Música de Cuba

1. Música de Cuba Presented by Yamari Lewis

2. General Background • Cuban music is heavily influenced by the Spanish and African groups that have inhabited the island for hundreds of years. • With the music, came dances and instruments. • At this time, the genre was called Afro-Cuban music. • Through the addition of other instruments, rhythms, and cultural development, modern Cuban music was formed.

3. General Musical Instruments • Claves • Maracas • Guiros • Cowbell • Bongos • Conga Drums • Batá Drums • Pianos • Basses • Trumpets • Trombones • Saxophones • Synthesizers • Guitars (Electric and Acoustic) • Violins • Flutes • Shekeres

4. Percussion Instruments • Percussion instruments provide backbone to Cuban music. • Claves are used in the clave rhythm. They keep the tempo throughout the song. • Bongos and Conga drums have been traced back to the 1800s in Cuba and originated in Africa.

5. “Song and Dance” • Many music and dance forms derived from Danźon which is a distinctive Afro-Cuban music style that developed in the 1700s. It uses African rhythms and European/Spanish lyrics and instruments. • Son developed from Danźon

6. Popular Music Forms • Rumba • Guitar,flute, piano, drums, claves, and guiros • Mambo • Complicated rhythms • Piano, claves, trumpets, saxophones, trombones, guiros, bongos, conga drums, • Salsa • Simpler rhythmically than the mambo • Claves, cowbells, conga drums, trumpets, trombone, bass guitar, maracas, guiros, • Cha-cha-cha • Guitar, piano, violin, cowbell, claves, conga drums,

7. Corresponding Dance Forms • The rumba became popular in the early 1900s. It has two quick side steps with one slow forward step. It has an erect torso and subtle hip movements. • The mambo appeared in the 1930s and 1940s. It combines son and swing. • The salsa became popular in the 1960s and blended the mambo and jazz. It has vibrant and energetic hip movements. • The cha-cha-cha was popularized in the 1950s. It has a rhythmic pattern that corresponds to the accented beats.

8. Performers

9. Specific Artists • Some of the most famous Cuban artists, groups, and musicians include: • Perez Prado • Celia Cruz • Gloria Estefan • Rey Ruiz • Benny Moré

10. Perez Prado • Perez Prado is called El Ray del Mambo or the King of Mambo. • Around the age of 26, he moved to Havana, Cuba where he played with and composed for dozens of other Cuban artists. • He developed and popularized mambo from listening to the blended and syncopated beats of multiple musicians playing. • “Mambo is a movement back to nature, by means of rhythms based on such cries and noises, and on simple joys."

11. Celia Cruz ¡Azucar! • She was the first female mega-star in salsa music. • Celia Cruz remains the most important woman in Afro-Cuban music in general. • She started out as a lead singer for a local musician group where she was popularized. • Over the decades, she worked with numerous popular Cuban artists which continued her international fame.

12. Gloria Estefan • After migrating to Miami, Florida, Gloria Estefan started playing the guitar and singing at a young age. • Her mother gave her vocal lessons. • When she met Emilio Estefan, her future husband, they formed a band called Miami Sound Machine. • As she transferred over to a solo artist, she gained international fame. She sang in both English and Spanish.

13. Rey Ruiz • He is a well known Cuban salsa singer. • Rey Ruiz is also called the Elvis of Salsa. • He has international fame because of his mambo-like style and his boyish good looks. • Most recently, he performed at Chicago’s First Annual Cuban Pride Festival. (I was there!)

14. Benny Moré • He was referred to as El Bárbaro del Ritmoor the Master of Rhythm. • He was a self-taught guitarist and started out as a performer in Havana during the 1940s. • With a versatile singing style and charismatic personality, he gained international fame. • He had a gifted ear but could not read music. • (My mom danced with him on stage when she was about 4 during Cuba’s Carnival)

15. Cultural Relevance • When Santeria, the largest Afro-Cuban religion, was in its prime, music and dance were very important in the ceremonies and rituals. • Santeria was Yuruban spirituality that was disguised by Catholicism. • As time passed, both music and danced remained as a cultural element within Cuba. • They bonded the country together and provided a sense of national identity.

16. Works Cited • http://www.sbgmusic.com/html/teacher/reference/cultures/cuba.html • http://latinmusic.about.com/od/countrie1/p/PRO08BASIC.htm • http://www.britannica.com/bps/search?query=Afro-Cuban+music&blacklist=662865 • http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/523208/Santeria • http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1481999/Latin-American-dance/279314/The-Caribbean?anchor=ref1093934 • http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1481999/Latin-American-dance/279314/The-Caribbean?anchor=ref1093934 • http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/145542/Cuba/233432/Music-and-dance • http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/512675/rumba • http://www.laventure.net/tourist/prez_bio.htm • http://latinmusic.about.com/od/artists/p/PRO01CCRUZ.htm • http://www.biography.com/people/gloria-estefan-9542436 • http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/artistbio.asp?CTR=97728 • http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/view/page.basic/artist/content.artist/beny_more_42205/en_US • All pictures are credited to Google Images and Biography websites. • All music is provided by my mother~ 1st song- Quimbara by Celia Cruz 2nd song- Mambo No. 5 by Perez Prado