Afro-Cuban Traditions
Traditional Popular
Danzón
Created by Miguel Failde Pérez in 1879, Danzón
is the national dance of Cuba and evolved from Danza. The music
structure A B A B A - consists of an introduction, A, just
used for dancers to make acquaintance, flirt or stroll the dance
floor. Then a dance section starts (B), to go back to the introduction
and repeat the sequence again. The dance style is elegant yet extremely
sensual and flavorful; it is danced off the beat and includes square
figures.
Son
Son is derived from Cuba's African and Spanish roots, and is the
predecessor of what is now called salsa. Originally rural music
that developed as an accompaniment to dancing, it became a popular
in Cuba's urban areas in the 20th century. Eventually, it was adapted
to modern instrumentation and larger bands. Traditional Son instrumentation
could include the tres (a type of guitar with three sets
of closely spaced strings), standard guitars and various hand drums
and other percussion instruments. Many sons also include parts for
trumpets and other brass instruments, due to the influence of American
jazz.
Son, the dance, starts with the formal, closed embrace of the man
and woman. The couple maintains a very upright frame, with quick
flirtatious and sensual side-to-side movements of the shoulders,
torso and hips accenting the underlying six count rhythm of the
feet. Son is danced off the beat, so the couple moves on
the half beat before one.
Cha Cha Cha
Cha Cha Cha arose in the early '50s as an offshoot of Danzon
and Mambo, and was created by Enrique Jorrin the original
rhythm is onomatopoeia of the sound of the percussion and the one
created by the dancers feet dragging on the ground. Cha-cha-cha
is danced off beat (the dance starts on three quick changes of weight
-- thus the name cha-cha-cha -- preceded by two slow and a pause).
It was later adopted and commercialized by ballroom dancers who
for teaching purposes (for those unable to identify the beat). A
cha was dropped and it became only Cha-cha. In Cha Cha Cha, like
mambo and rumba, the dancers' hips are relaxed, allowing free movement
in the pelvic section.
Rumba de Salon/Cuban Ballroom Rumba
Rumba de Salon, or Cuban ballroom rumba, grew from folkloric
rumba but with a strong influence from ballet techniques in order
to commercialize the style (taking from its intricate hip patterns
as created in the black neighborhoods). This already processed Rumba
eventually derived into the even more commercialized Ballroom Rhumba
version.
Mambo
In the late 1940s, many North Americans -- especially those from
the East Coast -- flocked to Havana, Cuba for their vacations, and
the most famous U.S. and Cuban dance bands performed in Havana's
casinos. Orestes Lopez and Israel Cachao Lopez created
modifications over Afro-Cuban rhythms and particularly the Danzon,
creating a new rhythm called mambo infused with American jazz band
format. Mambo was danced in the same upbeat and sassy manner as
American swing. The word "Mambo" comes from the warriors
song of the Congo (one of the most important African groups brought
to Cuba as slaves during the colonial times) There are two forms
of dancing Mambo: single and double tempo.
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