|
A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
H,
I, J, K, L , M, N, O, P, Q, R,
S, T, U,
V, W,
X, Y, Z
Son. Son (pronounced "sonne") is a musical
style from the regions of Santiago and Guantanamo, whose main point of
reference is the poet and composer Ignacio Pineiro. The contredance, which
comes from "country dance", came about at the end of the 19th
century under the name of contradansa. A derivative of ballroom dancing,
enhanced with singing and percussion, first it became la dansa then danzon,
and finally, son. Son music originally comes from the mountains (son montuno)
and was sung in the plains and then later in towns and cities. Like guajira
music, it evokes life's daily ups and downs and events. African percussion
instruments like the bongos, two small drums that are joined together,
are mixed with Indian percussion sounds (maracas, guiro). An Enhanced
with Spanish guitar sounds, son is at the basis of Cuban dances (guaracha,
changüi, sucu sucu). Son is an antiphonal form of African chants. The
choir introduces a refrain and the soloist uses the refrain to improvise.
The son largo, the main musical theme, can be interrupted by the montuno,
a refrain improvised by the singer and then copied by the choir. The singers
are accompanied with guitar or Tres, the main instrument in son music;
a small guitar with three metal covered strings. The group Cuarteto Orienta
introduced son music in Havana in 1916 "El son es lo mas sublime para
el alma divertir…" (Ignacio Piñeiro)
Salsa. Salsa ( sauce, in Spanish) is a mixture of a number
of elements from son music, with the addition of piano, bass, timbales
and a brass section (trombone, saxophone, trumpet). Salsa was created
in 70s in the Latin ghettos of the Bronx in New York, and became famous
around the world thanks to artists like Ray Barreto and Eddie Palmieri...
Anything that sounds latino seems to be given the name salsa, whether
it really is or not. It's a hot and spicy kind of music. ("Tiene salsa!").
In fact, it is Cuban son music, played in the United States by artists
like Arsenio Rodriguez, a wild mixture of sounds that audiences discovered
at the Fania All Stars first concerts. The world's recognition of salsa
from the 60s to the 90s did very little for Cuban musicians, except for
a few notable exceptions like los Papines, Sierra Maestra, l'Orquesta
Aragon or Irakéraé. Cuban musicians are much less well recognized at home
than they are in other parts of the world. For Cubans, Orquesta Aragon
is a ballroom band for retirement homes... The dance that goes along with
this music created in the 60s is also called salsa.
Santeria. Santeria (an off shoot of the Yoruba religion)
is for Cuba what Voodoo is for Haiti and what Candomblé and Macumba are
for Brazil. "In fusing with the Yoruba religion, Christianity gave birth
to Santeria (a religion in which the Catholic saints correspond to African
Gods): Santa Barbara to Shango, San Lazaro to Babalu Ayé. Each santo is
invoked with its own rhythms played on the batas, sacred drums used in
groups of three; iya for improvisation, itotele and okonkolo for counterpoint."
(Isabelle Leymarie).
Shango. A deity in the santeria religion, the Yoruba counterpart
of the God Zeus, and often compared to Santa Barbara for its attributes
(lightning, fire) in the syncretic relationship between African Gods and
Christian saints. Each orisha (divinity)has his own attributes, function
and colors. The rituals may be different (trances, aspersions, fumigations,
libations, sacrifices, practices of divination…) but they carry on African
traditions all the while having incorporated Christian saints.
Septeto Habanero. Origingally it was Cuartero Oriental
(tres, botija, claves, maracas) who introduced son music to Havana. The
group then became a Sextet when it added bongos in 1920, and the singer
Abelardo Barroso in 1925. This, one of the major groups in Cuban music,
became a septet when the trumpet player Enrique Hernandez joined the group.
Songo. A group of rhythms created by Changuito, from los
Van Van, which mixes several styles, combining rumba, son and conga, with
elements of jazz and funk.
Spain . Besides Africa, the other birthplace for Cuban
music which was influenced by Spanish songs, harmonies, modes, the cante
jondo, poetry, etc.
Timba. New Cuban salsa, created in
1988 by José Luis Cortés, who founded NG La Banda (NG for Nueva Generacion)
after spending seven years with the group Irakere. The music successfully
combines the demands of dance music with the freedom of latin jazz. The
songs use a great deal of street language, wild percussion and brass sections,
rap and mixing with electronic effects, and beats borrowed from techno
music. Groups like Los Jovenes del Barrio, Jovenes Clasicos del Son or
Orishas appeal to younger generations.
Trova. A kind of music played by the trovadores. Tumbadoras,
the Cuban name for congas are the drums most used in modern rumba music.Three
percussionists play three drums of different sizes. The tres, a double
stringed guitar, is the principal instrument in Son music. Tito Puente.
Tunas, a Spanish musical group.
Trovadores. (troubadors) who sing habaneras, guarijas,
boleros... as duos or trios in cafés and cinemas. They also do
serenades. Sindo Garay, the prince of trova music, is the composer of
about a hundred songs: La Bayamesa.
Tabaquero. cigar roller, the profession of a number of
musicians such as Manuel Corona (1880-1950).
Timba. Cuban salsa that resembles funk and rap with its
lyrics which are chanted and not sung, and which use a great deal of street
expressions.
Teatro Mella. May 18th 1977, the concert hall in Havana
that for the first time since 1961, the beginning of the American embargo,
welcomed both Cuban and American performers such as Los Papines and Dizzy
Gillespie, etc..
Timbales. Like the congas and the bongos, they are the
main percussion instruments in Cuba. They are played with the hands or
with drum sticks.
Tumba Francesa. Court dances inherited from the French
monarchy. The delicate minuet or rigadon are accompanied by fast African
rhythms played with three types of drums: the tumbas, the cata (a hollowed
out tree trunk that is beaten with sticks) and the bombo.
Universal. Cuban music became
universal with the advent of salsa in the 70s. "With their music, Africans
have conquered the souls of the sons of their oppressors" wrote David
Byrne, a big latin music fan and former singer for the Talking Heads.
He paid tribute to Cuban musicians with his album Rei Momo (Luaka Bop/Sire
Records, 1989).
Veinte Anos. A Bolero that became
famous in 1997 with the version by Omara Portuondo and Compay Segundo
on the album the Buena Vista Social Club. The song was written by Maria
Teresa Vera, a Trova priestess, who sang the song in the 40s.
Yambu. One of the three styles of rumba.
It is a slow dance between two partners, but without the aggressiveness
of the guaguanco. The song Lindo Yambu and its refrain Ave Maria Morena
by Ignacio Pineiro are the symbols of this slow dance.
Yoruba
A language community made up of millions of people, united by the same
culture, originating from the region of Ifè in what is now Nigeria.
Yuka A rhythm of Bantu origin (Congo).
The rhythms are beaten out with the hands or with sticks on a Tambor Yuka,
drums dug out from the trunks of manioc trees (yucca) either on the drum
head itself or on the sides of the drum. The Tambor Yuka work songs are
the precursors of the rumba.
Yumanja, Yemaya A very popular deity
in Brazil and Cuba. Yumanja is the Yoruba counterpart of the Holy Virgin
of Regla (September 8th). She is the Yoruba Goddess of the sea. Her colors
are blue and white.
Zafiros. A group from the 60s with
four singers and a guitarist who rose rapidly to fame among young people.
They mixed Cuban sounds and harmonies with doo wop music. The film "Sueno
Azul", (Blue Dream), gives an account of their very rapid rise to fame.
Zapateo. Feet tapping of Andalusian origin. Also a popular
Creole dance created in Cuba. |
France :