a4 The Rumba, the Guaguancé, and Tio Tom IF mach of the Caton scholarly and journal atention Mroibon eure and mute ine 1989 has been directed ‘Geardrapions phttontna, setlar muse genre ite the ronda have' aa bee mee The onda, (fr at hat Merged wih 'he son ‘corm th bacon’ of moder, Exbon Jance. misicn is ceiiniy Cuba's most renowned ‘and fulutsenal muse Spe Neves, he wadtonl rend arb folk tnt tn dance orm ang ny dren veces wai aeipte Proiir of teres Back and mu Ta sciey and teed tobe poraged as uch by the Bre onisty whe per caster Leonardo Acosta’s article reproduced here provides an overview of the traditional rumba, stressing its vital role in [ protetarian culture and, by extension, In modern Cuban culture fa whole. Acosta futher attempts 10 refute the facile, deper- Sonallzing notion of the “anonymity” of folk music creation by ‘eminding us that, given sufficient sources, a closer look at any folk genre will reveal live performers and composers with dis tinct, individual talents and artistic personalities. ‘Gonzalo Asencio, oF "Tio Tom,” was one such figure, who embodies, in ‘Acosta’s portrayal, the dynamic. musical vitality of Afro-Cuban culture and, af the sore time, the spirit of proletarian ant-im Derialist protest which war’ undiluted by the Cuban bowr- Beoisie’s Ldentfcation with North American or European cul- fe. (Asencio died In 1991.) Intended for the general reader, thit article well conveys the importance accorded In contemporary Cuban scholarship 10 ‘Afro-Cuban proletarian culture and what Is seen 5 the revolu onary and nationauslc tendencies within it. Acosta himself is ‘one of Cuba's most distinguished and prolific authors of schol- Grly and journalistic literature on music. He is the author of nine books, including "La musica y descolonizacién," “Canciones | |50 [ESSAYS ON CUBAN MUSIC de la nueva trove,"‘Del tambor al sintttzador"(from which this ‘essay is translated), and other volumes of poetry, crllcism, and short stories. "At present, Acosta works for the Instituto Cubano de Radio y Television st ‘The Rumba, the Guaguanes, and Tio Tom Leonardo Acosta ‘What is the Boundary between legend and reality, and where does it lie? Sometimes a genuine person of event becomes a legend, obscuring the realty. And at other times someone be- comes legendary to the detriment of the person himself, who i relegated to obscurity. Such eases are common in the realm of, popular music, where we find such men and women of flesh {nt bones, who are forgotten ot ignored ar people, but whose legends continue to enjoy renown. And such is the case of “Tio Tom” ("Uncle Tom], of whose hundreds of songs, several are well known to us, yet who remained to us like an epelechy, 2 Tegead. . Uotll nally he was pald homage in a fete in the Casa de In Cultura of the Plaza de ia Revolucién disuict, which was ‘tended by dozens of distinguished rumberos of the countey ~ land there he was, in person, singing and dancing, as real as any of us ‘Who is Tio Tom? ‘We may start by clarifying that our Uncle Tom has nothing 10 do with the famous chiracter of Harriet Beecher Stowe, who is tiny apther historical aor legendary, but & fictions per2 [ESSAYS ON CUBAN MUSIC ss of an archetype of the States, 26 cording to the standards of sector of the North American bourgeoisie, This other Tom, by contrast, is Cuban and rebel Tous, akhough, like his mametake, i also lack and aged. His real name is Gonzalo Asencio, and he is the best and. most pro fic author that our country hat pfodaced in the field of the type of rumba called guaguancé. Although he cultivated other genres, especially within what ‘our musicologist call the "rumba complex” (Jambi, rahona, Columbia, guaguancd, papatote, jiribill), the special contribu tion of Tio affirms, without any exaggeration, that if Pérez Prado. can be called’ the “King of the Mambo." thea Gonzalo Atencio, whose crown no one has. been able 10 usurp, should be called the "King of the Guaguancs.” Who among us has neither danced, sung, nor at least lig. tened to some melody of Tio Tom's without knowing it? For outside of his circle of friends and musicians - especially rum- Deros~ there are very few who have seen him or known him perso bere like "Consuélate como yo,” with its_muc that says: "Por ef0 ahora ya. yo no vuelvo a querer” ("Thats ‘why Til never fall in love again". ‘The same hat happened with Several other pieces of his, like “Los cubanos son “Bombéa,""Color de slel(,"Se Un"("My' heart has turned into a violin"),"AL_seflor_mar- ‘qués,"Chang6. va Yenl,"La Reforma va,""Ya me estoy poniendo Yiejo." and "Siento que me regata el corazon,” with its famous refrain "Si tll me lo das, por qué me lo quis? ["If you give it to me, then why do you take it away?"] vveelto mi corazén_ un A Parenthesis about the Rumba been spoken and written since the last century about and its origins, which some have tried 10 trace 10 the ancient cults of Egypt and Phoenicia, But in spite of the opinions of some scholars, the rumba isa wholly Cuban prod- ‘THE RUMBA, THE GUAGUANCO, ANDTIOTOM 53, uct, derived from various, albeit more or less similar forms of ‘Atican music and dance, which Blended here as a result of the ‘mixing of different West African ethnic groups, giving birth to 4 new culture, a "folklore of the plantation,” as Roger Bastide called it, in reference 10 several different American covatries.! In a text of 1967 we find an adequate definition of the rumba, which states: 1 is the mulato sonorous daughter of the Spanish and the negro. In it one finds diverse elements derived from Congo, Carabali, of lucumf [Yoruba] sources. Textually i follows the Spanish la ind meters. Tt ie largely turban, and can be considered a song, a dance, of & general ambience. “It is the genre of our music most influenced by direct Spanish elements: the clave and sueetveador’s pregén. It comprises thee principal forms: the columbia (cf rural origin), and the yambul and guaguancd (of urban forigin). The lauer is primarily narrative. The dance rep- resents the pursuit (lit, persecution] of the woman by the mis somewhat unsatisfactory in its excessive stress on the Spanish elements, which in any case cannot be lered as essential elements of the rumba.) We should also point out the frequent presence of African phrases and words! in various rumbas.. Further, 1 have always ‘been tome- what skeptical of categorizations of whatever musical features of ours as either strictly rural or urban. Because if indeed in four music there are genres or styles of clearly urban origins ~ ope Base, Las Americas mera: la cilesione sficanat en ¢! ge an ii “ice Sit, Se am toes bythe Cone Maia de Cat de Rotors Msi for "Petal de Mies Pop the Teo: Amadeo dt, 1861 are renearher, opti, Maries, Fut hak fone on sons Flaton tothe vou of our clare aed has ‘proposed naten the” tr "Bare Athan" i order 0 svoid equating one souney wih» conn