José Luis "Changuito" Quintana
The creator of songo drumming — Changuito, as drummer for Los Van Van, developed the songo style that merged drum set and timbales into a new percussive vocabulary that became the rhythmic foundation of timba.
About
José Luis Quintana — universally known as Changuito — joined Juan Formell's Los Van Van as their drummer in the early 1970s and became the laboratory for what would become songo. His innovation was combining the drum set (imported from rock and jazz) with the traditional Cuban timbales, playing both simultaneously and integrating their patterns in ways that preserved the clave while adding the weight and flexibility of the full kit.
Songo drumming, as Changuito developed it, is not simply playing Cuban rhythms on a drum set — it's a genuine new synthesis that required rethinking what both instruments do. His patterns and innovations are now standard vocabulary for Cuban popular music drummers. He has taught extensively and is the primary authority on the songo style he created.
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 >Songo is the direct bridge between traditional Cuban music and timba. Developed by Los Van Van in the early 1970s, it rewired Cuban popular music by absorbing funk, rock, and jazz into the Afro-Cuban rhythmic foundation — and laid the groundwork that timba would build on.
Lees meer >The drum set (batería) is the Western kit with kick drum, snare, toms, hi-hat and cymbals. In Cuban dance music it became important with the songo of Los Van Van, and it is now a fixed part of timba.
Lees meer >
The claves are two round sticks of hardwood. Struck together, they give a high, sharp click that cuts through the whole band. On the claves you play the clave rhythm, the pattern that Cuban music is built on.
Lees meer >The timbales (pailas criollas) are a pair of shallow, metal-shell drums mounted on a stand, played with wooden sticks. They are the rhythmic engine of charanga orchestras and play a critical role in timba.
Lees meer >