Cuban music is a great diaspora, but it can basically be divided into 5 generic styles. These are the son, the rumba, the Cuban song, the danzón and the point. This article will discuss the first and possibly the best known style of Cuban music, the son.

The first Son in Cuba — Nengon

Nengon could be considered the father of both the changui and the Cuban son as we know it today. Nengon became changui in Guantánamo, and son (the sub-style, not the generic style) in Santiago de Cuba. Kiriba, which we’ll talk about later, also had a role in becoming changui when he merged with nengon. Nengon is also identifiable by its constant alternation of singer and chorus.

The nengón was traditionally played with a tingotalango or tumbandera. Basically, the tingotalango is made from a tree to which a rope is tied and pulled down. The other end is then tied to a rock in a hole that works like a double bass. Of course, the marímbula took over after its invention and eventually the bass was used.

Modern nengon is played with a changui ensemble, so from a practical point of view, a group plays nengon when the parts are much simpler and with little or no syncopation. Clave, as is now known, had not yet been invented, so time is just quarter notes.

Kiriba — Music of Baracoa Cuba

Kiriba hails from the Baracoa region of Cuba, which is coincidentally where changui was created. Changui was invented where kiriba and nengon come together in a fusion of the 2 styles. His was the result of the evolution of nengon without the influence of kiriba.

Like the nengon, the kiriba’s identifying feature is the constant alternation of improvised verses sung by a soloist and a chorus. Generally the kiriba is played with tres, bongos, maracas, guiro and marímbula, (this set is similar to the changui). Nengon and Kiriba are practiced in the mountainous regions of Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo.

Changui — Traditional Music of Guantánamo Cuba

Changui was born in the province of Guantánamo, Cuba (specifically in the Baracoa area) from a fusion of Nengon and Kiriba. We talked about nengon and kiriba before, but many people still ask when is a song changüi, nengon or kiriba. You’re likely to get some mixed answers depending on who you ask. It’s pretty easy to answer from an academic point of view, but you probably have some questions. Let’s try to answer them.

So, when can we say that we are playing changui and not nengon? Most musicologists will answer that it is the instrumentation. If the group consists of bongo, three Cuban, guayo, marímbula and a singer, you are playing changüi. It is also important to recognize that changüi (as well as kiriba and nengon) do not have what is now considered their key. All these styles had the pulse on the strong beats, generally played by the guayo in changüi.

A view of musicians from Changui

Musicians playing these styles will often consider a song to be a changui whenever the bongo player and tres player play heavily syncopated lines beginning on the 16th note before the beat. Just remember that the real difference between changui and the previous style is the repetitive instrumentation and chorus and singing in Nengon and Kiriba.

Another problem is that someone from Guantanamo who plays “Cuban” music is often considered a changuicerro. A good example of this is Elio Reve, who plays Son with some elements of changui, but this style of Cuban music is really Son Moderno.

conclusion

You might be wondering why there is so much emphasis on the eastern parts of Cuba. It’s not that there isn’t music in the western and central areas, it just evolved differently. There are definite sub-styles of son from these regions, especially sucu-sucu, but most musicologists agree that the son was born in the mountains of Oriente (Guantánamo and Santiago de Cuba).

For more information on these Cuban son styles and to find recorded examples:

White Salsa Cuban Music

Look for these CDs:

With Guaso Flavor

Retrospective Of Cuban Music

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