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Cuban Music – The Son Rhythm
The Son as a musical genre emerged towards the end of the 19th century as part of the formation of the Cuban nationality and became very popular during the Carnival festivities in Santiago de Cuba. Around 1892, the interpretation of Nené Manfugás, a musician that played a rustic three-double string instrument and a wooden box called Tres, made this genre known, such that the Tres became a symbol of the Son that lasts to this day.
Initially, the musical structure of Son was based on the constant repetition of a stanza known as Montuno, which alternates the harmonic improvisation of a soloist singer. It was played by means of strings and drums with a format that has not changed much: a Trés, a guitar, the bongo, the maracas, and the claves; at the very beginning the marimba was used, but it was substituted by the double bass when the rhythm moved to urban areas. During the first decades of the 20th century the Son was spread all over the island due to the internal migration; this kind of music was taken from the places it originated and went to other regions, including Havana; first in quartets and later on in sextets. Among the most famous groups, there were the Havana Sextet, which stood out for being the first to include the trumpet, and the National Septet Ignacio Piñeiro.
The Son was always a dance of the lower classes, and it was forbidden for a period because the government considered it immoral. When it could enter in the ball rooms in Havana and other important cities, and with the help of the recording and radio coverage, the Son was no longer exclusive of tenement buildings, and since 1920 this rhythm took the place of the Danzón, the national dance, not only in the popular taste, but also in important events. While this was happening in the western part of the country, in the eastern part the Son accomplished a unique sound performed by The Matamoros Trio, who in 1928 recorded their first album and put the Son among the most famous American dancing rhythms with the worldwide known song "Son de la Loma". The Son has a wide range of rhythmic expressions: the Son Montuno, the Changuí, the Havana Son, Cry Son, and the Sucu Sucu, among others.
In 1930, the band of Don Azpiazu and its lead singer Antonio Machín performed in the United States and Europe, beginning the internationalization process of this genre. The first global success was the Cry Son "El Manicero" (The Peanut Seller) written by Moisés Simón. The National Septet Ignacio Piñeiro had a performance in the Chicago World Fair in 1933 and became a resounding success. The pop group of Arsenio Rodríguez during the 1940s (musical director that added the drums and piano) and the giant band of Benny Moré during the 1950s carried on producing huge Son successes.
At the end of the 60s and beginnings of the 70s, Los Van Van renewed the genre mixing the Son with electronic music. Juan Formell introduced a drum kit, the electronic bass, three lead singers and the trombones of the Cuban brass bands. Important bands have come to life performing Son, such as Son 14, Adalberto Álvarez y su Son, NG La Banda, among others; bands that have added minor contributions but which have enriched the sonority of the genre.
The Son is, without a doubt, the musical genre from Cuba that has influenced the Latin Salsa the most, not only regarding the instrumental sonority, but also in the musical structure. It is such an influence that many have confused the two rhythms with the same phenomenon, although actually the Cuban Son is "the most sublime music for the soul to enjoy" (stanza of a Son song).
About the Author
This brief history of Cuban Son music was written by a Cuba travel expert from Cuba For Less, a specialist in fully customizable Cuba vacation packages.
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