José Luis "El Tosco" Cortés
Founder of NG La Banda and the principal originator of timba — José Luis "El Tosco" Cortés created the band that first synthesized songo, funk, hip-hop, and Afro-Cuban ritual music into the genre now known as timba.
About
Cortés studied at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana and was a member of Irakere — Cuba's premier jazz-fusion group — before founding NG La Banda (Nueva Generación) in 1988. His concept was radical: take the rhythmic density of songo, add the aggression of funk and hip-hop, incorporate explicit references to Afro-Cuban religious traditions, and deliver it all with the precision of conservatory-trained musicians.
NG La Banda's early records — En la calle, En directo desde el patio de mi casa — defined timba's initial sound and created a new relationship between Cuban musicians and Cuban dancers. The despelote style of dancing emerged in direct response to NG La Banda's rhythmic innovations. Cortés is also an exceptional flutist, and the flute became a distinctive lead voice in the timba ensemble.
Timba is the music this site is dedicated to exploring. It emerged as a distinct genre in the late 1980s and crystallized in the early 1990s — born in a moment of social crisis, built on the full accumulated history of Cuban music, and still evolving today.
Lees meer >Songo is a Cuban music and dance style that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It bridges Afro-Cuban rhythms with modern influences like funk, rock, and jazz.
Lees meer >Cuban Dances Originating in Havana
Havana, the cultural heartbeat of Cuba, played a central role in the creation and evolution of several iconic Cuban dances. Some were born directly in the capital, while others were transformed there into the forms we know today.
Lees meer >Despelote is the most explosive individual dance style in timba — a full-body release of energy that happens during the high-intensity bomba sections of a timba song.
Lees meer >Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean and the birthplace of some of the world's most influential music and dance traditions. African, Spanish, and French cultural streams collided here over centuries of colonial history, producing an extraordinary creative culture that exported itself across the globe.
Lees meer >The flute is the lead voice of the charanga, from Antonio Arcaño's wooden five-key flute to Orquesta Aragón. In timba it returns with bright melodies, call-and-response with the singers, and virtuoso solos that cut through the dense rhythm section.
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