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Los Muñequitos de Matanzas is a
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 ...
n
rumba The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba ...
ensemble from the city of
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 ...
. The group was established in 1952 as Conjunto Guaguancó Matancero and released their first LP in 1956 through
Puchito Puchito Records was Cuba's second independent record label. It was founded in 1954 during the mambo and cha-cha-chá explosion. Many of its recordings, produced by its founder Jesús Gorís, became instant hits. History Early career of Puc ...
. Since then, Los Muñequitos have continued to perform and record, becoming one of the most successful and critically acclaimed rumba groups of all time.


History

On October 9, 1952 in the barrio of La Marina, city of
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 ...
, Cuba, a group of young rumberos stopped off at their local tavern El Gallo after work. While unwinding over drinks, a song by
Arsenio Rodríguez Arsenio Rodríguez (born Ignacio Arsenio Travieso Scull; August 31, 1911 – December 30, 1970)Giro, Radamés 2007. ''Diccionario enciclopédico de la música en Cuba''. La Habana, v. 4, p. 45 et seq. was a Cuban musician, composer and bandl ...
came on the bar’s record player. The drummers began accompanying the song by playing on the counter, on glasses and bottles, using whatever items were at hand. Their performance so impressed the other customers, as well as passers-by, that the men received applause when the song and their accompaniment concluded. It was at that moment when one of the men suggested they form a rumba group to perform at local venues. It was agreed and the rumberos walked over to the house of singer and composer Florencio Calle "Catalino" to enlist his help. After hearing the men’s proposition Catalino told them to return the next day to discuss the matter.
At the meeting the following day, Grupo Guaguancó Matancero was formed. The men agreed that the group would perform rumba and each member would be responsible for bringing his own respective instrument. The original members of Guaguancó Matancero were Florencio Calle "Catalino" (director, guagua), Esteban Lantri "Saldiguera" (vocalist), Juan Bosco (vocalist, claves), Hortensio Alfonso "Virulilla" (vocalist, maraca), Gregorio Díaz "Goyo" (tumba or salidor), Pablo Mesa "Papi" (segundo or tres dos) and Angel Pellado "Pelladito" ( quinto). Later that year the great batalero (‘ batá drummer’) and ''quintero'' (‘quinto drummer’) Esteban Vega "Chachá" joined the group.
Although the members were all genuine "street" rumberos, they began performing on stage from the group’s inception. Saldiguera and Virulilla who had sung in son septetos (‘septets’), brought that genre’s style of harmony singing to the group. The percussion was of a very high quality, with the drums carrying on "conversations" of unprecedented inventiveness and virtuosity. The drums were tuned much lower back then, sounding like funky bass lines, with the rhythmically elusive singing "floating" on top. Initially, the group only performed
guaguancó Guaguancó () is a subgenre of Cuban rumba, combining percussion, voices, and dance. There are two main styles: Havana and Matanzas. Percussion * battery of three conga drummers: the ''tumba'' o "''salidor''"(lowest), ''tres dos'' (middle, playin ...
, but in ensuing years they interpreted
yambú 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, n ...
, columbia and
abakuá Abakuá, also sometimes known as Ñañiguismo, is a Cuban initiatory religious fraternity founded in 1836. The society is open only to men and those initiated take oaths to not reveal the secret teachings and practices of the order. Members are ...
as well.
Guaguancó Matancero began playing in the barrios of Simpson and La Marina, but soon they performed throughout the province of Matanzas. In 1953 they were invited to play at various venues in the capital city, Havana. The group also performed live on radio and television and recorded their first 78 rpm phonorecord for
Puchito Records Puchito Records was Cuba's second independent record label. It was founded in 1954 during the mambo and cha-cha-chá explosion. Many of its recordings, produced by its founder Jesús Gorís, became instant hits. History Early career of Puc ...
(n. 298). The two songs were "Los beodos" (‘The Drunks’) on Side A, and "Los muñequitos" (‘The Newspaper Comic Strip Characters’) on the B side. "Los muñequitos" became such a big hit that wherever the group played, the people would call out "¡Los muñequitos! ¡Los muñequitos!" The popularity of the song eventually led them to change the name of the group to Los Muñequitos de Matanzas.
In 1958 Panart Records released two phonorecords ''Guaguancó'' v. 1 and v. 2, compiling several 78 sides made earlier by the group as well as songs recorded by the Havana rumba group Papín y sus Rumberos. In 1964 Chachá left and vocalist Frank Osamendi joined. Los Muñequitos disbanded in the early 1960s, but re-formed by the end of the decade. They cemented their position as one of Cuba's leading rumba ensembles with songs like "Óyelos de nuevo" and " La chismosa del solar", released in the early 1970s by
EGREM EGREM (Empresa de Grabaciones y Ediciones Musicales, Spanish for ''Enterprise of Recordings and Musical Editions'') is the national record label of Cuba. It is headquartered in Centro Habana, where its main record studios (''Estudios Areito'' 101 ...
. By the 1980s Los Muñequitos were widely known by rumba aficionados in and outside of Cuba. Los Muñequitos quintero Jesús Alfonso's guaguancó "Congo yambumba" (1984) was recorded by
Eddie Palmieri Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936) is an American Grammy Award-winning pianist, bandleader, musician, and composer of Corsican and Puerto Rican ancestry. He is the founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II, and Harlem River Drive. ...
(1987), and Grupo Vocal Sampling (1992). In 1992 the American record company Qbadisc began releasing albums by Los Muñequitos on CD in the United States, followed by a tour of the country for the first time. It was during this time that the group branched out and performed folkloric music and dance besides rumba, such as Lucumí,
Palo Palo may refer to: Places * Palo, Estonia, village in Meremäe Parish, Võru County, Estonia * Palo, Huesca, municipality in the province of Huesca, Spain * Palo, Iowa, United States, a town located within Linn County * Palo Laziale, a location ...
,
abakuá Abakuá, also sometimes known as Ñañiguismo, is a Cuban initiatory religious fraternity founded in 1836. The society is open only to men and those initiated take oaths to not reveal the secret teachings and practices of the order. Members are ...
and
conga 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 ...
. The music of Los Muñequitos directly reflects the
syncretism Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various school of thought, schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or religious assimilation, assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the ...
that exists in Cuba as sacred songs to the
orisha Orishas (singular: orisha) are divine spirits that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and several religions of the African diaspora that derive from it, such as Haitian Vaudou, Cuban Santería and Brazilian Candomblé. The p ...
s often coexist with more secular themes and adaptations of Spanish songs in a single record or performance. In the late summer of 1994 Los Muñequitos joined the Cuban
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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
ensemble
Irakere Irakere (faux- Yoruba for "forest") is a Cuban band founded by pianist Chucho Valdés (son of Bebo Valdés) in 1973. They won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Recording in 1980 with their album ''Irakere''. Irakere was innovative in Afro-Cub ...
on stage at the
Banff Centre Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (formerly Banff Centre) is an arts and culture educational institution in Banff, Alberta, Banff, Alberta. It offers arts programs in the Performing arts, performing and fine arts, as well as leadership trai ...
for the Arts to perform "Xiomara." In 1997, they released their critically acclaimed ''Live in New York'' album. Los Muñequitos earned a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
nomination in 2001. Their latest album, ''Maferefún la rumba'', was released in November 2018.


Personnel

Other past and present members of the group include (in alphabetical order): Iván Alfonso, Freddy Jesús Alfonso Borges, Israel Berriel González, Israel Berriel Jiménez "Toto," Luis Cancino, Baldomero Ricardo Cané Gómez, Pedrito Currubia, Agustín Díaz Cano, Eddy Espinosa, Victoriano Espinosa "Titi," Ronald González, Reyniel López González, José Andro Mella, Rafael Navarro Pujada "Niño," Luis Deyvis Oduardo Ramos, Jaime Oña Ramos, Facundo Pelladito, Ana Pérez Herrera, Yuniscleyvis Ramos, Bárbaro Ramos Aldazábal, Diosdado Enier Ramos Aldazábal "Figurín," Esther Yamile Ramos Aldazábal, Vivian Ramos Aldazábal, Diosdado Ramos Cruz, Alberto Romero Díaz, Ernesto Torriente "Chambelona," Leonel Torriente, and Ricardo Yorca "Chacho."


Guaguancó innovators


Salidor and segundo

From their very first recordings in 1956, to present, Los Muñequitos have maintained a reputation as innovators of rumba, and of guaguancó in particular. The melodic conversations of the two, lower-pitched congas (salidor and segundo), eventually evolved into an extremely fluid style, that was more an approach than a composite of specific parts. The inventions of Los Muñequitos predates guarapachangeo and similar rumba creations emerging from in and around
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.See: break-down at 3: 28, " La polemica" live in Puerto Cárdenas, Matanzas, 25 April 1987.
These breakdowns are similar to the breakdowns heard in the
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 ...
music that was emerging at the end of the 1980s, and which continue to this day.


Quinto

Los Muñequitos' style of playing quinto is also renown. They pioneered the style of an alternating tone-slap melody, that inverts with each cycle of clave (written as a single measure here). The following example shows the sparsest form of the alternating melody. The first measure is tone-slap-tone, and the second measure is slap-tone-slap. The following nine-measure excerpt is from the quinto performance on "La polémica," composed by Israel Berriel González. The quinto moves between three different modes (A, B, C).Peñalosa (2011: 86). The previous quinto example, and the last measure of the following example are both in the basic mode (A), commonly called the ''quinto lock'', or ''ride'' in North America.


Selected discography

*''Guaguancó'' (
Puchito Puchito Records was Cuba's second independent record label. It was founded in 1954 during the mambo and cha-cha-chá explosion. Many of its recordings, produced by its founder Jesús Gorís, became instant hits. History Early career of Puc ...
, 1956) - as Conjunto Guaguancó Matancero *''Rumba abierta'' (F.M.R., 1958 nreleased WS Latino, 1999) *''Cantar maravilloso'' - Rumba Original (Globestyle, 1990) *''Rumba caliente 88/77'' (Qbadisc, 1992) *''Guaguancó — Vol. 2'' (Antilla, reissued 1993) *''Congo Yambumba'' (Qbadisc, 1994) *''Óyelos de nuevo'' (Qbadisc, 1994) *''Vacunao'' (Qbadisc, 1995) *''Ito Iban Echu: Yoruba Sacred Music of Cuba'' (Qbadisc, 1996) *''Live in New York'' (Qbadisc, 1998) *''Rumba de corazón'' (Bis, 2002) *''Rumberos de corazón - 50 Aniversario'' (Bis, 2003) *''Tambor de fuego'' (Bis, 2007) *''De palo pa' rumba'' (Bis, 2009) *''Maferefún la rumba'' (Bis, 2019) *''La Bandera de Mi Tierra'' (Bis, 2019)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munequitos De Matanzas Cuban musical groups Rumba musical groups