Cuban Music

•  Guajira
The original guajira was earthy, strident rural acoustic music, possibly related to Puerto Rican jibaro.
It appeared in the early 20th century, and is led by a 12-string guitar called a tres, known for a distinctive
tuning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbcVNUDbaNk

•  Danzon
The European influence on Cuba's later musical development is most influentially represented by
danzón, which is an elegant dance that became established in Cuba before being exported to popular
acclaim throughout Latin America, especially Mexico. It is played by an orquesta tipica, an informal
military marching band.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmMUWzMr5P0

•  Son
Son is a major genre of Cuban music, and has helped lay the foundation for most of what came after.
It arose in the eastern part of the island. Son traditionally concerns itself with themes like love and
patriotism, though more modern artists are socially or politically-oriented. Son's characteristics vary
widely today, with the defining characteristic a bass pulse that comes before the downbeat, giving son
and its derivatives (including salsa) its distinctive rhythm; this is known as the anticipated bass.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KODWcrncnUU

•  Rumba
Rumba is primarily thought of as a glitzy ballroom dance, but its origins are spontaneous, improvised
and lively, coming from the dockworkers of Havana and Matanzas. Percussion (including quinto and
tumbadoras drums and "palitos", or sticks, to play a cáscara rhythm) and vocal parts (including a leader
and a chorus) are combined to make a danceable and popular form of music. There three kinds of rumba
rhythms, with accompanying dances: columbia, guaganco and yambú.

• oThe Columbia- played in 6/8 time, is danced by one man and is very swift,
with aggressive and acrobatic moves.
• oThe guagancó - played in 2/4, is danced with one man and one woman, and is
much slower. The dance simulates the man's pursuit of the woman, and is thus sexually charged.
• oThe yambú - known as "the old people's rumba", is a precursor to the
guaguancó and is played more slowly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPgAI-t1ovQ

•  Salsa
In the 1970s and onwards, son montuno was combined with other Latin musical forms, such as the
mambo and the rumba, to form contemporary salsa music, currently immensely popular throughout
Latin America and the Hispanic world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zPpsUXE0I8