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May 8, 2021 Day of the Cuban Son

On May 8, Cuban Son Day is celebrated on the birth of Miguelito Cuní and Miguel Matamoros, great exponents of the Creole genre.

This article is dedicated to exalt the most Creole of Cuban music, especially son.

 

This day is a tribute to this music-dance expression and to the musical legacy of its great exponents included Miguel Matamoros and Miguelito Cuní, reported the Cuban Music Institute.

The Official Gazette of the Republic said on 2 October that the Decree 19 of the Council of Ministers recognizes Cuban son as part of the intangible heritage since 2012.

This day is a tribute to this musical-dance expression and to the musical legacy of its great exponents, Miguel Matamoros and Miguelito Cuní, informed the Cuban Institute of Music.
May 8th Cuban Son Day

This declaration consolidates the file for its proposal to this candidacy.

The information has also been shared by the chief proponent of this initiative, maestro Adalberto Álvarez, who said on his Facebook page that the joy of having our Son Day is very great.

Cuban son is a vocal and sanceable instrumental genre that constitutes one of the basic forms within Cuban music that blends African musical elements with Spanish musical elements.

May 8 is a representative day, since the births of Miguelito Cuní and Miguel Matamoros are commemorated, that is why this date was the one proposed, said the 2008 National Music Award.

Likewise, the Caballero del Son, as Adalberto Álvarez is known, declared that this is only part of the task, since we already have the Day of the Cuban Son, we still have to get the son to be named Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
May 8 is a representative day

In addition, the Caballero del Son, as Álvarez is known, stated that this is just a part of the task, so we already have Cuban Son Day, we still have to get son to be named an Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

This is a vocal and danceable instrumental genre that constitutes one of the basic forms within Cuban music that blends African musical elements with Spanish musical elements.

It reportedly was born in the easternmost region of Cuba and was developed in provinces such as Guantánamo, Baracoa, Manzanillo and Santiago de Cuba in the late 19th century, even though there are testimonies that the most ancien Cuban sones date back to the 16th century such as the Son de la Má Teodora by the 1562 and performed by two Dominican sisters, Micaela and Teodora Ginés.

 DECREE 19, CUBAN SON DAY Single Article. To declare May 8 “Day of the Cuban Son” as a tribute to this music-dance expression and to the musical legacy of its great exponents. IT SHALL BE PUBLISHED in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba. DONE in the Palace of the Revolution, Havana, to the next two days of September 2020, “YEAR 62 OF THE REVOLUTION”.

BE IT PUBLISHED in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba. GIVEN at the Palace of the Revolution, in Havana, on the 2nd day of the month of September 2020, "YEAR 62 OF THE REVOLUTION".
The Cuban Son was born from the blending of Afro-Cuban and Spanish crossbreeding.

History of Cuban Son

Cuban Son was born by mixing Afro-Cuban and Spanish cross-breeding. Its origin is intimately linked to Changüi, considered as the mother rhythm of son.

Son came from the East to Havana around 1909. The “Cuarteto Oriental”, created in 1916, became the Sexteto Habanero in 1918, establishing itself as the traditional format of the son bands. In the 1920s, with the emergence of commercial radio broadcasting, the rise and popularization of son began, being the Septeto Nacional de Ignacio Piñeiro one of the main representatives from this time.

The upper classes of Cuba, who are fond of danzón (Cuba’s first native genre) sat watching son warily, seeing it as a slumming and classless genre. However, son was gaining popularity and ended up imposing on danzón, which was consigned to oblivion.

Apart from the fans son has always had in Cuba, the importance of this genre also lies in the influence it has had on the emergence of other genres such as son montuno, mambo, and salsa. In contrast of danzón, son has always been present in Cuba, either directly or within other later musical genres.

Son montuno is a type of son that was played and danced in the last part of Danzón. The importance of this son was its influence in the creation of salsa, in both in music and dance.

Dancing

This dance is only played at the last minute in a salsa club room if the deejay is Cuban, and hardly anyone dances it well.

The base of this dance is three steps followed by a pause, such as salsa. The figures are very simple and similar to those of Cuban salsa. The fundamental difference with salsa is the way of taking the steps. They are more energetic, such as mambo, with a wider hip movement and the pause more marked than in salsa. In other words, instead of the rhythm fast-fast-slow on salsa. In the case of son, it could be considered as fast-fast-fast-fast-slow.

The rhythm of son is, in general, slower than that of salsa, which allows the dancers to recreate in adornments and flirtations. The rhythm is better followed with the key, which is usually very marked.

There are no enchuflas, which are typical of Cuban salsa. The side steps, cockroach style, the couple turn, the walk, the side walk, the side walk, and the step forward-back are widely used.

A very typical and spectacular figure is when the man crouches or even is placed in a horizontal position, leaning the point of the foot on the floor, and the girl takes hom by his hand and walks around him, making him turn the sole of his foot.

Source:

great exponents of the Creole genre.
Cuban Son Day is commemorated on May 8 on the occasion of the birth of Miguelito Cuní and Miguel Matamoros.

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Meet Liz Castillo in our report for this May 2021 edition

 

In the Caribbean there is a group of islands that attract many tourists all year round for its warm beaches, music, history and / or culture, one of the most visited is the beautiful island of Cuba, where tropical tourism is excellent for tourists. , one of the provinces that stands out for being a land of beautiful landscapes and hospitable people who preserve their traditions is Pinar del Rio which is located in the westernmost part of Cuba, it highlights its extraordinary natural charms such as its caves and Pinar del Rio parks, its beaches are bathed by two waters “the Atlantic and the Caribbean” which you can see with the naked eye when you go there and having this great diversity and beauty, you can explore the seabed as there is great tourism ecological and practicing water sports, it also has green gardens, the mogotes of Viñales and its guano houses where tobacco leaves are dried, there is an impressive Mural of Prehistory, a huge cave painting g burned on the surface of a mogote where its tropical and exuberant colors allow it to be distinguished from afar.

This time we have the Cuban singer Marielys Castillo Prietos also known by the stage name Liz Castillo, who was born in this beautiful city Pinar del Rio, Cuba on September 20, 1985, tells us with affection the place where she was born and is the perfect description that we mentioned at the beginning of this article; currently she lives in Havana to better develop her musical career.

In 2000, he began his musical career where he joined the movement of amateur artists of “Casa de Cultura”, a place that belongs to the network of cultural institutions that make up the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Cuba. where there is concerted cultural development between the community and state entities, aimed at the preservation, transmission and promotion of artistic and cultural samples of the community, there were workshops where visual arts, dance, music are taught … was able to present singing songs for both children and adults; which obtained several prizes in the diverse Contests.

During these 5 years he dedicated himself to recording his album called “Cosas Contigo” with full authorship, his songs have a great variety of musical genres such as Bachata, Salsa, Vallenato, among others in order to have a great musical enrichment and in turn achieve a greater reach to your audience.

Cosa Contigo - Liz Prieto
Cover of Marielys Castillo Prietos – Cosa Contigo

In 2004, she graduated from Elementary Level in Singing Specialty, and jointly received Popular Singing classes in Havana with her teacher Robertina Morales Silva, who is someone very important to her since she mentions that she owes her musical career to him. because during his beginnings, he was born with the concern and doubt of being a musician and she was the one who showed him his path and what is correct or not; When he received his classes with her, he discovered and obtained the answers to his concerns in his musical career, even today they keep in contact supporting her.

She begins to work on the composition of the songs of her authorship, where until today she has more than 25 works registered in the National Copyright Center, performed by recognized Orchestras and Soloists and by herself.

The emotion and inspiration to create his songs is “Love”, the most sincere and most sincere feeling there is, it is also inspired by its derivatives such as heartbreak, life and lived experiences; This is one of the ways that you express what you feel, what you like and what you don’t like and what you want to send to your audience.

A year later (2005), he joined the Ebano y Marfil group and the Ireme Group. On this same date the Polyphonic Choir of Pinar del Río was integrated, these were the first groups with which I worked instead of working as a soloist, it was a new world where he does not deny that for those who start in group music and with experience it is scary because they do not know if they will measure up or not (their own insecurities), if your desire to move forward and progress is stronger it will be appeased by gaining experience and more security, as happened to her, who is a person characterized by a person who never backs down and moves on, to catch up and strive to defend himself for which he has fought, since she herself knew what would happen by studying it, thought and assumed in his future, making this a wonderful and great experience.

Live- Liz Castillo
Photo of Marielys Castillo Prietos and her musical group

What better happiness and personal reward than listening to your musical themes on the street and expanding to radio stations and the internet, this is the best happiness that a musician has.

After 4 years he retired from the musical group to go to Havana (2009) to train more as an artist for a year at the Mariana de Gonitch Singing Academy, directed by Maestro Hugo Ósle, a very prestigious teacher from Havana, he is known As the director of the group that bears the name of the famous internationally renowned Russian singer and pedagogue, who preferred to live in Cuba and was in charge of preparing young talents, there Liz Castillo had her lyrical and popular singing classes and above all they took you to to do shows and concerts in all the theaters of Havana either as a soloist or in a group, thus cultivating in his career and to have a more accurate criterion in a few words he was covering a wide repertoire and varied musical genres from Folklor A; upon graduating he continued working and always asking his teacher Robertina Morales Silva for support.

She mentions that during the COVID-19 pandemic, she did not see the bad things but the positive things, it has been for her during that difficult year, very prosperous in her career since she has been able to get 2 singles that were previously in process or paused, 2 salsa songs ʺCanción sin Rostroʺ which is currently coming out these days with its video clip and soon ʺWhere our Love is bornʺ … the pandemic has paralyzed many things but we must take advantage of this time at home and she did it promoting herself and obtaining a greater reach through the internet platform using social networks.

“For live music to be heard by the public, that they like it and identify with it and to achieve at this time is through communications especially the internet and social networks”

“Canción sin Rostro” is a musical theme that aired recently, it tells us that during its creation it was not called that, but “De que vale”, because that change arose, it was a theme related to an unrequited love and at the end of the song was a happier ending instead of the sadness it had at the beginning, it is like for example seeing the dark side of life comes at the end to see the light, the most beautiful part of life.

Liz Castillo - Cosas Contigo
Musical themes by Liz Castillo

To the new talent that is currently emerging, Liz Castillo mentions that currently many people want to be a fast and famous artist, but the truth is… “the person who is going to be an artist is because they have it in their soul, mind and it is written in Life will go on and overcome its obstacles, no matter how difficult … the artist is born with that quality, those who are not will not be able to continue even with all the support in the world “…” the artist’s work is not for himself, but for others, respecting his audience with respect to his lyrics, a clear message without many complicated words ”

If you want to know more about her, listen to her songs or contact her:

Spotify

  • https://open.spotify.com/artist/0FMLrFYvhu14ITV7ecMHpx?si=9_e5Ru99QBqn_kWvZ3U7EA

Pleylist

  • https://open.spotify.com/artist/0FMLrFYvhu14ITV7ecMHpx?si=9uUH-GunTUKJ3R2DvPsibg

 

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Argentina and its musical genres of origin and the tropics

Argentine musical genres and development to date with tropical genres

 

Each country has its essence with respect to what it represents above all in its culture, and in Latin America there is a great variety of musical genres and dances unlike Europe since during the colonization of the new world a mixture occurred not only at the level of races but also of culture, emerging a great variety of musical genres…

In this time we have Argentina, a country full of cultural diversity being the most interesting characteristic of this great South American country. It is a country where music is expressed with great style and elegance, especially at the level of dance, since its presentations are made in various places, including outdoors, especially in Buenos Aires (usually in summer).

Argentinian dance
Argentine Collash

Among the musical genres that stand out are:

  • Argentine Rock: it is the mix of rock and roll, blues, country & western, R&B, doo wop, boogie woogie and swing; It is characterized by having an outstanding and recognized Hispanic lyrics throughout Latin America thanks to the great popularity of the bands and artists that participated and reaped records in album sales and in attendance at recitals in the mid-1950s to date. (sample bands)

 

  • Tango: a musical and dance genre very characteristic of the Rio de la Plata region and its area of ​​influence, but mainly of the cities of Buenos Aires (in Argentina) and Montevideo (in Uruguay). Their music and dance is very popular in Argentina and this expressive dance has strong European influences. It is danced as a couple where the dancers merge in a romantic embrace, showing their sensuality, passion and feeling in each step taken, leading it to become one of the most famous dances and musical genres in the world.

 

  • Cumbia: despite the fact that this rhythm from the Caribbean countries, particularly Colombia, has spread in several Latin American countries including that country, the cumbia and the different variants are part of the music called “tropical”, and in Argentina Cumbia Villera is a subgenre born in popular areas, born approximately in 1997. It emerged from the fusion with local rhythms such as chamamé and tango, due to its instrumental endowment; Another particular characteristic of Argentine cumbia is the inclusion of flamenco within its musicalization.

 

  • In Argentine there are folk rhythms:

 

  • Zamba: its name derives from the daughters of black slaves and aborigines, who were sought to seduce through dance, this genre is located in the central part of the country and is generally associated with the Argentine Pampas. It is danced in pairs where the man surrounds the woman’s shoulders with a handkerchief with the intention of seduction.

 

  • Carnavalito: this genre is located in the Andean region, north of Argentina, its music and dance make up a part of the Andean pre-Columbian culture, it has a festive and lively tone.

 

  • Chacarera: a dance native to the north-central part of the country, has a marked aboriginal influence where the Quichua language is manifested. With vehement and intense tones, it is used in regional Carnival dances and is danced by stamping and courting figures.

During the 50s in the USA (United States) several musical genres were called “Latin Rhythms” to differentiate them from African-Americans, among which are salsa, merengue, samba, bachata and bolero among the most known. You will say that this has to do with the musical genres mentioned above … because there is a great difference and history since each musical genre or dance has its own rules to perform them either on a musical or dance level, but when a mixture arises. from two or more musical genres, a new one more innovative, fun and with a taste to the population, like what happened with the Latin rhythms in that country.

Photo of some dancers
Tango dancers photos

Salsa is a contagious and fun rhythm most of all for the general population at the time of dancing it, since people enjoy a very lively music where they usually shine with the amount of turns to magically show themselves with their spectators and to achieve this you are born with it or you train with professionals in dance; this generally applies to all Latin and / or tropical rhythms.

It does not matter what genre this popular in each country, the important thing is the dedication, expression and that each person has when producing their musical theme or dance to the public, giving the native his personal touch to his music or dance, becoming more unique and not as generic as it is made in other countries.

 

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NORA SUZUKI

32 Years After Her Debut In Salsa

Nora Suzuki singing
“The difficult thing was to get Latino to believe that Japanese are playing salsa. At first, no one believed me, so I had to sing and dance in front of them”. Nora Suzuki

She broke paradigms in Latin and Asian music in the late ‘80s. She founded the most famous Salsa orchestra in Japan (La Orquesta De La Luz). She paved the way for new generations of artists. She is an institution of Afro-Caribbean music in oriental culture. A leading woman, dreamer, charismatic, and enthusiastic… This is how Nora Suzuki presents her story.

This famous artist originally from Nakano-ku (Tokyo) did not always want to be a singer, at first Nora was inclined towards professional dance taking ballet classes at three years old, however, by then this young singing promise already had an unmatched vocal talent that couldn’t go unnoticed years later.

Her aptitude for the arts comes from her family because her grandfather was a master of drums and singing, her parents, although they are not professionals, continue to be excellent singers, her cousin is a music teacher, her brother is a fan of the English band, The Beatles, and finally, her son León (named so in honor of Venezuelan Salsa singer, Oscar D’ León) loves Japanese popular music right now, nevertheless, Nora hopes that one day he will succeed her as Salsero. As you can see, music runs through the veins of this successful international singer.

In the last year of Takashima High School in Tokyo (Japan) Nora’s track record of success began to be carved out. She started in an amateur rock band as the lead vocalist and developed her interest in R&B music. She sang in the ATOM band during her undergraduate career at Nihon University art of college. By then, the band had a percussionist (ex-leader of the Orquesta De La Luz) who loved Salsa and suggested to Suzuki that she study that Latin musical genre.

Nora Suzuki signing autographs
“Gracias Salseros” was released on the music market on August 20, 2019

“When I was 21, I visited New York for sightseeing and watched Oscar D’ Leon’s live at the Salsa Club. I was very impressed at that time and fell in love with Salsa. After that, a Salsa band called Orquesta del Sol was playing live in Tokyo, so I went to see that band. I was impressed that even Japanese people can play Salsa, so I decided to form La Orquesta De La Luz”. Nora explained in detail the idea that came up to create this famous Japanese Salsa Orchestra in 1984 and already graduated from university for that year.

For Suzuki, currently based in Tokyo, the last year (2020) was a year of changes: most of her concerts were postponed or canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but they were still able to perform live, and after the summer, they made several performances in their home city and other adjacent regions.

In the near future, the concert tour of Nora and La Orquesta de la Luz in America and Europe is a fact, as well as the fusion of modern elements such as Reggaeton inside Salsa in their new record productions.

HER PATH THROUGH SPANISH

Nora outdoors
“I have never felt discriminated while touring Latin America. I think it’s great!” Nora

For Nora, not everything was easy when she began her career in Latin music. At first, it was difficult for her to speak Spanish due to the pronunciation of the consonants “R” and “L”. Since there isn’t distinction in the phonetics of both letters in the Japanese language, however, this successful singer never occurred to sing Salsa in another language. “I tried very hard to pronounce it right… Now I have original Salsa song with Japanese lyrics”. The artist commented.

This charismatic singer-songwriter on her path through Spanish first caught the sounds in the katakana alphabet. Then, she studied Spanish grammar in courses broadcast on television and radio.

The lyrics of her songs are composed by her using words she knows, reading dictionaries, and example sentences carefully. Once the lyrics are made, they are reviewed by one of her friends of Latin descent.

 Now I can understand Spanish a lot. If you speak slowly, I can understand the rough meaning”.

NORA SUZUKI & LA ORQUESTA DE LA LUZ

This prestigious artist, who has captivated millions of people with her talent on three continents, was always persevering and disciplined. She formed La Orquesta De La Luz in the early ‘80s and later made a demo for their international performance. Three years later, with her savings, Nora toured three countries on the American continent: Panama, Puerto Rico, and New York.

Panama was the first country that set foot in search of being heard by Latinos. “I was very excited because I was able to appear on the radio and TV show, and the audience was very excited about my singing”. Nora commented.

Then she visited Puerto Rico and New York. Nora adds: “At first, I went to see Ralph Mercado, but unfortunately he didn’t listen to the demo tape. I was very depressed but didn’t want to give up, so I next met Richie Bonilla, and he was able to listen to the tape and could believe my story”.

Orquesta de la Luz in concert
“Some members understand Spanish a little, but most of them don’t speak it”. Nora Suzuki

After overcoming some obstacles, in 1989, they debuted as a world-famous Salsa band with their first concert tour in New York, thanks to the promotion of Bonilla, who currently continues to be her manager and the orchestra.

Eight years of resounding success on three continents and especially in Japan made each member of the band so popular that by 1997 it was impossible to match the schedule of each member, which caused the inevitable and regrettable breakup.

Five years later, specifically on January 16, 2002, Nora organized the World Peace Music Festival benefit concert due to the 911 incident in New York and return for the immense affection and support of Latinos in the United States. This concert was the catalyst for the reunion of La Orquesta de la Luz and by the beginning of 2021, the band has 23 countries already visited.

Recently, this famous star awarded the United Nations Peace Medal in 1993, together with the Orchestra, released the album “Gracias Salseros” in commemoration of their more than 30th anniversary. (This CD can be downloaded and listened to through the different digital platforms).

In the last 10 years, La Orquesta de la Luz has toured Japan twice and has participated in consecutive years in the Billboard Live in Tokyo and Osaka. You can also see them perform at local festivals, children’s schools, and through their official Facebook page with their live-streamed rehearsal videos that have a total of 9 000 000 views.

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Improve The Physical And Mental Health With SalsaBrisa In Maastricht

The dance academy located in one of the cities of the lively cultural scene of Netherlands offers a personalized system that implements the triple technique of the current educational system for quality learning

Dance couple posing
You can have personalized attention and guidance with experienced dance instructors in private lessons in the environment of your choice

The SalsaBrisa academy is oriented to direct Afro-Caribbean dance classes using the triple technique of the educational system: visual, auditory, and kinetic to help the easy learning of this Latin rhythm and achieve a happier life with physical and mental well-being.Naomi Dongelmans and her partner Khalid Lazar of Moroccan origin founded the dance school in early 2000 to help society find a new lifestyle. Since 2006, the creators of the world-renowned Limburg Salsa Bachata Kizomba Festival have enjoyed great success and rising popularity in the Netherlands.

Dongelmans, a medical professional, realized with her experience that dance helps people cope with many afflictions such as depression, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and diabetes. Working in parallel with her life partner and chef Khalid, she managed to show that through continuous dance movements that produce endorphins, people who fight against mental disorders become happier, as well as the elderly, including women and men of 90 years old enjoy a better quality of life with superior mobility, significantly younger attitudes, and interact much better with the rest of their dance friends.

For this great contribution of fun combined with quality lessons, SalsaBrisa has been recognized with the Bedrijven Awards for Excellence In Business (2012 & 2013) and Freelancer of the Year in 2014 and 2015.

Currently, in Maastricht, a university city in the far south of the Netherlands, many people enjoy the La Mulata dance school of the SalsaBrisa academy which offers a diverse schedule of lessons in different styles and levels, as well as events for everyone with an atmosphere relaxed and calm with the team of teachers composed of Khalid, Naomi, James, Marcos, Simone, and Floor, who will make sure that you shine in dance, and will teach you with the personalized learning style that brings together the combination of cognitive, affective, and psychological factors, a mayor development with which you will interact with new people, you will get in shape, and you will become healthier and happier.

ON THE DANCE FLOOR

Dance classes
In the lessons: they first warm-up with their footwork, and then they work as a team with a lot of fun

Khalid, Naomi, and their team continue to offer face-to-face Latin dance courses in Maastricht and around, but in the time of Corona, some additional security measures endorsed by the national government have been established to be implemented on the dance floor to continue the fun, learning, and fitness:

  • Maintaining 1.5 meters of distance between pairs is still the norm.
  • Must be done pre-registration for lessons (required). It is due to it can be traced if someone has Corona.
  • For social events and free dance nights, the registration must also be completed (name and email address or phone number). It is done on the spot unless otherwise stated.
  • It is advised to dance in the same group composition as much as possible. No partners are exchanged, so keep dancing as much as you can on the same day and with the same partner.
  • Anyone who has danced for at least 15 minutes within 1.5 meters of someone with an established COVID-19 infection must quarantine for ten days if this contact was less than 14 days ago.
  • Mouth masks are not recommended.
  • The catering section is currently closed.

NEXT EVENT

Next event of SalsaBrisa 2022
In SalsaBrisa anyone can learn Salsa, Bachata, and Kizomba even faster than they think

EURO SALSA GALA 2022 is a night of dance and workshops of Salsa, Bachata, and Kizomba with two stages in La Mulata. The first room will have 50% Salsa & 50% Bachata, and the second area will be 100% Kizomba. Both scenes will have four national DJs, astonishing and personable artists, and impressive performances with two big free parking spaces in front and behind the building. The details of the programming will be available on its website very soon and you can reserve the tickets for this edition that unites the two most popular Latin styles of the moment now.

Date: Saturday, February 19, 2022

Place: La Mulata. Tongerseweg 346, 6215 AC Maastricht, Netherlands

Time: 09:00 UNK

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