May 8, 2021 Day of the Cuban Son

On May 8, Cuban Son Day is celebrated on the birth of Miguelito Cuní and Miguel Matamoros, great exponents of the Creole genre.

This article is dedicated to exalt the most Creole of Cuban music, especially son.

 

This day is a tribute to this music-dance expression and to the musical legacy of its great exponents included Miguel Matamoros and Miguelito Cuní, reported the Cuban Music Institute.

The Official Gazette of the Republic said on 2 October that the Decree 19 of the Council of Ministers recognizes Cuban son as part of the intangible heritage since 2012.

This declaration consolidates the file for its proposal to this candidacy.

The information has also been shared by the chief proponent of this initiative, maestro Adalberto Álvarez, who said on his Facebook page that the joy of having our Son Day is very great.

Cuban son is a vocal and sanceable instrumental genre that constitutes one of the basic forms within Cuban music that blends African musical elements with Spanish musical elements.

May 8 is a representative day, since the births of Miguelito Cuní and Miguel Matamoros are commemorated, that is why this date was the one proposed, said the 2008 National Music Award.

In addition, the Caballero del Son, as Álvarez is known, stated that this is just a part of the task, so we already have Cuban Son Day, we still have to get son to be named an Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

This is a vocal and danceable instrumental genre that constitutes one of the basic forms within Cuban music that blends African musical elements with Spanish musical elements.

It reportedly was born in the easternmost region of Cuba and was developed in provinces such as Guantánamo, Baracoa, Manzanillo and Santiago de Cuba in the late 19th century, even though there are testimonies that the most ancien Cuban sones date back to the 16th century such as the Son de la Má Teodora by the 1562 and performed by two Dominican sisters, Micaela and Teodora Ginés.

 DECREE 19, CUBAN SON DAY Single Article. To declare May 8 “Day of the Cuban Son” as a tribute to this music-dance expression and to the musical legacy of its great exponents. IT SHALL BE PUBLISHED in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba. DONE in the Palace of the Revolution, Havana, to the next two days of September 2020, “YEAR 62 OF THE REVOLUTION”.

History of Cuban Son

Cuban Son was born by mixing Afro-Cuban and Spanish cross-breeding. Its origin is intimately linked to Changüi, considered as the mother rhythm of son.

Son came from the East to Havana around 1909. The “Cuarteto Oriental”, created in 1916, became the Sexteto Habanero in 1918, establishing itself as the traditional format of the son bands. In the 1920s, with the emergence of commercial radio broadcasting, the rise and popularization of son began, being the Septeto Nacional de Ignacio Piñeiro one of the main representatives from this time.

The upper classes of Cuba, who are fond of danzón (Cuba’s first native genre) sat watching son warily, seeing it as a slumming and classless genre. However, son was gaining popularity and ended up imposing on danzón, which was consigned to oblivion.

Apart from the fans son has always had in Cuba, the importance of this genre also lies in the influence it has had on the emergence of other genres such as son montuno, mambo, and salsa. In contrast of danzón, son has always been present in Cuba, either directly or within other later musical genres.

Son montuno is a type of son that was played and danced in the last part of Danzón. The importance of this son was its influence in the creation of salsa, in both in music and dance.

Dancing

This dance is only played at the last minute in a salsa club room if the deejay is Cuban, and hardly anyone dances it well.

The base of this dance is three steps followed by a pause, such as salsa. The figures are very simple and similar to those of Cuban salsa. The fundamental difference with salsa is the way of taking the steps. They are more energetic, such as mambo, with a wider hip movement and the pause more marked than in salsa. In other words, instead of the rhythm fast-fast-slow on salsa. In the case of son, it could be considered as fast-fast-fast-fast-slow.

The rhythm of son is, in general, slower than that of salsa, which allows the dancers to recreate in adornments and flirtations. The rhythm is better followed with the key, which is usually very marked.

There are no enchuflas, which are typical of Cuban salsa. The side steps, cockroach style, the couple turn, the walk, the side walk, the side walk, and the step forward-back are widely used.

A very typical and spectacular figure is when the man crouches or even is placed in a horizontal position, leaning the point of the foot on the floor, and the girl takes hom by his hand and walks around him, making him turn the sole of his foot.

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