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 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 ... 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. The first sections, or danzones, did not depart significantly from the traditional danzón structure [1]. But, the final section of the danzón-mambo was based on tumbaos and guajeos from the montuno 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. ^[1]

Later development

Out of the danzón-mambo came both the mambo 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.

See also

• " Chanchullo"

Footnotes

References

• Orovio, Helio. 1981. Diccionario de la Música Cubana. La Habana, Editorial Letras Cubanas. ISBN  959-10-0048-0
• Santos, John. 1982. The Cuban Danzón: Its Ancestors and Descendants (liner notes). New York, Folkways Records FE 4066