Encyclopedia of Latin American Popular Music
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spectively, at the time of the coup. Exiled for the next 15 years, like many other
nueva canción artists they settled in Europe, where the music of the Andes had been
growing in popularity since the late 1960s, mainly due to the efforts of the Paris-
based Argentine-led groups Los Incas and Los Calchakis. This prior interest in
Andean folkloric-popular music set the stage for Chilean nueva canción ’s enthusi-
astic reception in post-1973 Europe, the site of many leftist solidarity-themed nueva
286 | Nueva Trova
canción concerts for the next decade. These events not only showcased Chilean
ensembles—including ones formed in exile such as Patricio Manns’ Karaxú —but
also socially committed musicians from Argentina (e.g., Mercedes Sosa) and other
South American countries, many of whom had likewise fled from U.S.-supported
right-wing military dictatorships. The nueva canción movement also gained a fol-
lowing in the Caribbean and Central America, especially in Mexico City. Nueva
canción festivals held in Mexico (1982), Nicaragua (1983), Ecuador (1984), Ar-
gentina (1985), and other countries added to the movement’s internationalization.
In 1988, Chilean nueva canción ’s exile status ended with the restoration of democ-
racy. Today, nueva canción musicians freely perform in Chile as well as continue
to tour worldwide.
Further Reading
Fairley, Jan. “La Nueva Canción Latinoamericana.” Bulletin of Latin American Re-
search 3/2 (1984): 107–15.
Morris, Nancy. “Canto Porque es Necesario Cantar: The New Song Movement in Chile,
1973–1983.” Latin American Research Review 21, no. 2 (1986): 117–36.
Rios, Fernando. “ La Flûte Indienne: The Early History of Andean Folkloric-Popular
Music in France and its Impact on Nueva Canción. ” Latin American Music Review 29,
no. 2 (2008): 145–81.
Fernando Rios
Nueva Trova
Nueva trova is a musical movement that emerged in the mid-1960s in Cuba. Start-
ing as a frankly worded, grassroots scene, it came to be supported by the Cuban
government from the 1970s onwards. Nueva trova drew from diverse musics. The
music of Pablo Milanés, who started his career as a filín musician, showed the influ-
ence of trova tradicional and son (e.g., “Son para despertar a una negrita”). Silvio Rodríguez was initially more influenced by North American folk and folk-rock,
particularly Bob Dylan and Woodie Guthrie, with songs featuring acoustic guitar
accompaniments that alternated between picking (e.g., “Historia de las sillas”) and
rock -like strumming (e.g., “Te doy una canción”); nonetheless, the style of “ Can-
ción de la trova ” also shows homage to the trova tradicional. The lyrics cover a
wide range of topics from the personal to the philosophical to the political. Many
songs address love, but the sexual double-entendre or machismo that peppers other
popular genres are uncommon.
In spirit, nueva trova had much in common with nueva canción , which had taken
hold in South America a few years earlier as a socially and politically conscious
Nueva
Trova
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287
song movement. These artists visited Cuba through pan-Latin American song fes-
tivals arranged through the Consejo Nacional de Cultura (1965), as well as the
Encuentro Internacional de la Canción Protesta (July 1967) and the Festival de la
Canción Popular in Varadero (December 1967) arranged by Haydée Santamaría, a
member of Castro’s inner circle.
As founder and director of the Casa de las Américas, Santamaría was instru-
mental in bringing the nueva trovadores into the public. A group of youths, includ-
ing Rodríguez, had begun gathering at the ice cream parlor Coppelia in Havana
to exchange poetry and music, discuss works by Cuban and international writ-
ers, and give occasional concerts; Rodríguez had also appeared on the television
show Música y estrellas in June 1967. In February 1968, Santamaría arranged
for Rodríguez, Milanés, Noel Nicola, and others to appear in monthly concerts
at the Casa de las Américas, of which she was the founder and director; many of
these concerts were televised. Also in the early months of 1968, Mientras tanto,
a half-hour Sunday evening show centered on Rodríguez, was broadcast on na-
tional television.
It was not long before these artists began to run into difficulties with the authori-
ties, as the ideological atmosphere had become particularly intolerant following the
nationalization of economic activities. Popular music and fashions associated with
the United States, such as long hair and rock, were viewed as decadent and were
censored by the Cuban government. Accordingly, Mientras tanto was taken off
the air, and Rodríguez was suspended from radio and television broadcasts. He and
Milanés were rumored to have spent time at re-education or work camps, and Rod-
ríguez eventually left Cuba to sail on a fishing boat in 1969. Some songs of this
period, such as Rodríguez’s “Debo partirme en dos” or “Resumen de noticias,” ad-
dressed controversial subjects such as censorship.
Their fortunes were to change. In 1969, the Grupo de Experimentación Sonora
(GESI) was formed at the film institute ICAIC, under the direction of the composer
Leo Brouwer, with Rodríguez, Milanés, Nicola, Sara González, Sergio Vitier, and
Pablo Menéndez among its members. This organization gave the group legitimacy
as film composers and offered them an opportunity to make recordings, take classes
in music, and collaborate with other musicians.
Furthermore, official attitudes toward nueva trovadores softened as the authori-
ties observed Chilean nueva canción artists such as Victor Jara making goodwill
trips for the socialist government of Salvador Allende in 1971; meanwhile, nueva
trovadores were increasingly invited to international festivals in Latin America. By
1973, the Movimiento de la Nueva Trova (MNT) was officially institutionalized,
and nueva trovadores began to receive sponsorship from the government with wide
media exposure and many opportunities to perform and record. Song lyrics during
this period became less critical of Cuba itself, but more anti-imperialistic (e.g., Rod-
ríguez’s “Canción urgente para Nicaragua”), nationalistic (e.g., “El Mayor”), and
288 | Nueva Trova
metaphorical (e.g., “Sueño con serpientes”). Although more socially critical texts
have increased following the fall of the Soviet Union, first-wave artists such as Rod-
ríguez and Milanés are considered to be working with the government rather than
expressing oppositional views; nonetheless, they remain very popular throughout
Latin America and Spain.
Since the 1980s and beyond, several artists, who call themselves novísima trova,
have emerged, airing the difficulties of Cuban life. Carlos Varela, who plays in a
rock style, addresses themes such as the death of rafters (such as “Círculo de tiza”)
and families split between Cuba and the United States (such as “Foto de familia”).
Particularly allegorical is “Guillermo Tell,” where Tell’s son asks his father to put
the apple on his own head. Other prominent names in
clude Pedro Luis Ferrer, with
his allegory of an authoritarian grandfather (“Abuelo Paco”), Gerardo Alfonso, and
Gema y Pavel.
Further Reading
Díaz Pérez, Clara. Sobre la guitarra, la voz: Una historia de la nueva trova cubana.
Havana: Editorial Letras Cubanas, 1994.
Manabe, Noriko. “Lovers and Rulers, the Real and the Surreal: Harmonic Metaphors
in Silvio Rodríguez’s Songs.” Trans 10, http://www.sibetrans.com/trans/trans10/noriko.
htm, 2006.
Moore, Robin. 2006. “Transformations in Nueva Trova.” In Music and Revolution: Cul-
tural Change in Socialist Cuba, 135–69. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Noriko Manabe
O
Orquesta
Orquesta is a generic Spanish term for the word orchestra. In Latin American pop-
ular music, it is often used to describe small to medium instrumental ensembles,
which may or may not necessarily have more than one instrument on a part. Modi-
fiers may refine the usage of the term, such as gran orquesta or orquesta típica ,
though the latter is used for so many different ensembles throughout Latin America
that its usage defies any particular definition. The following are some of the more
popular uses of the term orquesta in Latin American popular music.
Within the genre of tango the orquesta tipica became the standard instru-
mentation for tango ensembles consisting of two bandoneón , two violins, a
piano, and a string bass, which may or may not have a solo singer added to the
orchestra.
Within Cuban popular music, there are several uses of the term orquesta. The
earliest examples are the predominantly wind-based orquesta típicas, who from
the early 19th to the early 20th centuries, formed the main type of popular music
format. Numbering anywhere from about eight to twelve players, their repertoire
consisted of contradanzas , minuets, rigadoons, and quadrilles. Well-known orquesta típicas include Orquesta Flor de Cuba, Orquesta Faílde, and Orquesta de
Enrique Peña.
Another type of orchestra that was popular in Cuba during the first half of the
20th century were the orquestas known as charangas. The charanga francesa, which derived from the orquesta típica, normally consisted of piano, bass, timbals ,
and other percussion, two violins, and a Cuban flute. Notable ensembles include
Orquesta Torroella and Orquesta Romeu.
One of the more internationally popular orquestas is the gran orquesta or
Cuban big band that flourished during the 1940s and 1950s. The standard or-
chestration for big band or gran orquesta consists of five saxophones (two altos,
two tenors, and a baritone), four trumpets, two trombones, piano, bass and ad
lib percussion. This instrumentation reflects a strong American jazz influence
and its creation was credited to Machito in the early 1940s, who wanted to
give Cuban ensembles a more American sound. Representative groups include
Machito and his Afro-Cubans, Beny More’s Orquesta Aragón, and Orquesta
Pe ´rez Prado.
289
290 | Orquesta Típica
Further Reading
Torres, George. “Sources for Latin Big Band Performance: An Examination of the Latin
American Stocks in the Library of Congress.” College Music Symposium, 43 (2003): 25–41.
George Torres
Orquesta Típica (Cuba)
The orquesta típica (typical orchestra, also known as folkloric orchestra) is a music
ensemble that emerged in Cuba in the 19th century. The oldest European-derived
ensemble in Cuba, the orquesta típica was an adaptation of military marching bands
for entertainment purposes. Instrumentation varied, but the ensemble often con-
sisted of two clarinets, two violins, a cornet or trumpet, a trombone, an ophicleide
(a type of bass bugle), timbals (a military-style drum), and later, Afro-Cuban instruments such as the pailas and güiro .
The orquesta típica performed in ballrooms of Colonial houses throughout
Cuba, playing a number of different styles of dance music. The favored style was
the contradanse, an English country dance that was brought to Cuba by French
aristocrats who had fled from Haiti during the Haitian Revolution of the 1790s.
The contradanse was adapted for performance by orquesta típica ensembles, and
by the 1800s the contradanse had evolved into the contradanza , which featured
African-derived instruments such as the paila and güiro . The contradanza became the first genre of Cuban music that was popular abroad. In 1879, Miguel Failde
performed—with an orquesta típica ensemble—the first danzón piece, a statelier,
more improvisatory version of the contradanza that featured a five-beat, one-bar
rhythmic pattern known as the cinquillo .
Although the orquesta típica began to fall out of popularity by the early 20th
century—due in part to its replacement by the charanga ensemble—the orquesta
típica played a great hand in the creation of several Cuban musical genres, includ-
ing the danzonette in the late 1920s, the mambo in the 1940s, and the cha-cha-chá
in the 1950s.
Further Reading
Sublette, Ned. Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo. 1st ed. Chi-
cago: Chicago Review Press, 2004.
Erin Stapleton-Corcoran
P
Pachanga
Pachanga is a rhythm associated with popular dance music. It originated in Cuba
and was popular at the time of the Cuban Revolution in 1959. It developed further
in the United States, where its popularity peaked in the 1960s. Pachanga spread
throughout Latin America, particularly to Colombia and Argentina. Eduardo Da-
vidson, the creator of pachanga, wrote “La pachanga,” one of his most frequently
covered songs. Excerpts of the song demonstrate the simplicity of the lyrics, which
were usually comprised of an invitation to dance: “ Señores que pachanga, me voy
con la pachanga. Ay mamita qué pachanga, me voy con la pachanga. ” The most
typical steps of the dance were to take two steps forward and then to shake a foot
in both directions in a sort of small hop.
The Orquesta Sublime, also known as la pachanguera de Cuba, introduced
pachanga to dancers at the Jardines de La Tropical in Havana. Their pachanga
recording reached Number 1 on the National Hit Parade. The Orquesta Fajardo y
sus Estrellas took pachanga to the Caribbean and New York, performing it at the
Palladium in New York. After Eduardo Davidson immigrated to the United States,
the pachanga was no longer danced in Cuba. From that moment on, a new style
developed, the New York variant of the pachanga or Pachanga newyorkina. It
became popular in the city as some considered this new style a freer form of the
cha-cha-chá . Others perceived it as a rhythm closer to merengue . The New York variant is usually defined as more rhythmic. Rafael Lam referred to it as “a mixture
of son montuno with Cuban zapateo and something of merengue. ”
Some of the most outstanding performers of pachanga include Santiago de Cuba-
born singer Rubén Ríos, who was one of the first artists to record the pachanga;
Argentina’s Luisito Aguile and Carlos Argentino, who shared the title of “ El rey
de la pachanga ” with Tito Rodríguez; Graciela Pérez of the Orquesta Machito y sus
Afrocubana; an
d Tito Puente. Notable charangas performing pachanga include
Charlie Palmieri’s Duboney and Johnny Pacheco y su charanga, Sexteto de Joe
Cuba, Conjunto Casino, and Rolando Laserie. Pacheco claimed to be the creator
of pachanga as did the Sexteto de Joe Cuba.
Further Reading
Baker, Geoffrey, and David F. García. “Arsenio Rodríguez and the Transnational Flows
of Latin Popular Music. By David F. García.” Music and Letters 89, no. 2 (2008): 290–92.
291
292 | Pambiche
Díaz Ayala, Cristóbal. Música cubana: Del Areyto al Rap Cubano. Fourth edition. San
Juan: Fundación Musicalia, 2003.
Dorsey, Margaret E. Pachangas: Borderlands Music, U.S. Politics, and Transnational
Marketing. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2006.
Orejuela Martínez, Adriana. El son no se fue de Cuba. Claves para una historia 1959–
1973. Letras cubanas, 2006.
Liliana González
Pambiche
Pambiche is a Latin American dance form that is derived from the complex of
dances that evolved out of the merengue tipico . It is thought to have originated
Blades, Rubén
Rubén Blades (b. 1946) has performed and composed traditional Afro-Cuban
salsa , and salsa fused with jazz, rock, pan-Latin, and world music, since the 1960s. Blades combines dancability with socially conscious lyrics. His political
awareness began to develop following the violent U.S. suppression of a 1964
Panamanian student uprising. He later worked at Fania Records, which led to
his collaboration with Willy Colón with whom he released Siembra (1978) and
Maestra Vida (1980).
Blades formed Seis del Solar in the early 1980s, eschewing the traditional
salsa horn section and incorporating rock and jazz elements. He continued to
experiment with lyrics and collaborations but returned to his salsa roots and
released another album, Antecedentes (1988). Blades won seven Grammy’s, in-
cluding a World Music Grammy for Mundo, featuring a fusion of Irish, Arabic,
and Afro-Cuban musical traditions.
Blades has won many awards for political activism, including the United Na-
tion’s World Ambassador against Racism. He also ran for president of Panama