Influencia: the Cultural Meaning Behind the Cuban Son
Influencia: The cultural influence and meaning behind the Cuban son
Influencia by Carlos Puebla (1957) is an example of a Cuban son. Son is a genre of music that originated in Cuba near the end of the 19th century and is made up of many elements from different cultural groups because of Cuba’s extremely varied racial heritage. This essay will explore the political and musical history of pre-revolutionary Cuba whilst analysing the elements of this particular son and looking at the relationship between Cuba and the United States during this period.
The son comes from the period before the Cuban revolution of 1959. We refer to this time as the Vieja Trova. The music of this time combined the best of African and European derived music.
The European derived music was mostly Spanish influenced. After Christopher Columbus claimed the Caribbean island in the name of the Spanish Queen, Isabel I, there was a great influx of immigrants to the country. According to Peter Manuel, these immigrants “brought with them a wealth of European music” of which included Spanish operas called zarzuelas, choral and Spanish folk music (Caribbean Currents, p. 20). The European derived music could be seen amongst the guajiros or white peasant farmers of the Cuban highlands. The guajiros utilised the Spanish poetry style known as the decima and incorporated it into their musical style. Cubans of European descent put emphasis on intelligence being conveyed through words and poetry. Duels between guajiros, known as controversias, were fought with words where men improvised poetry and whoever could convey a message in the best way was deemed the winner (Peter Manuel, Carribean Currents, pg. 30). From the guajiro tradition, the son took the importance of lyrics and so great emphasis is placed on creating lyrics that convey the emotions and messages that the artist feels need to be conveyed and through these lyrics, the artist’s intelligence is noted.
Afro-Caribbean music had a huge role
Influencia by Carlos Puebla (1957) is an example of a Cuban son. Son is a genre of music that originated in Cuba near the end of the 19th century and is made up of many elements from different cultural groups because of Cuba’s extremely varied racial heritage. This essay will explore the political and musical history of pre-revolutionary Cuba whilst analysing the elements of this particular son and looking at the relationship between Cuba and the United States during this period.
The son comes from the period before the Cuban revolution of 1959. We refer to this time as the Vieja Trova. The music of this time combined the best of African and European derived music.
The European derived music was mostly Spanish influenced. After Christopher Columbus claimed the Caribbean island in the name of the Spanish Queen, Isabel I, there was a great influx of immigrants to the country. According to Peter Manuel, these immigrants “brought with them a wealth of European music” of which included Spanish operas called zarzuelas, choral and Spanish folk music (Caribbean Currents, p. 20). The European derived music could be seen amongst the guajiros or white peasant farmers of the Cuban highlands. The guajiros utilised the Spanish poetry style known as the decima and incorporated it into their musical style. Cubans of European descent put emphasis on intelligence being conveyed through words and poetry. Duels between guajiros, known as controversias, were fought with words where men improvised poetry and whoever could convey a message in the best way was deemed the winner (Peter Manuel, Carribean Currents, pg. 30). From the guajiro tradition, the son took the importance of lyrics and so great emphasis is placed on creating lyrics that convey the emotions and messages that the artist feels need to be conveyed and through these lyrics, the artist’s intelligence is noted.
Afro-Caribbean music had a huge role
Bibliography: Manuel, P. (1995). Caribbean Currents. Pennsylvania, USA: Temple University Press. Murry, D.R, (n.d.). Statistics of the Slave Trade to Cuba. Retrieved from http://latinamericanstudies.org/slavery/Cuba-slave-trade.pdf Afro Cuba Web. (2011). Race and identity in Cuba. Retrieved from http://www.afrocubaweb.com/history/history.htm