Guide to Son Cubano: A Brief History of the Son Cubano Genre

Son Cubano translates roughly to "the Cuban sound." The term describes a popular music genre that originated in the highlands of eastern Cuba using both European and African instruments and musical customs. Son Cubano draws melodic and harmonic language from Spanish guitar and vocal music. Its famous percussion section—featuring bongos, congas, timbales, claves, and more—traces primarily to the Bantu region of central Africa.

Son Cubano originated in Cuba and spread throughout the world, most notably in other Latin American and Hispanic Caribbean nations.

• Origins: Son Cubano developed from folkloric music in the Sierra Maestra of Cuba's Oriente province. These folkloric styles include rhumba, changüí, nengón, kiribá, and regina and were part of the culture of Cubans who traced their ancestry to central Africa's Bantu region.
• Emergence: Bantu Cubans interacted with West African Cubans when they left the eastern highlands and moved to Havana, the nation’s capital. In Havana, son Cubano as we know it emerged from the integration of various African musical traditions with those from Spain. The city of Matanzas, east of Havana, also helped nurture son Cubano along with the rumba genre.
• Evolution: Son Cubano evolved thanks to the influence of guaracha, bolero, and mambo, which were common in Havana. Top Cuban bandleaders like Arsenio Rodriguez and Beny Moré and bands like Sexteto Habanero and Septeto Nacional helped build the genre's popularity in Havana.
• Influence: Musical offshoots of son Cubano include danzón (dance music), cha-cha-cha, and various other forms of Latin music. Eventually, son Cubano and other Latin American music made its way to the nightclubs of New York City. By the mid-twentieth century, prominent United States musicians—from big band leaders like Duke Ellington to percussionists like Tito Puente—embraced son Cubano in their repertoires.

Son Cubano includes elements emblematic of Cuba and other parts of Latin America. These include:

1. 1. Bell patterns: Percussionists play bell patterns on handheld claves while other instrumentalists reference the rhythm in their playing.
2. 2. African rhythms: In addition to bell patterns, many African rhythms took hold in the music of Cuba and frequently appear in son songs.
3. 3. Montunos: A type of ostinato pattern, the most common montunos are played on the piano. The son montuno sub-genre emphasizes montuntos.
4. 4. Open influence from adjacent genres: Son fusion genres include rumba, danzonete, Afro-son, bolero-son, Congolese rhumba, guajira-son, charanga, songo, and timba.

Present-day son Cubano ensembles (called a son conjunto) are best known for their percussion sections, but all types of instruments are represented in the style. The key instruments are:

1. 1. Vocals (Cuban son singers are typically called soneros)
2. 2. Piano
3. 3. Guitar or tres, a Cuban variation on guitar
4. 4. Trumpet
5. 5. Double bass
6. 6. Congas
7. 7. Bongos
8. 8. Timbales
9. 9. Claves
10. 10. Maracas
11. 11. Guiro

A standard son music ensemble is called a conjunto. Son ensembles in other locales such as New York, Florida, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, or Haiti might add other instruments idiomatic to their region while preserving the core character of a son conjunto.

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