet.
DANCE
Roots Areito, Danza Cubana, Danzon and traditional Cuban group
dances like contradanza and danzonete influenced the
development of Casino and Ruedas de Casino at the Casino in
Havana in the 1940's and 50's
Styles Traditional Son
Casino
Ruedas de Casino
Timba
Generic term of a family of Cuban music with many styles depending on the degree of fusion
ORIGENS
In Cuban music schools by highly trained musicians many of them originally from black neighborhoods. It was a slow process of fusion with other genre and music styles, but it took form in 1993. Jose Luis Cortez and musician from NG La Banda is credited of starting and developed this genra. The term Timba was later coined by Juan Formell and was later used.
MUSIC
Roots Main fusion of Son and Rumba, with strong influence from
Afrocuban music, Jazz, Soul, Rap and Hip Hop
Syles Slower or faster pitch of unnamed styles depending on degree
of fusion
Ensemble: Orchestra
Instruments: Electric Piano, keyboards, bass, drum set, paila, tumbadoras,
minor percussion, trumpets, and/or trombone and/or
saxophone, electric guitar. At least 3 vocals
DANCE
Timba is a music genre and not a genre of dancing.
Styles: Casino is the main of dancing Timba
Rumba because since it is a fusion, the rhythm allows it.
Afrocuban sections can be inserted when not enlaced with a
partner.
Solo, lines and Ruedas de Casino.
cubaton
Generic term of Cuban urban music derived from mainstream Reggaeton, music from Panama from the adaptation of Spanish Lyrics to Jamaican reggae, rap and dancehall in the early 80's. In Cuba it was fused with Latin/Cuban style music.
It is also known as Reggaeton Cubano, more melodic and stylish. The vocal delivery is different often heavy auto-tuned and layered with adlibs, the syncopated rhythm and incorporation of Caribbean and Cuban instrumentation and trumpet and trombones.
In 2018, the Cuban reggaeton industry as a whole incurred over 1 million CUC.
ORIGENS
Panama City in the early 80's, culturally appropriated by reggaetoneros in Puerto Ric throughout the 1990s and fused with Timba and Hip Hop when it arrived in Cuban in the early 2000's.
Due to its sexually explicit lyrics and imagery, Cubatón often suffered from government censorship, with bans on the genre on television, radio and state-run recording studios. Nonetheless, the movement has thrived, finding fans through el paquete, the island’s informal digital distribution network
MUSIC
Roots Reggaeton originally from Panama and popularized by puerto
ricans and fusion with syncopated rhythms from Cuba. The
beats are not the same as the reggaeton from Puerto Rico.
Two bands are credited with popularizing Cubaton are
Maxima Alerta (1999) and Cubanito 20.02.
Also, Eddy-K and Clan 537 pioneered the sound.
Gente de Zona shot Cubaton into more widespread
mainstream attention.
Styles TIMBATON is Timba con Reggaeton the name makes explicit
references to Timba. Jorge Junior of Los 4 credits himself for
the creation of Timbaton
REPARTO is a Cuban sub-genre
Ensemble: Small group with Deejay, 1 or 2 singers
Instruments: Guitar, keyboards, drum set or paila, tumbadoras, and a
deejay Mixing Deck, minor percussion, trumpets, and/or
trombone and/or saxophone, electric guitar. At least 3 vocals
DANCE
Styles: Solo
Free Style
Daggering, grinding or junking
Perreo
Casino (Europe and Mexico)
OTHER Genra of Cuban Dance and music
Contradanza Cubana
Danzon
Danza Cubana
Tumba Francesa
Conga
Mambo
Cha Cha Cha
Pilon
Mozambique
Danzonete