The guayo or ralladera is a metal scraper used as a

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 ...

in traditional styles 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 ...

such as

changüí ''Changüí'' is a style of Cuban music which originated in the early 19th century in the eastern region of Guantánamo Province, specifically Baracoa. It arose in the sugar cane refineries and in the rural communities populated by slaves. ''Chang ...

, predecessor of

son cubano Son cubano is a genre of music and dance that originated in the highlands of eastern Cuba during the late 19th century. It is a syncretic genre that blends elements of Spanish and African origin. Among its fundamental Hispanic components are th ...

. Largely replaced by the

güiro The güiro () is a Puerto Rican percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a stick or tines (see photo) along the notches to produce a ratchet sound. The güiro ...

(gourd scraper) during the 20th century, the guayo is now rare. In the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

, the

güira The güira () is a percussion instrument from the Dominican Republic used as a percussion instrument in merengue, bachata, and to a lesser extent, other genres such as cumbia. It is made of a metal sheet (commonly steel) and played with a stiff ...

, a similar metal scraper used in merengue, is sometimes called guayo. In contrast to Cuba, güiras replaced güiros in the early 20th century.

In changüí

The guayo survives in Cuba almost exclusively as part of

performances in the eastern regions of the country (formerly known as the

Oriente Province Oriente (, "East") was the easternmost province of Cuba until 1976. The term "Oriente" is still used to refer to the eastern part of the country, which currently is divided into five different provinces. Fidel and Raúl Castro were born in a sm ...

). It is one of the five instruments played in the genre together with the

maracas A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas (from Guaraní ), also known as tamaracas, were r ...

botija The botija (botijuela; bunga) is a Caribbean musical instrument of the aerophone type. The botija is a potbellied earthenware jug or jar with two openings and was used in the early son sextetos in Cuba as a bass instrument. Origin The botija wa ...

marímbula The marímbula () is a plucked box musical instrument of the Caribbean. In Cuba it is common in the changüí 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, w ...

, bongo, and

tres Tres may refer to: * Tres (instrument), a Cuban musical instrument * Tres, Trentino, municipality in Italy * "Tres" (song) by Juanes * "Tres", a song by Líbido from their album ''Hembra'' * TrES, the ''Trans-Atlantic Exoplanet Survey'' * Templi R ...

. Guayos consist of a cylindrical metal sheet with a

cheese grater A grater, also known as a shredder, is a kitchen utensil used to grate foods into fine pieces. Uses Food preparation Several types of graters feature different sizes of grating slots, and can therefore aid in the preparation of a variety of ...

surface which is scraped with a metal rod or bone. Notable guayo players include Santiago Reyes "Chago Guayo", Carlos Borromeo Planche "Cambrón" and José Andrés Rodríguez Ramírez, all of which were also singers and members of Grupo Changüí de Guantánamo.

In changüí

See also

References

Further reading