Mambo is a genre of Cuban dance music pioneered by the charanga

Arcaño y sus Maravillas Arcaño y sus Maravillas was a Cuban charanga founded in 1937 by flautist Antonio Arcaño. Until its dissolution in 1958, it was one of the most popular and prolific danzón orchestras in Cuba, particularly due to the development of the danzó ...

in the late 1930s and later popularized in the

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

style by

Pérez Prado Dámaso Pérez Prado (December 11, 1916 – September 14, 1989) was a Cuban bandleader, pianist, composer and arranger who popularized the mambo in the 1950s.''On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality, and Culture'' Louis A. Pérez Jr. - 2012 ...

. It originated as a syncopated form of the

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

, known as

danzón-mambo 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 and the cha-cha-chá. It was also in the context of the danzón-mambo that the Cub ...

, with a final, improvised section, which incorporated the ''

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'' typical 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 t ...

(also known as ''

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. Anot ...

s''). These ''guajeos'' became the essence of the genre when it was played by big bands, which did not perform the traditional sections of the danzón and instead leaned towards swing and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

. By the late 1940s and early 1950s, mambo had become a "dance craze" in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

as its associated dance took over the East Coast thanks to Pérez Prado,

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – June 1, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz ...

Tito Rodríguez Pablo Rodríguez Lozada (January 4, 1923 – February 28, 1973), better known as Tito Rodríguez, was a Puerto Rican singer and bandleader. He started his career singing under the tutelage of his brother, Johnny Rodríguez. In the 1940s, both m ...

and others. In the mid-1950s, a slower ballroom style, also derived from the danzón, cha-cha-cha, replaced mambo as the most popular dance genre in North America. Nonetheless, mambo continued to enjoy some degree of popularity into the 1960s and new derivative styles appeared, such as dengue; by the 1970s it had been largely incorporated into

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: ...

History

Origins in Cuba

The earliest roots of mambo can be traced to the '' danzón de nuevo ritmo'' (danzón with a new rhythm), later known as danzón-mambo, made popular by the orchestra

conducted by flautist

Antonio Arcaño Antonio Arcaño Betancourt (Atarés, Havana 29 December 1911 – 1994) was a Cuban flautist, bandleader and founder of Arcaño y sus Maravillas, one of Cuba's most successful charangas. He retired from playing in 1945, but continued as director ...

Orestes López Orestes López Valdés (August 28, 1908 – January 26, 1991), nicknamed Macho, was a Cuban multi-instrumentalist, composer and bandleader. As a double bassist he was a founding member of the Havana Philharmonic Orchestra, and later a member of th ...

and his brother Israel López "Cachao", main composers of the Maravillas, were the first to denominate a final upbeat, improvised section of the popular Cuban

as a ''mambo''. This innovation a key step in the process of evolution of the danzón, which over the years had progressively lost its structural rigidity to the benefit of musicians and dancers alike. Prior to the ''danzón de nuevo ritmo'', in 1910, José Urfé had first added a

(typical son improvised closing section) as a final part of his composition ''El bombín de Barreto''. This was a swinging section consisting of a repeated musical phrase, which introduced some elements of the son into the

. During the mid-to-late 1930s, some members of the Arcaño group were saying ''vamos a mambear'' ("let's mambo") when referring to the

or final improvisation of the

. It was Arcaño's cellist,

, who created the first

called "

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 ...

" (1938). In this piece, some syncopated motives taken from the son style were combined with improvised flute passages. Antonio Arcaño described the mambo as follows: "Mambo is a type of syncopated ''

'' that possesses the rhythmic charm, informality and eloquence of the Cuban people. The pianist attacks the mambo, the flute picks it up and improvises, the violin executes rhythmic chords in double stops, the double bass inserts a ''tumbao'', the ''timbalero'' plays the cowbell, the ''güiro'' scrapes and plays the ''maracas'' rhythm, the indispensable ''tumba'' (

conga drum The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...

) reaffirms the bass ''tumbao'' and strengthens the ''timbal''."

1940-1952: "Brass" Mambo in Mexico City

Dámaso Pérez Prado Dámaso is a Spanish masculine given name. The name is equivalent to that of Pope Damasus I in English. The name also exists in Italian as Damaso, though it is uncommon. People * Dámaso Alonso (1898–1990), Spanish poet * Dámaso Berenguer, 1st ...

, a pianist and arranger from

Matanzas, Cuba Matanzas (Cuban ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas (Spanish ''Bahia de Matanzas''), east ...

, established his residence in Havana at the beginning of the 1940s and began to work at night clubs and orchestras, such as Paulina Alvarez's and Casino de La Playa. In 1949 he traveled to Mexico looking for job opportunities and achieved great success with a new style, to which he assigned a name that had been already used by

, the ''mambo''. Perez Prado's style differed from the previous mambo concept. The new style possessed a greater influence from North-American

, and an expanded instrumentation consisting of four to five trumpets, four to five saxophones, double bass, drums, maracas, cowbell, congas and bongoes. This new mambo included a catchy counterpoint between the trumpets and the saxophones that induced the body to move along with the rhythm, stimulated at the end of each musical phrase by a characteristic deep throat sound expression. Because his music was aimed at an audience that lived primarily outside Cuba, Pérez Prado used a large number of international influences, especially North-American, in his arrangements. This is evident in his arrangements of songs such as "Mambo Rock", "Patricia" and "Tequila", where he uses a triple meter U.S. "swing" rhythm fused with elements from

Cuban rumba Rumba is a secular genre of Cuban music involving dance, percussion, and song. It originated in the northern regions of Cuba, mainly in urban Havana and Matanzas, during the late 19th century. It is based on African music and dance traditions, ...

and son.

gained hits such as " Mambo No. 5" and "Mambo No. 8" in 1950. The mambo boom peaked in the US in early 1950s, when Pérez Prado hit the American charts at number one with a cha-cha-chá version of " Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White)". Pérez Prado's repertoire included numerous international pieces such as "Cerezo Rosa", "María Bonita", "Tea For Two", "La Bikina", "

Cuando Calienta El Sol Cuando calienta el sol may refer to: * "Cuando calienta el sol" (song), 1961 Spanish song **Love Me with All Your Heart", English language song, with music based on above song * ''Cuando calienta el sol'' (film), 1963 Argentine film *''Cuando cal ...

", " Malagueña" and "En Un Pueblito Español", among many others. Prado's recordings were meant for the Latin American and U.S. ''latino'' markets, but some of his most celebrated mambos, such as "Mambo No. 5" and "Que Rico El Mambo", quickly crossed over to a wider U.S. audience.León, Javier F. "Mambo." ''Encyclopedia of Latino Popular Culture''. Ed. Cordelia Chávez Candelaria, Arturo J. Aldama, Peter J. García, Alma Alvarez-Smith. 2 vols. Connecticut: Praeger, 2004: 510 Cuban singer

Beny Moré Beny or Bény may refer to: Given name * Beny Alagem (born 1953), Israeli-American businessman * Beny Parnes (born 1959), Brazilian economist * Beny Primm (1928–2015), American physician and HIV/AIDS researcher * Beny Steinmetz Beny Stei ...

also lived in Mexico between 1945 and 1952. He composed and recorded some mambos there with Mexican orchestras, especially the one led by Rafael de Paz; they recorded "Yiri Yiri Bon", "La Culebra", "Mata Siguaraya", " Solamente Una Vez" and "Bonito Y Sabroso". Benny and Perez Prado recorded 28 mambo songs including "La Múcura", "Rabo Y Oreja", and "Pachito E'ché". At this time Benny also recorded with the orchestra of Jesús "Chucho" Rodríguez.

Mambo in New York City: 1947-1960

Mambo arrived in 1947 and mambo music and dance became popular soon after. Recording companies began to use ''mambo'' to label their records and advertisements for mambo dance lessons were in local newspapers. New York City had made mambo a transnational popular cultural phenomenon. In New York the mambo was played in a high-strung, sophisticated way that had the

Palladium Ballroom The Palladium Ballroom was a New York City night club. The US mambo craze that started in 1948 began at the Palladium Ballroom. On March 15, 1946, it opened at the northeast corner of Broadway and 53rd Street.''New York Post'', March 14, 1946; p ...

, the famous Broadway dance-hall, jumping. The Ballroom soon proclaimed itself the "temple of mambo", for the city's best dancers—the Mambo Aces, Cha Cha Taps, "Killer Joe" Piro, Augie and Margo Rodriguez. Augie and Margo were still dancing 50 years later (2006) in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Some of New York's biggest mambo dancers and bands of the 1950s included: Augie & Margo, Michael Terrace & Elita, Carmen Cruz & Gene Ortiz, Larry Selon & Vera Rodríguez, Mambo Aces(Anibal Vasquez and Samson Batalla), Cha Cha Taps (Carlos Arroyo and Mike Ramos), Killer Joe Piro, Paulito and Lilon, Louie Maquina, Pedro Aguilar ("Cuban Pete"), Machito,

, Jose Curbelo, Akohh, and

Noro Morales Norosbaldo Morales (January 4, 1911 – January 15, 1964) was a Puerto Rican pianist and bandleader. Biography Morales was born in the subbarrio Puerta de Tierra of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and learned several instruments as a child. He played ...

References

External links

Perez Prado and Mambo Mania

{{Authority control Hispanic and Latino American culture in New York City