The danzón-mambo (also known as ''danzón de nuevo ritmo'') is a subgenre of Cuban dance music that marked the transition from the classical danzόn to the

mambo Mambo most often refers to: *Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music * Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...

and the cha-cha-chá. It was also in the context of the danzón-mambo that the Cuban dance band format called charanga reached its present form.

Origins

The danzón-mambo was created by the musicians and arrangers of Antonio Arcaño's charanga, Arcaño y sus Maravillas, which was founded in 1937 (Orovio 1981:324). According to Santos (1982),

The main forces behind Arcano's mambo were the Lopez brothers,
Orestes In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; ) was the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, and the brother of Electra and Iphigenia. He was also known by the patronymic Agamemnonides (), meaning "son of Agamemnon." He is the subject of several ...
... and Israel (the great " Cachao") ..., who did most of the composing and arranging for the group, and played the 'cello and the string bass, respectively.

Characteristics

Generally speaking, the ''danzón-mambo'' represents a further and stronger incorporation of elements of the '' son'' into the ''

danzón Danzón is the official genre and dance of Cuba.Urfé, Odilio 1965. ''El danzón''. La Habana. It is also an active musical form in USA and Puerto Rico. Written in time, the danzón is a slow, formal partner dance, requiring set footwork ...

''. The first sections, or ''danzones'', did not depart significantly from the traditional ''

'' structur

But, the final section of the ''danzón-mambo'' was based on ''tumbaos'' and ''guajeos'' from the ''

montuno Montuno has several meanings pertaining to Cuban music and its derivatives. Literally, ''montuno'' means 'comes from the mountain', and so '' son montuno'' may refer to the older type of son played in the mountainous rural areas of Oriente. Ano ...

'' section of the ''son'', which created a complex, ''clave''-oriented polyphony with strong accents on the upbeat (Santos 1982). In order to further reinforce the ''son'' feeling, Arcaño added the ''tumbadora'' ( conga drum) to the traditional ''charanga'' percussion lineup of '' pailas'' and '' güiro''. Also, the ''paila'' player began to use a cowbell in the final section (Santos 1982). This final section, at first called ''nuevo ritmo'', later came to be called ''mambo''.After a composition of the same name by Orestes López. "Mambo", written in 1938, was entirely based on ''tumbaos'' and ''guajeos''- the final section of a ''danzón-mambo'' without any ''danzón''.

Later development

Out of the danzón-mambo came both the

and the cha-cha-chá. The mambo would subsequently become a genre played mainly by American-style big bands, and as such, did not pose a threat to the danzón-mambo. But, in the face of the sudden overwhelming popularity of the cha-cha-chá in the 1950s, the danzón-mambo began to disappear. However, a convention arose of playing the final section of the danzón-mambo with a cha-cha-chá rhythm, enabling the dancers to dance both the danzón and the cha-cha-chá in the course of the same composition. This became known as the danzón-cha and is the form of danzón most favored by dancers in Cuba at present.

Discography

The Cuban Danzon: Its Ancestors and Descendants
1982. Various Artists. Folkways Records FW04066. * De Nuevo El Monarca. 1993. Antonio Arcaño y sus Maravillas. ARTEX CD-069.

Footnotes

References