''ChangüÃ'' is a style of
Cuban music
The music of Cuba, including its instruments, performance, and dance, comprises a large set of unique traditions influenced mostly by west African and European (especially Spanish) music. Due to the syncretic nature of most of its genres, Cuban mu ...
which originated in the early 19th century in the eastern region of
Guantánamo Province
Guantánamo is the easternmost province of Cuba. Its capital is also called Guantánamo. Other towns include Baracoa. The province has the only land border of the U.S. Navy base at Guantánamo Bay.
Overview
Guantánamo's architecture and cultu ...
, specifically Baracoa. It arose in the
sugar cane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...
refineries and in the rural communities populated by slaves.
''ChangüÃ'' combines the structure and elements of
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
's ''canción'' and the Spanish
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
with
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n rhythms and
percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
s of
Bantu
Bantu may refer to:
*Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages
*Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language
* Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle
*Black Association for National ...
origin. Changüà is considered a predecessor of ''
son montuno
Son montuno is a subgenre of son cubano developed by Arsenio RodrÃguez in the 1940s. Although ''son montuno'' ("mountain sound") had previously referred to the ''sones'' played in the mountains of eastern Cuba, Arsenio repurposed the term to den ...
'' (the ancestor of modern
salsa
Salsa most often refers to:
* Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments
* Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music
* Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music
Salsa or SALSA may also refer to:
...
), which has enjoyed tremendous popularity in Cuba throughout the 20th century.
Changüà is related to the other regional genres of ''nengón'' and ''kiribá'' and is descended from ''nengón.'' Technically, the changüi ensemble consists of:
marÃmbula
The marÃmbula () is a plucked box musical instrument of the Caribbean. In Cuba it is common in the changüà genre, as well as old styles of son. In Mexico, where it is known as marimbol is played in son jarocho; in the Dominican Republic, wh ...
,
bongos
Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...
,
tres
Tres may refer to:
* Tres (instrument), a Cuban musical instrument
* Tres, Trentino, municipality in Italy
* "Tres" (song) by Juanes
* "Tres", a song by LÃbido from their album ''Hembra''
* TrES, the ''Trans-Atlantic Exoplanet Survey''
* Templi ...
,
güiro (or guayo) and one or more singers. Changüi does not use the Cuban ''
key pattern
Key pattern is the generic term for an interlocking geometric motif made from straight lines or bars that intersect to form rectilinear spiral shapes. According to Allen and Anderson, the negative space between the lines or bars of a key pattern â ...
'' (or guide pattern) known as
''clave''.
[Lapidus, Ben (2008) p. 140.] The tres typically plays offbeat
guajeo
A guajeo (Anglicized pronunciation: ''wa-hey-yo'') is a typical Cuban ostinato melody, most often consisting of arpeggiated chords in syncopated patterns. Some musicians only use the term ''guajeo'' for ostinato patterns played specifically by a ...
s (
ostinato
In music, an ostinato (; derived from Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces include ...
s), while the
guayo
The guayo or ralladera is a metal scraper used as a percussion instrument in traditional styles of Cuban music such as changüÃ, predecessor of son cubano. Largely replaced by the güiro (gourd scraper) during the 20th century, the guayo is now r ...
plays on the
beat
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery (c ...
.
Gallery
References
External links
Cuban Tres - The 3 string guitar instrument from Cuba
*"Ritmo changüÃ" (Grupo Exploracion). Web. ''YouTube''. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvxWYQSHUYg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Changui
19th-century music genres
Cuban styles of music
History of sugar