Son era History

In the 1920s the son from eastern Cuba conquered Havana through radio and records. Alongside it lived the romantic bolero and the satirical guaracha: together they form the heart of Cuban popular music.

The son conquers Havana

The son arose in the late 19th century in the mountains of eastern Cuba, especially around the Sierra Maestra, as a blend of Spanish and African elements. Around 1909 it reached Havana, and the first recordings followed in 1917. In 1920 the Cuarteto Oriental became the Sexteto Habanero, with the classic line-up: guitar, tres, bongó, claves, maracas and double bass.

Radio (from 1922) made the son hugely popular, especially between 1925 and 1928. Sextets became septets with a trumpet, like the Septeto Nacional of Ignacio Piñeiro. The Trío Matamoros (1925) brought the son down to three voices and guitars.

Bolero and guaracha

The bolero arose in the last quarter of the 19th century in Santiago de Cuba, within the trova: singers accompanying themselves on guitar. Pepe Sánchez wrote the first bolero, Tristezas, in 1883. Later duos and trios sang it, and the Trío Matamoros carried it across Latin America. In the 1930s and 1940s the bolero-son was popular.

The guaracha is older: fast, comic and satirical, known since the late 18th century. In the 19th-century teatro bufo it was used to mock the authorities. Its witty lyrics suited the son, and many bands played both.

Genres in this era

  • Bolero Cubano
    The Cuban bolero is one of the great romantic song traditions of the world — slow, intimate, and deeply emotional. It is entirely distinct from the Spanish bolero (a fast 3/4 dance) and emerged in Cuba as a vehicle for the island's most heartfelt lyric expression.
  • Guaracha
    Where the guaracha comes from: Cuba's fast, satirical song tradition, born in early-19th-century comic theatre, with Spanish roots and Afro-Cuban rhythm.
  • Son
    Son is the most important genre in Cuban music history. Born in the late 19th century in the rural east of Cuba, around Santiago de Cuba, it conquered Havana in the 1920s and became the root from which mambo, salsa, and timba all grew.

On to the next era

In the 1930s classic son lost ground to jazz bands and larger conjuntos. In the 1940s Arsenio Rodríguez made the conjunto the norm, and Beny Moré mixed son with guaracha, bolero and mambo. Read on under big bands.

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