Encyclopedia of Latin American Popular Music

by George Torres

  sector in Cuba. The early years of the 19th century were marked by an astounding

  increase in the flow of slaves from West Africa to meet the demands of Cuba’s

  burgeoning sugar-based economy. As early as the 1820s, there were already an es-

  timated 1,000 ingenios (sugar plantation-processing complexes) in Cuba. Despite

  the 1817 agreement to the cessation of the trans-Atlantic slave trade between En-

  gland and Spain, the economic dividends of Cuba’s plantation economy proved too

  lucrative for Spain: the arrival of enslaved Africans increased.

  Cuba in the 19th century remained a region marked by racial tensions. The con-

  tinuing condition of slavery juxtaposed with a growing population of free blacks,

  the legacy of Haitian independence, and continuing fears among the white Cuban

  minority of a slave revolt like that of Haiti, produced a climate of racial severance

  122 | Cuba

  that remained unaddressed until well into the 20th century. This climate of fear

  gave rise to an increase in the establishment of cabildos or cofradías: mutual-aid

  assemblies based on regional Iberian guild-fraternities. These councils were legis-

  lated in Spanish colonies, under the name of a patron Catholic saint and the auspices

  of a diocesan Catholic priest, allowing persons of African heritage to congregate

  for social events. Though the endorsement of these organizations by the Catholic

  Church and the colonial elite was directed simultaneously at quelling the social ten-

  sions inherent in Cuba’s slave-labor economy and facilitating the development of

  Catholic orthodoxy in the regions, the cabildos proved to be as likely to facilitate

  organized dissention as they were to foster the preservation of African-derived re-

  ligious and musical practices. Additionally, these Afro-American congregations at-

  tended to many of their community needs (such as amalgamating resources for legal

  defenses, financing manumissions and funeral costs), much in the same way that

  the palenques ( clandestine settlements of escaped slaves) acted as sites of cultural

  preservation and social welfare. The persistence of Afro-Cuban sacred traditions

  (such as Santería, Palo Monte, Arará, Abakuá ) and their rich musical heritages owe

  much to the power of these early assemblies.

  With larger numbers of African Cubans manumitted under Spanish law, the im-

  migration of thousands of Chinese indentured laborers began in 1847 to counter the

  attrition of plantation labor. Often working side by side with black slaves, Chinese

  laborers became a crucial part of the Cuban economy, and like their Afro-Cuban

  counterparts, they distinguished themselves as soldiers and officers in the struggles

  for independence from Spain. After various attempts at a graduated emancipation

  of Afro-Cubans, slavery was officially abolished in 1886. Ironically, sugar remains

  Cuba’s principal crop and largest export commodity today.

  Music and Cultures in Contact

  Cuba, particularly the capital Havana, in the 19th century exhibited a vibrant ar-

  tistic life infused with European concert musics that superceded the artistic output

  of North American centers. At the same time, a Creole musical culture was taking

  shape as the European and West African musical traditions on the island became

  fused into uniquely Cuban musical sensibilities and expressive genres. The musical

  adaptations, for example, visited upon the vestiges of Spanish contradanza in Cu-

  ba’s 19th-century salons, led to uniquely Cuban popular musical genres such as the

  danza cubana (the habanera ), which would go on to exert its influence in the co-

  lonial courts of Mexico, European opera, Argentinean tango , and proto- jazz of the United States. The international appeal of Cuban music has been long-standing.

  The 19th century also marked the emergence of the Creole drum, song, and

  dance complex known as rumba (not to be confused with rhumba, one of the

  Cuba | 123

  earlier and more prominent examples

  of authentic African and European

  musical hybridity). Though the dance

  and rhythmic vocabulary of rumba is

  predominantly of Afro-Cuban ori-

  gin (e.g., Yuka, Abakuá ), European

  musical practices are nonetheless as

  prevalent in the genre: Spanish lyr-

  ics, Iberian harmonic progressions,

  bel canto style, and tertiary harmo-

  nization. Certainly, the prioritization

  of the highest-pitched drum in the

  ensemble indicates a uniquely Cuban

  transformation because West African

  drumming styles normatively des-

  ignate the lowest drum as the prin-

  cipal one. With the exception of the

  street parades of the Epiphany and

  other pre-Lenten Carnivals, which

  were multifaceted events exhibiting

  unpredictable mixtures of cultural

  repertoires, no other popular forms Salvador Repilado, one of the sons of late

  Cuban singer Compay Segundo, participates

  of musical entertainment in the 19th in a rehearsal of Compay Segundo’s band

  century (e.g., coro de clave, salon a few hours prior to the live performance

  dancing, bolero , comic theater) ap- in 2010 at La Cigale concert hall in Paris.

  proached the symmetry of sociomu- (Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images)

  sical elements found in rumba.

  The Republic: The First 60 Years

  The first two decades of the republic were fraught with discord as Cuba struggled

  to construct its own estimable nationhood amid the lurking interests of the United

  States and racial enmity on the island. It was not until the spread of son that Cuban

  popular music embodied a sonic ideal of racial conciliation, though the dance genre

  met with consternation in its early years from many Cuban elite for its lascivious

  nature and association with colored Cubans. It was in 1922 that Cuba became the

  first Caribbean nation to broadcast its music on radio waves and Cuba’s interna-

  tional status as a hub of musical and entertainment activity gradually escalated, as

  did its musical influence. A gradual migration ensued, bringing Cuban musicians

  to Havana in search of musical opportunities, and son, along with other musical

  124 | Cuba

  genres such as the danzón of the charanga orchestras, soon captured wider public attention. The musical migration, however, was not only internal: the growing flow

  of American tourists to the island nation effected both an appetite for Cuban music

  abroad and a fluency among Cuban musicians in jazz and swing band styles. By

  the 1940s and 1950s, the artistic and commercial cross-pollination between Cuban

  and American dance music had become so entrenched that it is nearly impossible

  to estimate the multifaceted ways in which the mobility of musical repertoires (and

  musicians) took effect, though cubop as well as the popularity of mambo and salsa

  are conspicuous examples.

  Musical Innovation Post-1959

  On January 1, 1959, the rebels led by Fidel Castro successfully overthrew the

  regime of Fulgencio Batista, for many on the island an icon of the continued

  American interference in Cuban affairs. The numerous social and culture shifts

  set in motion by the revolution brought about sweeping changes to U.S. foreign

  policy concer
ning Cuba. As a result of the escalating acrimony and political

  brinkmanship between the two nations (e.g., Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missile Cri-

  sis, trade embargo, assassination attempts), the extraordinary musical dialogue

  of the preceding 30-odd years was effectively ended. Nonetheless, the first 15

  years of the revolution were marked by arresting artistic innovation, evocative

  of the nationalistic fervor of the time, and numerous dance rhythms appeared

  on the scene, captivating Cuban popular culture: dengue, mozambique, pilon ,

  and songo .

  The years immediately following the revolution were also typified by the in-

  troduction of numerous musical hybrids, in no small part influenced by the in-

  novative music of 1960s and 1970s United States and Britain (e.g., jazz, soul,

  funk, rock). Though the fascination with foreign musical forms met with some

  anxiety and at times outright repression on the part of the Cuban government,

  many of these ensembles were at the vanguard of Cuba’s post-revolutionary

  artistic innovations: the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna (1967), which

  included many early members of Irakere; the Quinteto Cubano de Música Mod-

  erna (1959); the Grupo de Experimentación Sonora de ICAIC, including many

  influential composers of nueva trova. The establishment of a Cuban national

  recording company, EGREM (Empresa de Grabaciones y Ediciones Musicales,

  1964), gave unprecedented recording opportunities to the many musical innova-

  tors of the period.

  The institution of various state performing arts ensembles moved Afro-Cuban

  music and dance closer to the center of the national identity, most notably in the

  Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba (1962) and Danza Contemporanea de Cuba

  (1959). The period was also marked by the rise of independent folklore ensembles

  such as Los Muñequitos de Matanzas (1956) and Guaguancó Marítimo Portuario

  Cuba | 125

  (1961, later Yoruba Andabo). The social history of Afro-Cuban and Cuban popu-

  lar dance music soon came to be established in the national school curricula, and

  their study was also included in the main state-run musical institutions—Escuela

  Nacional de Arte (ENA), Instituto Superior de Artes (ISA), and various divisions

  of the Escuela de Superación Profesional.

  Recent Trends

  With the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of its foreign aid to Cuba,

  the Castro government was forced to open its borders to outside financial inter-

  ests in order to minimize the effects of the economic crisis that necessarily fol-

  lowed. Today, Cuba is arguably more connected to the outside world than it has

  been since the revolution, which has had profound effects on the course of Cuban

  popular music since 1990. Perhaps no music better captures the contradictions

  of Cuban society in the post-Soviet era better than timba . Timba is arguably one of the most eclectic and virtuosic popular music genres in the world today, in no

  small part due to Cuba’s many well-trained musicians, also well-versed in the

  numerous musical styles shaping the genre: son, songo, funk, rap, dancehall, and

  1980s jazz fusion.

  Though the appeal of timba is both cross-generational and widespread (also in-

  fluencing contemporary salsa ), several other Cuban musics enjoy prominence at

  home and abroad. Spanish-language rap and reggaetón groups in Cuba are a con-

  spicuous presence, indicative of the degree to which American hip-hop culture has

  informed contemporary youth sensibilities. And since the late 1990s, Cuba has seen

  a decided resurgence in traditional son ensembles, popularly known as the Buena

  Vista Social Club phenomenon, after the musical collaboration between American

  guitarist Ry Cooder and a near-forgotten generation of Cuban son artists. The in-

  ternational success of this endeavor created a foreign familiarity with Cuba’s mu-

  sical heritage and effected an upsurge of son ensembles among musicians seeking

  economic opportunities in Cuba’s tourism industry.

  Further Reading

  Beardsley, Theodore. “Rumba-Rhumba: Problema internacional músico-lexico.”

  Revista/Review Interamericana 10, no. 4 (1980–81): 527–33.

  Fernandes, Sujatha. “Fear of a Black Nation: Local Rappers, Transnational Crossings,

  and State Power in Contemporary Cuba.” Anthropological Quarterly 76, no. 4 (2003):

  575–608.

  Hagedorn, Katherine J. Divine Utterances: The Performance of Afro-Cuban Santería.

  Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2001.

  Manuel, Peter, ed. Essays on Cuban Music: North American and Cuban Perspectives.

  Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1991.

  Moore, Robin. Music and Revolution: Cultural Change in Socialist Cuba. Berkeley, CA:

  University of California Press, 2006.

  126 | Cuba

  Moore, Robin. Nationalizing Blackness: Afrocubanismo and Artistic Revolution in Ha-

  vana, 1920 – 1940. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1997.

  Perna, Vincenzo. Timba: The Sound of the Cuban Crisis. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2004.

  Robbins, James. “The Cuban Son as Form, Genre, and Symbol.” Latin American Music

  Review 11, no. 2 (1990): 182–210.

  Rodriguez, Olavo Alén. “Cuba.” In South America, Mexico, Central America and the

  Caribbean. Vol. 2 of The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, edited by Dale Olsen and Daniel Sheehy. New York: Garland, 1998.

  Rondón, César Miguel. El libro de la salsa: Crónica de la música del Caribe. Caracas:

  Ediciones B, 2007.

  Sublette, Ned. Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo. Chicago: Chi-

  cago Review Press, 2004.

  Waxer, Lise. “Of Mambo Kings and Songs of Love: Dance Music in Havana and New

  York from the 1930s to the 1950s.” Latin American Music Review 15, no. 2 (1994): 139–76.

  Michael D. Marcuzzi

  La Lupe

  Cuban singer La Lupe (1939–1992), called “The Queen of Latin Soul,” was

  known for her vibrant and fl amboyant performing style. Her music is recog-

  nizable through her trademark “ahí namá” and “ay yi yi yi. ” She sang with the

  trio Los Tropicuba until 1958 after which she went solo. She released her fi rst

  album, Con el Diablo en el Cuerpo, in 1961 and in 1962 she left Cuba and began

  singing at La Barraca, a nightclub in Manhattan. After releasing the single “Que

  Te Pedi” with Tito Puente, Lupe recorded and toured the Latin music circuit

  in the United States, Venezuela, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Panama, and

  Spain. In 1969 La Lupe became the fi rst Latin female artist to sell out Carnegie

  Hall and the fi rst Latin female artist to appear at Madison Square Garden. La

  Lupe’s popularity started to wane by the late 1970s; however, the inclusion of

  her song “Puro teatro” in the 1988 fi lm Women on the Verge of a Nervous Break-

  down rekindled an interest in her music.

  Further Reading

  Aparicio, Frances R. and Valentín-Escobar, Wilson A. “Memorializing La Lupe

  and Lavoe: Singing Vulgarity, Transnationalism, and Gender.” Centro: Journal

  of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies 16 (2) (2004): 78–101.

  Erin Stapleton-Corcoran

  Cueca | 127

  Cubop. See Latin Jazz.

  Cueca

  Cueca is the most popular traditional music genre a
nd dance of Chile. It is also

  played in Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Mexico, where it is called marinera or chilena. Cueca is a mixed partner dance with no body contact. The man follows

  the woman persistently, imitating a cock courting a hen. The couple pursues and

  retreats, passes, and circles one another in an imaginary ring, twirling handker-

  chiefs as they dance.

  Cueca is played in most regions of Chile with some variations. The cueca

  nortina, from the north of Chile, has no lyrics. Instruments such as the panpipe

  or brass bands and percussion are often used. In the folk-urban tradition of San-

  tiago and Valparaíso, cuecas chilenera and porteña are performed, both usually

  sung and accompanied by guitars, piano, accordion, and tambourine. In south-

  ern Chile, cueca chilota is sung by men and accompanied by accordions, guitars,

  and bombo .

  The music, usually in the major mode, has a unitary formal scheme with a re-

  peated section that forms a period of 52 bars called pie (couples generally dance

  three pies ). The subjects of the lyrics are varied. Themes are often historical, roman-

  tic, related to local customs or to the cities. The latter is known as cueca urbana,

  brava, or chora. The lyrics are divided into three parts called cuarteta, segudilla, and remate. The cuarteta is a four-line stanza of eight syllables in ballad-stanza

  rhyme (abcb pattern). The segudilla is a seven-line stanza of five and seven syl-

  lables, with the fourth line repeated and lengthened with the syllable sí or ay sí.

  The remate (also known as pareado or cerrojo ) closes the form with two rhyming verses of seven and five syllables.

  Sources suggest that cueca was first performed in Chile in the 1820s. Research-

  ers have proposed four different origins: Creole, Arab-Andalusian, indigenous, and

  African but the first two are most commonly accepted. The Creole theory suggests

  that cueca derived from the Peruvian zamacueca via piano scores, which were per-

  formed in Chilean aristocratic ballrooms. Later on, zamacueca would have reached

  the countryside and been adapted by the masses. Toward the second half of the

  19th century, this dance would have evolved in such a way as to become a dance