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Danzón is the official genre and dance of
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
.Urfé, Odilio 1965. ''El danzón''. La Habana. It is also an active musical form in
USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
and
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
. Written in time, the danzón is a slow, formal
partner dance file:Tanzturnier 28.JPG, Ballroom dancers performing the tango. file:dance-At-Bougival.jpg, upPartner dance, ''Dance at Bougival'' by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1883 Partner dances are dances whose basic choreography involves coordinated dancing of t ...
, requiring set footwork around
syncopated In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat (music), off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of ...
beats, and incorporating elegant pauses while the couples stand listening to virtuoso instrumental passages, as characteristically played by a charanga or típica ensemble. The danzón evolved from the Cuban
contradanza ''Contradanza'' (also called ''contradanza criolla'', ''danza'', ''danza criolla'', or ''habanera'') is the Spanish and Spanish-American version of the contradanse, which was an internationally popular style of music and dance in the 18th cen ...
, or habanera ( '
Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.country dance A country dance is any of a very large number of social dances of a type that originated in England in the British Isles; it is the repeated execution of a predefined sequence of figures, carefully designed to fit a fixed length of music, perfo ...
and contredanse, was probably introduced to Cuba by the Spanish, who ruled the island for almost four centuries (1511–1898), contributing many thousands of immigrants. It may also have been partially seeded during the short-lived British occupation of Havana in 1762. Haitian refugees fleeing the island's revolution of 1791–1804 brought the French-Haitian
kontradans Kontradans or the French-Haitian Contredanse, is creolized dance music formed in the 18th century in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti) that evolved from the English ''contra dance'', or (''country dance''), which eventually spread thr ...
, contributing their own Creole syncopation.Manuel, Peter, editor, 2009. "Creolizing Contradance in the Caribbean." Philadelphia: Temple University Press; see also Carpentier, Alejo. 2001. ''Music in Cuba''. Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press. p146 In Cuba, the dances of European origin acquired new stylistic features derived from
African rhythm Sub-Saharan African music is characterised by a "strong rhythmic interest" that exhibits common characteristics in all regions of this vast territory, so that Arthur Morris Jones (1889–1980) has described the many local approaches as constit ...
and
dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
to produce a genuine fusion of European and African influences.
African music The continent of Africa is vast and its music is diverse, with different regions and nations having many distinct musical traditions. African music includes the genres like makwaya, highlife, mbube, township music, jùjú, fuji, jaiva ...
al traits in the danzón include complex instrumental
cross-rhythm In music, a cross-beat or cross-rhythm is a specific form of polyrhythm. The term ''cross rhythm '' was introduced in 1934 by the Musicology, musicologist Arthur Morris Jones (1889–1980). It refers to a situation where the rhythmic conflict fou ...
s, expressed in staggered
cinquillo A cinquillo is a typical Cuban/Caribbean rhythmic cell, used in the Cuban contradanza (the " habanera") and the danzón.Mauleón, Rebeca (1993: 51). ''Salsa Guidebook: For Piano and Ensemble''. Petaluma, California: Sher Music. The figure is als ...
and tresillo patterns. By 1879, the year
Miguel Failde --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places * Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands *São Miguel (disamb ...
's ''Las alturas de Simpson'' was first performed (in
Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ; ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas Province, Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-American religions, Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Mat ...
), danzón had emerged as a distinct genre. Danzón went on to interact with 20th century Cuban genres such as
son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current ...
, and through the
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 ...
it was instrumental in the development of
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 cha-cha-chá.


History

The danzón developed from the habanera, a creolized Cuban dance form. By 1879, the year ''Las alturas de Simpson'' composed by
Miguel Failde --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places * Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands *São Miguel (disamb ...
(leader of the Orquesta Faílde) was first performed in
Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ; ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas Province, Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-American religions, Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Mat ...
, danzón had emerged as a distinct genre. Creation of the new danzón form is generally attributed to Faílde. The classical composer
Manuel Saumell Manuel Saumell Robredo (19 April 1818 – 14 August 1870), was a Cuban composer known for his invention and development of genuinely Creolization, creolized forms of music. For this reason he gets the credit for being the first to cultivate Cuban ...
has also been cited as a key figure in its delineation.


Precursors: figure dances

The English
contradanza ''Contradanza'' (also called ''contradanza criolla'', ''danza'', ''danza criolla'', or ''habanera'') is the Spanish and Spanish-American version of the contradanse, which was an internationally popular style of music and dance in the 18th cen ...
was the predecessor of the " habanera", also known as danza criolla. Out of this Creole genre, the Habanera, was born in 1879 another Cuban genre, called danzon, a
sequence dance Sequence dancing is a form of dance in which a preset pattern of movements is followed, usually to music which is also predetermined. Sequence dancing may include dances of many different styles. The term may include ballroom dances which move rou ...
, in which all danced together a set of ''figures''. The first use of the term ''danzón'', which dates from the 1850s, is for just such a dance. Havana's daily paper, ''El Triunfo'', gave a description of this earlier danzón. It was a co-ordinated dance of figures performed by groups of Matanzas blacks. The dancers held the ends of colored ribbons, and carried flower-covered arches. The group twisted and entwined the ribbons to make pleasing patterns. This account can be corroborated by other references, for example, a traveler in Cuba noted in 1854 that black Cubans "do a kind of wreath dance, in which the whole company took part, amid innumerable artistic entanglements and disentanglements". This style of danzón was performed at carnival
comparsa A comparsa is a group of singers, musicians and dancers that take part in carnivals and other festivities in Spain and Latin America. Its precise meaning depends on the specific regional celebration. The most famous comparsas are those that part ...
s by black groups: it is described that way before the late 1870s. Faílde's first danzóns were created for just such sequence dances. Faílde himself said "In Matanzas at this time there was a kind of square dance for twenty couples who carried arches and flowers. It was really a dance of figures (sequence dance), and its moves were adapted to the tempo of the habanera, which we took over for the danzón."


Structure and instruments

The form of danzón created by Miguel Faílde in 1879 (''Las alturas de Simpson''), begins with an ''introduction'' (four bars) and ''paseo'' (four bars), which are repeated and followed by a 16-bar melody. The introduction and paseo again repeat before a second melody is played. The dancers do not dance during these sections: they choose partners, stroll onto the dance floor, and begin to dance at precisely the same moment: the fourth beat of bar four of the paseo, which has a distinctive percussion pattern that's hard to miss. When the introduction is repeated the dancers stop, chat, flirt, greet their friends, and start again, right on time as the paseo finishes. Early danzón was played by groups called '' orquestas típicas'', which were based on wind instruments. They had several brass instruments (
cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...
, valve
trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...
,
ophicleide The ophicleide ( ) is a family of conical-bore keyed brass instruments invented in early 19th-century France to extend the keyed bugle into the lower range. Of these, the bass ophicleide in eight-foot (8′) C or 9′ B took root over the cour ...
), a
clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...
or two, a violin or two and tympani (
kettle drums Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...
). At the beginning of the 20th century, the lighter and somewhat more elegant sound of the '' charanga'' emerged (see Early Cuban bands). Initially, they were small orchestra of two violins, a cello, flute,
timbales Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfic ...
,
güiro The güiro () is a 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 is commonly ...
, and doublebass. Charanga and típicas competed with each other for years, but after 1930 it was clear that the days of the típica were over. In 1898, a piano was included in a charanga for the first time. In
Antonio María Romeu Antonio María Romeu Marrero (11 September 1876 – 18 January 1955) was a Cuban pianist, composer and bandleader. His orchestra was Cuba's leading charanga for over thirty years, specializing in the danzón. Throughout his career he was popu ...
's hands a piano became standard. Its musical flexibility, its ability to influence both melody and rhythm, made it invaluable. In 1926, in his arrangement of ''Tres lindas cubanas'', Romeu incorporated a piano ''solo'' for the first time. His was Cuba's top charanga for many years.


Initial perception

Similar to other dances in the Caribbean and Latin America, the danzón was initially regarded as scandalous, especially when it began to be danced by all classes of society. The slower rhythm of the danzón led to couples dancing closer, with sinuous movements of the hips and a lower centre of gravity. The author of a survey of prostitution in Havana devoted a whole chapter to the iniquities of dancing, and the danzón in particular. Articles in newspapers and periodicals took up the theme: :"Because I love my country, it hurts me to see danzón at gatherings of decent people." :"We recommend banning the danza and danzón because they are vestiges of Africa and should be replaced by essentially European dances such as the quadrille and rigadoon." Apparently, the danzón, which later became an insipid dance for older couples, was at first danced with "obscene movements" of the hips by young couples in close embrace, with bodies touching, and by couples who might come from different races... :"First we had the danza, then came the danzón... next it will be the rumba, and finally we'll all end up dancing ñáñigo!" So, behind the concern about music and dance were concerns about sexual licence, and about
miscegenation Miscegenation ( ) is marriage or admixture between people who are members of different races or ethnicities. It has occurred many times throughout history, in many places. It has occasionally been controversial or illegal. Adjectives describin ...
, the mixing of races. As with other similar cases, the criticism was to no avail. The danzón became hugely popular, and was the dominant popular music in Cuba until the advent of the
son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current ...
in the 1920s. At length the Cuban government made Faílde the official inventor of the danzón – ''but not until 1960'', by which time the danzón had become a relic, and its 'child', the chachachá, had taken over.


Influence of son

In 1910, some 30 years after Faílde's early days,
José Urfé José Urfé González (February 6, 1879 – November 14, 1957) was a Cuban clarinetist and composer. An innovator of the danzón, his 1910 composition "El bombín de Barreto" pioneered the introduction of elements from son cubano into the genr ...
added a
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 ...
as a final part of his ''El Bombín de Barretto''. This was a swinging section, consisting of a repeated musical phrase, which introduced something of the
son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current ...
into the danzón (a tactic which was to recur again). Because of the popularity of son in the 1920s and 1930s,
Aniceto Díaz ''Aniceto'' is a 2008 Argentine musical drama film directed by Leonardo Favio and starring Hernán Piquín. The film is a remake of '' El romance del Aniceto y la Francisca'', a 1967 drama film also directed by Favio. Both films are based on the s ...
in ''Rompiendo la rutina'' in 1929 added a vocal part, thereby creating a new genre called the danzonete. Later development led to more
syncopation In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat (music), off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of ...
, which eventually led to the danzón-chá, nuevo ritmo, cha-cha-chá,
pachanga Pachanga is a genre of music which is described as a mixture of son montuno and merengue and has an accompanying signature style of dance. This type of music has a festive, lively style and is marked by jocular, mischievous lyrics. Pachanga ...
and
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 ...
. From the 1940s to the 1960s danzón and its derivatives were highly popular in Cuba, with several truly fine charangas playing most days of the week.
Orquesta Aragón Orquesta Aragón is a Cuban musical band formed on 30 September 1939, by Orestes Aragón Cantero in Cienfuegos, Cuba. The band originally had the name ''Ritmica 39'', then ''Ritmica Aragón'' before settling on its final form. Though they did not ...
kept up an exceptionally high standard for many years, but the danzón itself gradually dropped out, and is now a relic dance. Danzón has never ceased to influence Cuban musicians, and it is reflected in many popular Cuban music genres, in Cuban
Latin jazz Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave (rhythm), clave, and Afro-Brazil ...
,
salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (food), 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: Arts and ent ...
, songo and
timba Timba is a Cuban genre of music based on Cuban '' son'' with '' salsa'', American Funk/R&B and the strong influence of Afro-Cuban folkloric music. Timba rhythm sections differ from their salsa counterparts, because timba emphasizes the bass d ...
, the latter building upon the charanga orchestration. Groups like
Los Van Van Los Van Van is one of the leading musical groups of post-revolutionary Cuba. It was founded in 1969 by bassist Juan Formell, who directed the band until his death in 2014. Formell and former band members Changuito and Pupy are some of the most i ...
and
Orquesta Revé Timba is a Cuban genre of music based on Cuban ''son'' with '' salsa'', American Funk/R&B and the strong influence of Afro-Cuban folkloric music. Timba rhythm sections differ from their salsa counterparts, because timba emphasizes the bass dr ...
developed from charangas. Their make-up and orchestration (by
Juan Formell Juan Climaco Formell Cortina (2 August 1942 – 1 May 2014) was a Cuban bassist, composer, and arranger, best known as the director of Los Van Van. He was a creator of popular danceable music and credited with bringing electronic instrumentation ...
) has been so greatly altered that it is difficult to identify traces of danzón; indeed, their present styles owe more to son than to danzón. The addition of brass instruments such as
trombones The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the air column inside the instrument to ...
and trumpets, and
conga drum The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are stave (wood), staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (drum), quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), an ...
s signalled a wider range of music.


Mexican Danzón

Danzón was also very popular in the Gulf Coast state of
Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...
, Mexico, because of the strong Cuban influence in the region. Later on, danzón developed in
Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
, specially in the famous ''Salón México''; it has survived as a dance longer there than in Cuba. Danzón also flourished in the city of
Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...
, and many famous danzones were composed by Oaxacan musicians such as the famous Nereidas and Teléfono de larga distancia, both works of Amador Pérez Dimas, from the town of
Zaachila Zaachila (the Zapotec name; Nahuatl: ''Teotzapotlan''; Mixtec: ''Ñuhu Tocuisi'') was a powerful Mesoamerican city in what is now Oaxaca, Mexico, from the city of Oaxaca. The city is named after Zaachila Yoo, the Zapotec ruler, in the late 14 ...
, near Oaxaca city. Today, people still dance danzón in Mexico, particularly in the main plazas of Veracruz, Oaxaca and Mexico City, and in yearly festivals across Mexico. The dance had a second revival in the 1990s, especially among Mexico's senior citizens. A film called ''
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 ...
'' was released in 1991 directed by María Novaro.


Concert music

'' Danzón no. 2'' by Mexican composer
Arturo Márquez Arturo Márquez Navarro (born 20 December 1950) is a Mexican composer of orchestral music who uses musical forms and styles of his native Mexico and incorporates them into his compositions. His best known work is '' Danzón No. 2''. Life Márque ...
(b. 1950) is a popular piece in orchestral concerts.


Rhythmic structure

The basic
timbales Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfic ...
part for danzón is called the baqueteo. In the example above, the slashed noteheads indicate muted drum strokes, and the regular noteheads indicate open strokes. The
güiro The güiro () is a 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 is commonly ...
also plays this pattern. The danzón was the first written music to be based on the organizing principle of sub-Saharan African rhythm, known in Cuba as clave.


Style and form structure

Danzón is elegant and virtuoso music, with dance. A danzón, in its original form, was not sung, and did not feature any improvisations, unlike some other Cuban genres. A danzón has the following typical structure: *An ''introduction'' or ''paseo'' (A), usually 16 bars. *The ''theme'' or principal melody (B), featuring the flute, thus often referred to as ''parte de (la) flauta''. *A repeat of the introduction. *The ''trio'' (C), featuring the strings, thus also called ''parte del violín''. *Ending. This could either be a cliché ending (there are a few standard danzón endings), another repeat of the introduction, or a combination of both. The classic form is thus ABAC or ABACA. A danzón-chá or
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 ...
typically add another part (D), a syncopated open vamp in which soloists may sometimes improvise, creating an ABACD or, more common, ABACAD.


Mambo section

In danzón, the mambo section is the final section of an arrangement. It was first devised by
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 t ...
, who added syncopated motifs taken from the son, together with improvised flute variations. He called this type of danzón ''ritmo nuevo'' (new rhythm). Orestes' danzón ''Mambo'' was the start of a trend continued by ''
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 danzón- ...
''. Max Salazar
"Orestes Lopez and the mambo"
'' Latin Beat Magazine'', September 2002


Selected recordings

* ''Pensamiento'' – Belisario López * ''Lago Azul'' – Antobal’s Cubans * ''Flor De Yurumi'' – Orquestra Antonio Maria Romeu


See also

* French contredanse *
Guaracha The guaracha () is a genre of music that originated in Cuba, of rapid tempo and comic or picaresque lyrics. The word has been used in this sense at least since the late 18th and early 19th century. Guarachas were played and sung in musical the ...
* La tumba francesa *
Music of Haiti The music of Haiti combines a wide range of influences drawn from the diverse population that has settled on this Caribbean island. It often has hints of French, African rhythms, Spanish elements and others who have inhabited the island of Hispa ...
*
Twoubadou Twoubadou (; ) music is a popular genre of guitar-based music from Haiti that has a long and important place in Haitian culture. The word comes from ''troubadour'', a medieval poet-musician who wrote and sang songs about courtly love. Like the t ...


References

* Rebeca Mauleón ''The Salsa guidebook for piano and ensemble'' (1993). Petaluma CA: Sher Music. *Peter Manuel, editor. "Creolizing Contradance in the Caribbean" (2009). Philadelphia: Temple University Press. {{DEFAULTSORT:Danzon Cuban styles of music Dance in Cuba Mexican styles of music 19th-century music genres 20th-century music genres Articles containing video clips