Nosotros, "La rumba"

Just getting around to ripping and posting the complete rumba sequence from the great "Nosotros La Música" dir. 1964 by Rogelio Paris (and widely available on DVD).

En un barrio viejo

Online Videos by Veoh.com

A guy named Figerola has recently been posting some rare and historic documentaries by Cuban director Nicolas Guillén Landrian. (Unfortunately they're on the advertising-plagued Veoh.com, but what can you do?)

"En un Barrio Viejo" is my favorite one, because of the great shots of Havana life c. 1964, and of course the wild afrocuban footage (mostly starting at about 6:40). That caiman on the head is pretty hard to forget. There's another film of his featuring Pello el Afrokán here.

Celebrando: Juan de Dios Ramos

Juan de Dios (third from right) preparing to dance columbia at
El Palenque del Conjunto Folklórico Nacional c. 1980
(Photo Courtesy of Gregório Hernández Rios)

Juan de Dios Ramos Morejón "El Colo" was born March 08, 1935 in barrio Lawton, Havana. In 1961 he formed part of the rumba group Los Tercios Modernos, and also Sicamarié, directed by Luis Chacón, and in Mambo Chambo, directed by Lacho Rivero.

In 1975 he formed his own folkloric ensemble, Raices Profundas, which was featured in the 1993 documentary "Rumba, Rum and the Problem of Staying Alive."

Here is some great footage shot in 2001 by Lisa Knauer at the peña at La Cueva del Humo.

Juan is accompanied by Guillermo "El Negro" Triana, and Luis Chacón also makes an appearance at the beginning. They do a medley of "Solo mi Arte" and "La Viola." Enjoy.




Que ya la rumba se formó (¡Guaguancó!)
Ya la rumba se formó
en este lugar sagrado
Es por eso que yo canto
Este lindo guaguancó
La rumba más celestial (¡Guaguancó!)
La rumba más celestial
de los dominios de Apolo
es un elemento sólo
De un concierto universal
Ella no tiene rival (¡Guaguancó!)
Ella no tiene rival
por lo bello y lo fecundo
Si en este grandioso mundo
no se ha visto cosa igual

Solo mi arte sublime yo adoraba
Solo mi arte sublime yo adoraba
Mi afán era tan solo
Sentir las notas
Que armoniosas me inspiraban
Recordando que podía pensar en ti

Yo quiero saber cuál es
El instrumento más sonoro de la vida

¿Será la viola de Homero?
No, señor
¿Será la viola de Otelo?
No, señor
¿O será la viola de Colón?
No, no no no, no no no no

No, hombre, no
No te metas con poema
Porque mi poema es
El gran ilustre del canto
Métese con Francisco
Con Juan Pablo o con Callava
Porque estos son
Los que te pueden contestar

No te metas con poema
Porque mi poema es
El gran ilustre del canto

Coro: Carabalí, Congo Rea’, e

Wemilere and "Ven Tu, Rumbero"

We wanted to bring your attention to this undeservedly obscure disc some of you may have missed, "Wemilere."

Recorded in 1998 and not released until 2003 on the French Long Distance label, the disc has a loose, experimental feel, yet stays firmly rooted in tradition. Many tracks incorporate a fusion of disparate afro-cuban styles, resulting in such "inventos" as "Abakuá-Batá-Rumba."

Despite who you see pictured on the cover, the personnel on this recording are:

Román Díaz Anaya: Musical director, batá iya,congas, vocals
José Fernandez Hernández: Director, batá itotele, congas
Angel Gonzales Vila: Quinto
Orlando López Alonzo: Vocals, dance
Pedro Martínez Campos: Vocals, batá itotele, congas
Antonio (Tonito) Martínez Campos: batá okonkolo, catá
Jesus Lorenzo Peñalver "Cusito": Vocals, batá iya on "No sé"


On the origins of the group and it's association with Mario Dreke "Chavalonga", Román Diaz writes:

"After Pancho Quinto recorded his "En el Solar la Cueva del Humo, " he started a project called "Los Cinco Solitos" consisting of Pancho Quinto, Ricardo Gomes Santa Cruz, Pedrito Martinez, Toñito Martinez, and myself. We did some shows and made some recordings, and [Canadian saxophonist] Jane Bunnet became interested in the project. At her suggestion, Amado Dedeu and Ernesto "El Gato" Gatell were brought in as well.

However, at this time Pancho started working on his second disc (Rumba Sin Fronteras), with [singer] Octavio [Rodriguez], El Negro Triana and Lázaro Rizo, and the organizers decided to select a touring group for Pancho's commitments in the USA and Canada, so Tonito, Ricardo Santa Cruz and I stayed behind.

It was at this point "Wemilere, Phase One" came into being, with José Fernandez, Pedrito Martínez, Tonito and myself, produced by Alex Romaron and at the engineering console, Ramón Alom.

Then when Pancho came back, we began Phase Two of Wemilere, with recordings by Santa Cruz and Cusito [Jesús Lorenzo Peñalver], Angel Vila and Orlando El Bailarín. Puntilla also was present for this second phase along with the legendary Pluma and the masters of Abuaká songs Rafael and Moran.

Then came the first phase of Ven Tu, which came from an idea suggested by
LA CASA DE CULTURA DE CENTRO HABANA for EL FESTIVAL
DE LA RUMBA, with shows at the Teatro America, and on Radio Progresso, recordings with Lázaro Rizo, El Negro Triana, Orlando, and Celestino Fariñas, who was selected to take Ven Tu Rumbero to the Maestro Chavalonga.

When Chavalonga joined, the group unanimously agreed to call itself Chavalonga y El Ven Tu, as a sign of respect to Mario Dreke, and with the help of Felix Reyes, Director of the Comparsa La Bollera, from the Los Sitios neighborhood.

Recently youtube user jicamocubano has begun posting some excellent historic video of this group. We are posting one of our favorites below. You can go here to see all jicamocubano's videos.



Besides Román on tumba, the video includes Tonito on tres dos, Angel Vila on quinto, Lázaro Rizo (guagua and vocals), Guillerme "El Negro" Triana (clave and vocals) Mario Dreke "Chavalonga," (vocals). Rumba doesn't get much better than this. Enjoy.

Ibae: Esteban "Chachá" Vega Bacallao

Cha Cha Guere, originally uploaded by Norte_it.

03 August 1925 - 18 July 2007

We are a little late posting the sad news of Chachá's passing, but we've stumbled on some new items that people have shared on the web so we wanted to pass them on.

First is the photo above from user Norte_it at flickr.com.

Second is this great interview (and his last) graciously posted by Tina Gallagher of Kabiosile Productions. Ibae, Chacha.

Carlos Embale: El Edén de los Roncos and "Consuélate como yo"

Carlos Embale
3 August 1923 — 12 March 1998
(Photo: Leonel Constantino)

One of the great voices in Cuban music, the rumbero and sonero Carlos Embale was born 84 years ago today.

He got his break at 13, winning a spot on the old "Corte Suprema del Arte" radio program, but he didn't start singing rumba professionally until much later. As he told Maria del Carmen Mestas:

"A fines de 1954, Piñeiro, Urfé y Ortiz me hicieron como una especie de complot para que yo cantara guaguancó, porque hasta estos momentos lo que más hacía eran boleros, canciones y el son. Yo sabía muchas rumbas porque tenía un hermano [Luis Embale] que murió joven, que cantaba como nadie el guaguancó; he conocido destacados intérpretes de esa música, pero como Luis ninguno; es lástima que su voz, como la de Pedro Quevedo, no quedara grabada..." (de "Pasión de Rumbero," María del Carmen Mestas)

(My translation:)

At the end of 1954, [Ignacio] Piñeiro, [Odilio] Urfé and [Rafael] Ortiz sort of conspired to get me to sing guaguancó, because up until then I mostly did boleros, canciones, and sones. I knew many rumbas because I had a brother [Luis Embale] who died young, that sang guaguancó like no-one else. I've known many well-known interpreters of this music, but nobody like Luis. It's a shame that his voice, like that of Pedro Quevedo, was never recorded..."

Reading this, I'm always left pondering our great loss that we'll never hear Luis or Pedro.

Fortunately for us, Carlos' inimitable voice was recorded. (Check out "Rumbero Mayor" and our compilation of unreleased-on-CD Embale tracks, here.)

We are also fortunate to have a couple of videos to share today. The first one features Carlos singing "El Edén de los roncos" and "Consuélate como yo" which he dedicates to its author, Gonzalo Acensio, "Tio Tom."

EL EDEN DE LOS RONCOS
Compositor: Ignacio Piñeiro
Estilo: Guaguancó

Cuando tú, tu desengaño veas
De tantas ilusiones vanas que te alientan
Buscarás los lugares más oscuros
Para poder llorar a solas tantas penas
Mientras yo al verte adolorida y triste
Le cuento al mundo mis hazañas nuevas
Y a ti, te digo nena linda no te atrevas
A provocar más nunca
La ira de Los Roncos
Ah, de Los Roncos, ¡óye!

Coro: Ven a gozar, pinareña ven

CONSUÉLATE COMO YO
Compositor: Gonzalo Asencio
Estilo: Guaguancó

Pero consuélate como yo
Que yo también tuve un amor
Y lo perdí
Y por eso digo ahora
Ya yo no vuelvo a querer
¿De qué te sirvió el querer?
Si a ti el amor te traicionó
Como a mí

Coro: Por eso ahora, ya yo no vuelvo a querer


The second video is a compilation of short clips from the same session, but found in two different documentaries. One from "La Rumba" (1974, Oscar Valdés) and the other from a documentary which aired on Greek television. A very short segment, but a smoking hot rumba.

Gene Golden's "Quinto Mayor": Compay Galletano

Here's a nice guaguancó from Gene Golden's group, "Quinto Mayor," recorded in NYC 2006.

Featuring

Gene Golden
Roman Diaz
Skip Burney
Puntilla
Pedrito Martínez
Frank Bell
Xiomara Rodriguez

Enjoy.

Thanks to Patricio for the lyrics:

Compay Galletano
Compositor: Desconocido;
Estilo: Guaguancó;
Cantan: Orlando “Puntilla” Ríos & “Pedrito” Campos Martínez

Ya Compa’ Galletano
¿Como sin diente va a mole’?
(bis)

Waí waí waí ila so
Waí waí waí ila so
Waí waí waí ila so
Kó kó wa mole’

Waí waí waí ila so
Waí waí waí ilaso
Waí waí waí ila so
Kó kó wa mole’

Un pa’ kiti Mamá
Un pa’ kiti Papá
Kó wa ne da ikó-o
Ma ilé o…

Un pa’ kiti Mamá
Un pa’ kiti Papá
Kó wa ne da ifó-o
Ma ilé o…

Un pa’ kiti Mamá
Un pa’ kiti Papá
Kó wa ne da ikó-o
Ma ilé o…

Un pa’ kiti Mamá
Un pa’ kiti Papá
Kó wa ne da ifó-o
Ma ilé o… (de un canto de Tumba Francesa)

Solista: Pero kó kó ka íña-a

Coro: Ma ni Lodó, ma ikokó ka íña

Virgilio Martí singing "Más Que Nada"

Here's some rare footage of the great Virgilio Martí, singing his classic version of Jorge Ben's "Más Que Nada," which he recorded on "Patato y Totico" (an indespensible record and recently remastered, by the way.)

This is from a 1979 performance at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The group was called "Afrocuban Fantasy" and featured:

Virgilio Martí: Vocals
Little Ray Romero: 3/2
Gene Golden: Tumbadora
Eloy Martí: Quinto
Xiomara Rodriguez: Dancer
Eddie ?: Dancer

The coro includes:

Pedro Morejón
Carlos Sánchez
Russell Burroughs

Thanks to our friend Gene Golden for sharing this with us. Enjoy.

Celia Cruz from "Affair in Havana" (1957)

Celia Cruz passed away July 16 2003. Here is a clip of her from the 1957 film "Affair in Havana." Can anyone identify the other percussionists?

Yoruba Andabo: Guantanamera

Yoruba Andabo in a classic performance of their brilliant version of "Guantanamera," which is more like a version of José Ramón Sánchez's "El Madrugador" with Joseito Fernández's famous coro. Enjoy.



Guantanamera
Autor: Joseito Fernandez / José Ramón Sánchez
Grabación: Yoruba Andabo, "Del Yoruba al son"

Yoruba Andabo les canto
Y Uds se lo pedian
A Joseito Fernández
El rey de la melodía
A Joseito Fernández
El rey de la melodía

Guantanamera
Guajira guantanamera
Guantanamera
Guajira guantanamera
(bis)

Que lindo es el suelo mío
Bajo el azulado cielo
(bis)
Que juntito al arroyuelo
Murmurar junto al bohío

Guantanamera
Guajira guantanamera
Guantanamera
Guajira guantanamera
(bis)

Ilumina el vergelillo
El sol con su claridad
Y rompe la soledad
Habitual de las praderas
Una tondada siquiera
¡Qué signo de libertad!

Guantanamera
Guajira guantanamera
Guantanamera
Guajira guantanamera
(bis)

A mi la canción me inspria
Por su romántico sello
(bis)
Pero se admirar lo bello
De una tonada guajira
Mira de un bardo
Bardo la lira
Como el sol en
Como el sol en la mañana
Más la doctrina
La doctrina martiana
Con la mente se demuestra
Cantando música nuestra
Que es más linda
Y es cubana

Guantanamera
Guajira guantanamera
Guantanamera
Guajira guantanamera
(bis)

Solista: Lo cantaba Joseíto en La Republica entera

Coro: Ya tienes mi guaguancó
Guajira guantanamera

Coro: Guajira guantanamera

Afrocuba de Matanzas: 50 years of "Folclore Matancero"

Grupo Afrocuba de Matanzas was founded 50 years ago tomorrow, June 29, 1957. Let's celebrate with a video of this classic performance of their Batarumba style, featuring Teresa Polledo, Saldiguera and Virulilla.




PALO YAYA
(Francisco Dominguez)

Yo soy rumbera
Desde que estaba
En el vientre de mi madre
(bis)

Me dijo un congo
Me dijo un congo

Palo que nace pa’ violín
Desde que está en el monte suena
(bis)

Desde niña soy cantora
Voy cantando doquiera
Canto con Saldiguera
Y canto con él que sale
Yo canto con Carlos Embales
Eminente en guaguancó
Y por eso yo le digo
Yo soy rumbera
Desde que estaba
En el vientre de mi madre

Coro: Palo que nace pa’ violín
Desde que está en el monte suena

Coro: Ah, ah, ah, yo soy Palo Yaya


If you haven't already, be sure to get the collection of 12 ACdM rarities we posted here.


More videos can be found on Afrocuba's website.

Chavalonga: Palo Quimbombó

More Chavalonga, doing "Palo Quimbombó" at Parque Tio Tom in Atarés. Also some nice footage of Chava jamming with the neighborhood kids afterwards. Many thanks to Lisa Knauer for sharing this with us.



PALO QUIMBOMBÓ
Compositor: Mario Dreke
Estilo: Guanguancó
Grabación: Mario Dreke, "Rapsodia Rumbera"

¡Dio' Mambe!

¡Dio!

¡Dio' Mambe!

¡Dio!

¡Nsala malekun!

¡Malekun Sala!

¡Nsala malekun!

¡Malekun Sala!

¡Yo engaño ko jura’ mi nganga kuna chila!
¡Yo son bacheche arriba n’toto!
¡Yo son bacheche arriba n’ganga!

¿Qué te pasa a ti?
¿Qué te pasa a ti?
Que es como el quimbombó
Que resbala
Pero ponte en tu lugar
Luego ponte a analizar
Que palo quimbombó
No sirve pa' candela

Amayo e, amayo e, arawe arawe
Amayo e, amayo e, arawe arawe


Coro: Palo quimbombó no sirve pa' candela

Coro: Quimbombó

Rumberos de Cuba : Habana de mi corazón

The new Rumberos de Cuba CD we first told you about here is out, and it is very good, but also not easy to find. I had to go to J & R Music, it's not listed on their website but you can probably order it from them by phone. There is a short documentary of the group included on the CD, I've posted a brief clip below, if you like what you hear on the soundtrack you will love the CD.

From Patricio:
What I'd like to add, as a big fan of Rumberos de Cuba, is that something really différent has occured with this new record.
"Old" singers have disappeared, though Luis Chacón and this guy I didn't know appear on the video (exit the two left Aspirinas: Miguel Ángel and Luis Chacón, who were only "guests")- the fact is I don't know Sofía's birthday (the yambú female singer who sings "Sikuini Bakuele" too).
Obviously, "Rumba con Sentimiento" is partly sung a duo by Ernesto and Ricardo Gómez Santa Cruz (guest or member?).
All other singers are young (Ariel, Cusito). A veces Ariel me recuerda Roberto Maza - he ain't got no sharp voice like rumberos usually have. Over-produced coro are present, like in any "new" rumba cd.
First time hearing has been a great emotion, as El Gato's voice, a few years later, seems more mellow yet, and contains even more emotion than before. Maybe (I'm quite sure that) his actual mood is reflected by his voice…
Second hearing gives me a bad feeling. All old timberos also disappear, now that Marquito is dead. The quinto player is supposed to be Maximino. The drums therefore seem to be more "tight", more "agressive", more "modern" too. They're loosing a bit of their ancient sabor - the same feeling that we get with the new Muñequitos style. Maybe I need a short time to listen to the record more carefully, and get used to the style changes.
I don't like very much Ariel's style of singing, and he's getting a more important place than before in the group… maybe it's just that. Se fueron los rumberos viejos, except Maximino (born 1939) and Ernesto (born 1946).
Rumberos de Cuba doesn't look like the All-stars it used to be any more. But the record is great stuff anyway.

Berta Jottar's "Los Rumbos de la Rumba"

Video Artist and Assistant Professor of Theatre and Latina/o Studies at Williams College Berta Jottar has developed an interactive website about rumba "as a cartography of the Diaspora." The site proposes to explore rumba not only in Cuba but as it has taken shape around the world, and to do so in a way that mimics the spontaneity and liveliness of rumba itself. (Berta's doctoral thesis, "Rumba in Exile: Irrational Noise, Zero Tolerance & the Poetics of Resistance in Central Park" [NYU 2005] focuses on the "Special Period" in Cuba and its effects on the rumba in Central Park.)

Besides some nice video clips of Chavalonga, Fariñas and Juan de Dios, there are also plenty of clips from New York's Central Park featuring Manuel "El Llanero" Martínez and "El Tao la Onda," and a photo essay on Central Park's rumba (see above).

And if you've ever wanted to see if you could hang in a rumba featuring Pedrito Martínez and Roman Diaz, Berta has developed an interactive feature which lets you do just that:


So take a visit and have fun. http://hemi.nyu.edu/cuaderno/CUADERNO_Version0203.03/index.html

Conjunto Folklórico Nacional: Columbia

It's been a while since we've heard from El Goyo, so I thought I would post this clip of him singing a columbia with Conjunto Folklórico Nacional.

This clip features on drums Alfredo O'Farril (tumbadora), Mário Jáuregui "Aspirina" (quinto), and Justo Pelladito (tres-dos).

The 4 dancers (in order of appearance) are:

Jorge Dixon
Ricardo Jáuregui "Aspirina"
Yohanes García
Domingo Pau


Lyrics:

Bonboró o, na na
Bonboro, ro, ro, ro, aaa...
La rumba no es como ayer, Tula

E, Mulense ae
Agua ma o ba kun sere mbio

Coro: Laye, laye

Ay Dios
Ala pio ka, ala pio ka
Ala pio ka, ala pio ka
Laye laye oro mi so...

Coro: Laye, laye


Ay Dios...
Ya yo no como la lisa
porque es un peje liviano
(bis)
camina de mano en mano
y a todos les causa risa
Ronco, ay Dios...
yo no como longaniza,
porque me sabe a majá
y yo no como carne asá
por no arrimarme al fogón
yo no como camarón, Ronco
porque camina pa' atrás

Borororó...

Coro: Aaaa...

Coro: Ronco, alakata, Ronco onile yo

Coro: A, onile yo

Coro:

Aguan beró, Aguan beró
Aguan beró, Aguan beró
Se quema Yamima
Aguan beró

Solista: Se quema Yamima...

Coro: Aguan beró

Coro: Obá elé

Solista: Arere, arere o

Coro: E, aribo ya ya

* * *

About one of the coros, El Goyo tells us:

"Yamima: Estaban rumbeando en un solar en Cienfuegos y entre los rumberos
estaba Roncona [Benito Gonzáles, (189? - 1950)]. Una mujer del solar se estaba quemando y alguien grita: "¡Se quema Yamima!" y Roncona cantó: "Aguan bero aguan bero se quema Yamima aguan bero." Hay otra versión: "Agua epero agua epero se quema Yamima agua epero.""

"Yamima: They were having a rumba in a solar in Cienfuegos, and among the rumberos was Roncona [Benito Gonzáles, (189? - 1950)]. A woman in the solar was on fire and somebody yelled: "Yamima is on fire!" and Roncona started singing, "Aguan bero aguan bero se quema Yamima aguan bero." There is another version, "Agua epero agua epero se quema Yamima agua epero.""

I love this story because I am not sure if Yamima was burning literally or figuratively, but I get that feeling of, "Don't stop the rumba, no matter what..."

Anyway, here are the lyrics in English - my translation:)

I don't eat striped mullet
because it's a "lightweight" fish
it goes from hand to hand
and makes everyone laugh
I don't eat longaniza
Because it tastes like Cuban boa
I don't eat roast beef
So that I don't get close to the stove
And I don't eat shrimp
because it walks backwards


You can download a copy of this clip here.

Francisco Hernández Mora "Pancho Quinto": Ibae

Pancho Quinto
23 april 1933 — 11 february 2005

Yesterday marked 2 years since the passing of the great Pancho Quinto, founding member of Yoruba Andabo, one of the inventors of guarapachangueo, and teacher to many students worldwide. Pancho is definitely one of the most influential figures in the recent history of rumba.

Although I saw him perform a couple of times, I never had the pleasure to meet him. But I really enjoyed reading his student Ken Schweitzer's vivid description of Pancho in his dissertation:

The Little Boy
Like Eleguá, Pancho can be a child. His energy and youthfulness belie his
advanced years. He walks through the streets of his neighborhood yelling to his
friends and flirting with all the young women. He is often seen laughing, joking and
making light of serious situations. He likes to exercise the extremes of his emotions. One moment, he is quiet and still, measuring the people and commotion around him with his shifting glances. In the next, he becomes animated, raising his arms above his head, pointing fingers and laughing at his own jokes. It is a wonderful, ever-present, quality that accompanies both his performance and his teaching... [p. 162]

There is much more about Pancho in Ken's dissertation, and some great photos as well, be sure to take a look.

As a tribute to Pancho, I am posting this clip of Yoruba Andabo performing "El Niño Rey," from "El País de los Oricha." Besides the performance there are some nice candid shots of Pancho edited in. Ibae!

Interview with Virulilla and Saldiguera

Many of you may know the classic story, recounted here, of how the Muñequitos formed: One evening, sitting in the Bar "El Gallo," they burst into a spontaneous percussion jam at the sound of Arsenio Rodriguez on the jukebox and decided to form a group.

In this interview, founding members Virulilla (Hortensio Alfonso) and Saldiguera (Esteban Lantri) give a much different version. It seems they had been singing together for over 10 years before Saldiguera got the idea of forming the Muñequitos, and they went in search of like-minded musicians.

Click below for a transcript and translation of the interview.

Entrevistadora: En pleno festival de la rumba, he coincidido con dos viejos rumberos: Saldiguera y Virulilla, dos fundadores de Los Muñequitos de Matanzas


Quería decirles que hemos apreciado en este festival de la rumba que el matancero la lleva en la sangre, que responde inmediatemente que suena un tambor, una conga, que se ve que vibra con ella. ¿Qué opinion tienen uds. de la vigencia, del arraigo de la rumba aqui?

Saldiguera: La rumba esta que se está dando hoy aquí en Matanzas es una de las cosas más grandes, que yo que he caminado la isla, he visto.

Nosotros no tuvimos la suerte de que nadie nos enseñaran. Nosotros solos, solos, solos, solos.
Porque yo fui un cantante que canté en muchos conjuntos y en muchas cosas. Yo domino muchas cosas.

Para entonces Virulilla, que es un poco mas chico que yo, ¿tú me entiendes? Andábamos juntos, andábamos juntos...

Empezamos entonces yo mismo le veía la voz, dije, "¡Concha, Tiene una voz imensa!"

Empezamos, empezó así una tercera voz. Y pam, y viene, viene, viene, entonces, nos íbamos para todos lugares allí tomábamos por la madrugada que a veces no dormíamos hasta las 4 o las 5 de mañana, a veces que no dormíamos, y el ensayo de nosotros era por la calle entonces la se retire…

Ent: por la calle?

Saldiguera: Por la calle. Esa era la casa de nosotros para nosotros ensayar.

Int: ¿Pero como es posible?

Saldiguera: Claro, porque veníamos nosotros dos íbamos cantando solo. Íbamos en el año treinta, compramos un bistec que allí sirvían un bistec que estaba bueno... lo comprábamos, veníamos comiendo el bistec entonces “¿Te acuerdo de esto?” y concha, digo, vamos a probar a ver, y allí metíamos mano y le ensayábamos.

Virulilla: Así es cómo ensayábamos nosotros.

Ent: ¿ Y a qué hora hacían eso? Me imagino que sería…

Saldiguera: No no no…Tarde de la noche, nosotros a veces que no dormiamos, veces que no dormiamos. Por que la situación era muy dura. Esto, no teníamos otro ambiente muy trabajadora desde niño, porque él era mecánico y yo soy azucarero. Pero antes del azúcar, yo me crié allí en La Francesa, con los Fernandez allí. Entonces siempre de niño estoy cantando. Yo desde 1923 estoy cantando.

Ent: ¡Toda una vida cantando!

Saldiguera: ¡Ud. era muy chiquita!

Ent: ¡No, yo no pensaba ni venir al mundo!

Virulilla: Esa es la historia de Saldiguera y Virulilla. Yo, como electricista y él, azucarero.

Pero jamás nunca na', porque en esa etapa no había auge en nada. Entonces nosotros teníamos eso por placer y que nos gustaba. Entonces nos dimos la tarea de… por idea de Saldiguera, “Virula, que tú crees si hacemos un grupo? Dígole “Saldi, es una idea perfecta pero tenemos que buscar valores, ¿no? O individuos que reunan nuestra cualidad, y que sean correctos igual que nosotros y empezamos como trabajadores de muelle que era Chachá… buscamos a Goyito, buscamos a Papi, buscamos a Pelladito.

Pelladito era un comecandela en la etapa aquella pa’ buscarse 4 pesos tenía que agarrar una guitarra, corriendo la tra por alla van y… buscándose los 4 pesos hasta que Saldiguera seguió la tarea de decirnos “Vamos a ver qué hacemos aquí, Vamos a ver qué hacemos aqui.”

Entonces en la calle Salamanca entre Matanzas y Jovellanos allí donde comezamos nuestros ensayos, en un cuartico, que no tenía condiciones—que donde vivía el difunto Catalino, Florencio Calle, el compadre de Saldiguera—en un cuartico que no tenía condiciones de nada, ocho hombres, que no cabíamos, a veces que habian compañeros que estaban por fuera y querian ver el ensayo, digo “Chico, tú, no es posible, no es posible, tu no cabe aqui,” y allí Ud. ve allí surgio, comenzaron Los Muñequitos.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

Interviewer: In the heat of the rumba festival, I have met with two old rumberos, Saldiguera and Virulilla, two founders of the Muñequitos de Matanzas.

I want to tell you both that we've seen in this rumba festival that the matancero has rumba in his blood, that he immediately responds when he hears a conga drum. What is your opinion of the on-going vitality, and the deep roots of rumba here?

Saldiguera: The rumba that we have here today in Matanzas is one of the greatest things that I, who've been all over the island, have seen. We were not lucky enough to have been taught by anyone. [We learned] all by ourselves.

Because I was a singer and I sang in many conjuntos and things like that, I'm good at many things. By then Virulilla, who is a little younger than me, you understand? We hung out together, we hung out. We started then, I saw he had a voice, I said, "Wow, he has a tremendous voice!" So we had a voz tercera ["third voice" = high harmony].

And so... pow! We went everywhere, rehearsing late, sometimes we did not go to sleep until 4 or the 5 morning, rehearsing in the street...

Int: In the street?

Saldiguera: In the street. That was where we rehearsed.

Int: But how is that possible?

Saldiguera: Well, because it was just the two of us singing alone. This was in 1930, we would buy a steak, there was a place that served a good steak... we bought a steak, we would eat, then "Hey do you remember...?" and so, I said, wow, let's try it and see, and we'd roll up our sleeves and we'd practice it...

Virulilla: That's how we rehearsed.

Int: And at what time was this? I imagine that it would be...

Saldiguera: No no no... Late at night, sometimes we didn't sleep. The situation was very tough. We had always been in a hard-working environment since we were kids, because he was a mechanic and I worked in sugar. I grew up in sugar, I was raised there in La Francesa with the Fernandez there. I was always singing, since I was a boy, since 1923.

Int: A whole life singing!

Saldiguera: You were very young!

Int: No, I wasn't even thinking of coming into the world!

Virulilla: That is the story of Saldiguera and Virulilla. I, as an electrician and he, a sugar worker, but never again, because at that time there was no action. This was for pleasure, because we liked it. Then we gave ourselves the task of...Saldiguera's idea, "Virula, what do you think if we start a group?"

I said, "Saldi, that's a great idea, but we must try for high standards, right? Or individuals that
have our quality, and who do things right like we do, and we got started. We were, like, dockworkers: there was Chachá... we looked for Goyito, we looked for Papi, we looked for Pelladito. Pelladito was great in those days, trying to make a few bucks, he'd grab a guitar, running this way and that... looking for a few bucks until Saldiguera said "Let's see what we can do here. Let's see what we can do here."

So in Salamanca Street between Matanzas (Street) and Jovellanos (Street) we started our rehearsals, in a tiny room, that didn't have anything—where Catalino lived, the late Florencio Calle, compadre of Saldiguera—in that tiny room, eight men, who didn't fit, sometimes there were guys outside who wanted to see the rehearsals and I would say "Chico, it's not possible, you just can't fit in here," and so you see that's how the Muñequitos started.

La Rumba: Part 3 of 3

Here is the 3rd and final excerpt from the "La Rumba" documentary, notable for its rare presentation of two direct ancestors of rumba popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries: the coro de guaguancó (by Rafael Ortiz's group), and el baile de yuka.

* * *

Coros de guaguancó seem to have evolved from the coros de clave, an urban musical phenomenon which arose towards the end of the 19th century in the marginal port neighborhods of Havana and Matanzas, and also to some extent in Trinidad and Sancti Spíritus.

Robin Moore describes both very well in his book Nationalizing Blackness:

Coros de clave, the more European-influenced of the two groups, developed in the late nineteenth century and remained popular throughout the 1910s. Famous coros de clave from their initial period of popularity (1880s-1890s) include El Arpa de Oro, El Botón de Oro, La Moralidad, and La Juventud (León 1961). Some coro ensembles contained as many as 150 members (Reyes 1994; Urfé 19984, 183). They were comprised primarily of male and female vocalists who sang two- or three-part songs in 6/8 time with simple European harmonies, accompanied by instrumentalists playing the "viola" (a banjo with the strings taken off that was played as a percussion instrument), guitar, clave, and occasionally the botija, harp, or other instruments (Orovio 1981, 103). A clarina (lead female singer) would typically begin with a solo, followed by responses from the chorus. Ten-line décima poetry served most often as the lyrical form of the text. By 1902 there were fifty or sixty coros de clave in black working-class barrios, and at least two groups in Havana—La Yaya and El Jiqui—were comprised entirely of white members who publicly denied any African influence inthe music they performed (León 1985, 61).

Coros de guaguancó (also called agrupaciones de guaguancó), by contrast, seems to have been a slightly more percussive, African-influenced variation performed largely by men. Their instrumentation often incorporated the drums and other percussion instruments associated with traditional rumba (see chapter 6), yet were also known to include European instruments. Songs of the coros de guaguancó tended to be in 2/4 time and are said to have first become widely popular in the early twentieth century, somewhat later than those of clave groups. Among the earliest coros de guaguancó were the Azules Amalianos from the barrio of Jesús María, which formed in 1862. Most of its members worked as stevedores on the docks of Havana (Ramirez n.d.). Famous coros de guaguancó of the twentieth century include Los Roncos, Los Apaches, and El Paso Franco (Hernández Cuesta 1994). Los Roncos are especially noteworthy for their leader, Ignacio Piñeiro, who became one of the best-known son composers of the 1920s.

Ned Sublette, in his book Cuba and its Music notes that the Cuban coros de clave find their origins (and perhaps even their name) in the working-class choral societies started in Barcelona by Catalunyan composer José Anselmo Clavé. While contemplating the access of the working classes to great music Pablo Casals recalled:

My thoughts on the subject had been influenced by the achievements of that remarkable Catalan patriot and lover of music, José Anselmo Clavé. Clavé had died in 1874, two years before I was born, but I felt toward him as if he had been my close friend. He came from the working class and was a weaver by trade. He played the guitar and taught himself to compose music and songs. His songs dealt with simple, tender themes-with experiences of poor children, with stories about peasants and fishermen, with the beauty of nature and love of Catalonia. Gradually his songs became known among Barcelona workers, and small groups began meeting in the factories to sing them after working hours. Clavé knew what bleakness and poverty existed for the working class, and he wanted to help bring some beauty into their lives. He conceived the idea of organizing permanent choral groups among the workers. And he achieved fantastic results. Under his inspiration, wonderful choral societies of workers and their families evolved not only in Barcelona but in towns throughout Catalonia. Their membership grew into thousands, and their movement had a major impact on the cultural awakening then under way in Catalonia. Such world-famous choral societies as the Orfeo Catala and the Orfeo Gracienc were part of the legacy of Clave's work.

Robin Moore also writes that "[Odilio] Urfé suggests that both began as afrocuban imitations of the recreational choral societies established in Havana by the sociedades españolas." I would be interested to know if any melodic, lyric or stylistic similarites exist in the repertoires of the coros in Cuba and the choral societies from Barcelona.

The narrator in the video states that the coros de guaguancó came from Abakuá societies. Indeed, he declares that "it can be said that not a single popular artistic organization can be found which has not been promoted and directed by members of an Abakuá society, or linked to one." Given the Abakuás prevalence in Havana and Matanzas around the time the coros flourished, it seems likely, but I haven't found any other references to this.

* * *

The Atlas de los Instrumentos Folklórico-Popular de Cuba tells us that throughout the mid-nineteenth and into the early 20th century, Yuka was perhaps the most popular Bantú (Congolese)-derived music and dance form in the central and western regions of Cuba. Yuka is a secular genre incorporating a percussion ensemble consisting of three drums generally called (from lowest to highest) "la caja," "la mula" (or "llamador") and "el cachimbo" (or "tumbador"), as well as a guataca (hoe blade) or cowbell and the "coco" or "guagua" part, typically played on the side of one of the drums with two sticks. The caja player would sometimes use little maracas on his wrists, called nkembis.

The yuka drums accompanied call-and-response songs with (usually) Spanish lyrics which typically dealt with historical themes or daily life.

The dance is by single couples, and incorporated the pelvic thrust which is today found in guaguancó.

Download a higher-quality version (74.6MB) of this clip here.

Interview with Gregorio "El Goyo" Hernández

El Goyo with Rumberos de Cuba, January 2004, singing "Mayeya" in duo with Juan de Dios Rámos. (Credit: Rumberos de Cuba Press Kit)

Continuing our celebration of El Goyo's 70th birthday last November 17, we publish here an interview by Patrice with the Master himself, conducted during the Stage International course at Tournai, Belgium, in August 2005.

Goyo is the usual professor of afro-cuban dance at this training course. He talks here about the transition of rumba from a purely spontaneous event limited to the "solar" to a more organized presentation, with the appearance of professional groups, real "agrupaciones of rumba", at the beginning of the 1950's. He also explains the importance of the first commercial recording of rumba, in 1956, "El Vive Bien" by Alberto Zayas y su Grupo Foklórico (aka Lulu Yonkori), the success of which he says inspired the creation of other groups such as Los Muñequitos de Matanzas.


PATRICE: So, I would like for you to talk more about the history of the old groups, after Clave and Guaguancó, who were first, you told me.

GOYO: Yes. The first was Clave and Guaguancó. The first one after the coros de clave disappeared.

P: The coros de clave?

G: First were the coros de clave and later the coros de guaguancó: El Paso Franco, Los Rapidos Fiñes, Los Roncos, there were a series of groups, I can't remember them all, because they are stories that aren't... But there were a series of groups, that disappeared around the 1950s.

P: They existed already from the beginning of the 20th century...

G: "Yes. Then, later Clave y Guaguancó was formed. Either later or along with the coros. I don't have this well defined, because the date which they give for the beginning of this group came from the director, Flor de Amor. The current director, Amado Dedeu, asked Flor de Amor, and he replied, "I don't remember well, but I know that it was around World War II." And so from that we figure it to be 1945. Of course the War did not last just one year. So when it was it? The beginning, the end? And so they just say around 1945.

Later in 1953 — and this date is correct — Odilio Urfé formed the Coro Folkórico Cubano. And then later, in 1956...

P: The Coro Folkórico recorded a disc, but later, right?

G: Yes, they recorded a disc called "La rumba y la conga." I have a cassette of that, it explains the rumba and the conga. But they say that was made for the label Gema, a North American company. But it was a Long-Play and was not distributed in Cuba, I think because they weren't confident it would sell.

Cover (detail) of "Guaguancó Afro-cubano" Panart LP-2055

And so what does Andrés Castillo do? He's head of production at Panart [the first Cuban label]. And that lets him decide what to do. So he decides to do this number, "El vive bien." And that was a huge success. [Senen Suárez attributes responsibility for this recording to Panart owner Ramon Sabát. - Ed.]

So then what happens? It's wasn't like today in Cuba: if you want to promote a song you have to go on the radio, on TV... Back then you had to make little record, and then put it on the juke boxes. You made your own record. You went into the studio and left with your own disc in hand. There are discs that were bad. They are mounted [crossed] in the clave and they stayed like that.

So you got a few friends together, and you bought a little rum and they didn't pay you anything to record. Until recently in Cuba, for the official recordings, you were paid ten pesos per hour. So you wanted to make your record, you got a few friends together and said, "Let's do it!" And so everybody began to make their own little record. And thanks to the juke boxes that record ["El vive bien"] became a hit, a "boom," it was on all the jukeboxes, and then on the radio, on TV. And then you start to get the rise of the other groups, like Los Muñequitos de Matanzas.

P: But in Alberto Zayas' record there are members of the Coro Folklórico, right?

G: Yes, part of that group is on there. It was like a section of that group.

P: Maximino Duquesne was part of the Coro Folklórico...

G: Yes, Maximino is an old rumbero, excellent rumbero. You know they call him "El Moro Quinto." At that time the group was called "Lulu Yonkori." Then later when they made the LP it came out with the name "Coro Folklórico Cubano." So all these groups started forming, and then little by little started disappearing because later they didn't record much. They didn't record anything. The Muñequitos had a time when they disappeared. Yes, you never heard the song that goes, "De nuevo aquí tienen a Los Muñequitos..."?

You see all these groups started dying out around the 1960's. Fariñas (Pedro Celestino) was in the Muñequitos, (and left them) because he earned just 150 pesos a month, and came to live in Havana... How could he stay there? And he had a good spot, he was in the tres-dos. Chacho (Ricardo Llorca), a friend mine who also was in the Muñequitos, he also had leave, he didn't earn enough. And all those groups that came up started disappearing:Los Hijos Buenos, Los Distintos, Los Principales, Los Tercios Modernos, Los Parragueños...they all disappeared.

I was in Los Tercio Modernos, with Juan de Dios [Ramos] "El Colo," Maximino Duquesne, José Antonio, Carlos Quinto and Miguelito [?], who now both live in Chicago, Zorrín, who no longer plays professionally, Pipi who is in the US...the group lasted until about 1961.

P: The Muñequitos had a time when they disappeared...

G: Yes, and they came back with the rumba:

"De nuevo aquí tienen a Los Muñequitos
Ahora sí es verdad que aparacerion, aquí están."

This song is part of that story, there were rumors, people started to talk.

Note: Goyo is referring here to the Muñequitos' song "Oyelos de Nuevo" (Florencio Calle), first recorded in the early '60's (?). The complete lyrics are:

“Un día yo salí de mi casa, de mi casa
Con la mente muy entretenida
Después yo fui sorprendido
con cosas que aquí se dan.
De nuevo aquí tienen a Los Muñequitos.
Ahora sí es verdad que aparecieron
¡Aquí están!
Veni' para que aprecien su valer
No les temen a la calumnia
Ni les sorprenden la injuria, aquí están
Los Muñequitos en la calle, hablen habladores."

"One day I left my house
in a happy state of mind
But I was soon suprised
by everything that goes on around here.
Here they are, the Muñequitos are back!
Now it's really true, they've appeared. Here they are!
Come and appreciate their greatness.
They aren't afried of lies,
Or surprised by the insults.
Here they are!
The Muñequitos are back on the street,
go ahead and gossip all you want."

G: So, Amado [Dedeu] came in as director of Clave y Guaguancó and he changed everything about Clave y Guaguancó. That group was for maintaining the tradition.

P: You mean, of the coros de clave and the coros de guaguancó.

G: Exactly. And they had this style that they didn't have later: they worked with
cajones. That's it. Cajones. Dressed in white, with alpargatas [espadrilles].

VIDEO: Conjunto de Clave y Guaguancó performing a yambú in the traditional style, with cajones, on Cuban TV, probably 1970's.

G: I have a recording of them from back then at home. They had Agustín Gutiérrez, Miguel
Angel "Aspirina" [Mesa], Chano, the Chano of Malanga.

Conjunto de Claves y Guaguancó, probably c. 1967

P: And in Matanzas it happened just like in Havana, Matanzas had its groups too?

G: No, Matanzas did not have groups. The Muñequitos de Matanzas were formed as a result of the success of "Lulu Yonkori," and later Afrocuba de Matanzas. Also Folkloyuma, in Santiago de Cuba.

(Note: Typical year given for the founding of Los Muñequitos de Matanzas is 1952. - Ed.)

P: Folkloyuma is an old group too?

G: Yes. But all these groups came up after Lulu Yonkori. Look, the group that endured, with
difficulties but endured, was Clave y Guaguancó. They designated them as cultural patrimony, same for the Coro Foklórico Cubano. So then they began to get a guaranteed fixed salary.

Odilio Urfé worked with those groups but soon started working in tourist places like the Sans Souci, the Tropicana, he had the power to get into those places. I remember the revue "Van Van Iroko" in the 1956 until 1958 in the Sans Souci. A ton of the best musicians from the street started working in those revues. It was the best work group could get, you had guaranteed pay.

(L-R:) Ignacio Piñeiro, Marina Sánchez, Estela Rodríguez & Ana María García after a Coro Folklorico Nacional show in the sixties. (Credit: Liner notes, Coro Folklórico Cubano, "...en un solar habanero," EGREM CD 0424)

Like Emiliano Sanchez, like...the late Estela Rodríguez, I don't remember all of them, my head is getting old and I forget the names! The Romay Sisters [Mercedes and Juanita], Marina [Sánchez] (1920-2002) played saxophone with Anacaona and left to join the Coro Folkórico. Because Odilio Urfé, Mr. Odilio Urfé always had them working, making money.

P: And the people who became famous in the United States, like Julito Collazo or Mongo Santamaría, they were famous rumberos then?

G: Yes, but those people... look, Cuban folkloric rumba occurred first in the United States than in Cuba. And those people who left for the US, were already well-known timberos here.

P: Mongo recorded one of the first Cuban folkloric discs in the US, which had one rumba. He then recorded a second in 1955, called “Changó” (LP Tico 1149), re-released in 1978 as “Afro-cuban Drums & Chants” (LP Vaya 56), with 4 rumbas. Then in the 1960's he put out a third album, “Bembé” (LP Fantasy 8055), re-released as a compilation (with an album of cha-cha-chá) under the title “Our Man in Havana.” This one has that rumba that goes:

"El agua límpia, límpia, límpia todo
El agua también límpia la lengua
de la gente"

Do you know that one?

G: I don't know it. I do know Mongo was very successful there, I met him in 1980, when he came to Cuba. (Listens to a recording of "Para Ti Colega")

P: That is an old number...That is not of the disc "Bembé", but... it must be more recent. I don't know who's on that recording.

G: See? This number is sung with chorus.

P: Hmm?

G: The song is sung as a chorus. Not by a single voice, but a chorus. That's the influence from the first coros de guaguancó.

P: So then after 1960 the groups started to record again. In the 1970s the Muñequitos came back?

G: Well, the Muñequitos... the exact date when they came back I couldn't tell you. But I know that they returned again, the story is this: they say that there was a guy named Lorenzo Martínez [Composer of "Los Beodos." - Ed.] who was the one who moved it, who kept everything, but... Virulilla was was a chapista (metal-worker) [Actually an electrician - Ed.] he went back to working at that... Goyito Seredonio [?] who just died, and Diosdado, who became director. It comes from those times and he was very young when he joined the group and added a pair of dancers. So Odilio Urfé also puts in his group a pair of dancers.

P: And you were telling me that the Muñequitos formed listening to the disc "El vive bien."

G: That's what gave them the idea them to start their own group.

Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, c. 1956(?)

P: Who were the people that formed the first group of the Muñequitos?

G: If you ask me to name each one I don't think I could tell you. They were Ernesto Torriente, Juan Bosco [Mesa], Saldiguera [Esteban Lantrí], Virulilla [Hortensio Alfonso], Goyito Seredonio [Gregorio Díaz], Angel Pelladito, "Chachá" [Esteban Vega]...

P: Florencio Calle?

G: Florencio Calle, the director "Catalino," there were eight of them.

P: Then they began to compose...?

P: Who?

G: Rumba?

P: No, the compositions were made, chico.

P: All of them?

G: All that was done already. The only one that composed rumbas especially for records was Alberto Zayas. But back then it wasn't necessary to write rumbas for your record. In 1950's there wasn't that. Because, in the 1950's in Cuba, there was rumba every day in the street, every day and every week there was rumba. Because the rumba formed spontaneously.

P: There was rumba in lots of places?

G: I mean, spontanteously, without thinking about it: "Hey what's up? Have you heard the new rumba from Tío Tom?" "Which one?" "That one that goes "Los cubanos son rareza..."
Along comes another guy, he takes the clave, boom! boom! Here comes the cajones y se formaba la rumba!

It was like that, because there were places in which every Sunday there was a rumba.
I used to go to Arroyo Nuevo [Municipality about 5kms south from 10 de Octubre and Santos Suárez]. I knew that every Sunday there was a rumba at the Calderon's place. I lived in El Moro, so I would go over to Luyanó, where the Calderones lived. Or if not there, to the solar El Marinero, there were lots of places that had rumba every week.

P: And the famous solar "La Cueva del Humo"?

G: La Cueva del Humo is not a solar. La Cueva del Humo was a marginal district. Like Las Yaguas. It was not a solar. There were three districts in Havana like that. La Cueva del Humo, Las Yaguas and Isla de Pinos. Very poor places... people living with dirt floors, no bathroom, nothing. I have a film at home, "De cierta manera," (dir. Sara Gómez, 1974) [that shows how life was there back then].

That was a saying we had back then. In Cuba always there is a style of greeting, that comes from the people, "¿Qué volá, asere?", "No, aquí, de cierta manera, (in a certain way)". And later, "Give me a drink, no hay má' na´..." ("there's nothing else...").

The popular language of the street is like that. The women, for example. There was this rumba that says:

"Soy cubano y quiero a cuba
y muero por mi bandera
y te canto guaguancó
de la región matancera
La Habana es la cabecera
Como capital bendita
En ella se encuentra todo
Lo que Uds. necesitan
Desde un pollo zalamero
que le alegre el corazón
desde el alto magistrado
que dirige la nación"

Have you heard that one? It says "un pollo zalamero," what does that mean to you?

P: I don't know...

G: A pollo zalamero, that's how they called the women, like "Wow, what an flattering chicken!" "A beautiful woman!" then they said "aleja" then "jeba" and now they say "mango" - "You see that mango over there?" That's the popular slang. Well, the film [De Cierta Manera] goes back to those days. "So, what's up?" "Well, here in a certain way." That's the popular slang. Well, the film I was talking about goes back to those times: "What's up, man?" "Well, I'm here, in a certain way." And that's the name of the film.

But that saying was strong at the time that the Revolution begins to rehabilitate all those marginal districts. And to give houses to people. And to break a little the mentality. That is old. There in that film you are going to see something of Las Yaguas. It has some shots of Las Yaguas, how it was back in those times. Then there were three similar districts: La Cueva del Humo, Las Yaguas and Isla de Pinos, which they said was exactly between the Castiva Factory and Cristina. And Las Yaguas in Luyanó. That's there I lived.

P: Thank you.

G: At your service.

La Rumba: Part 1 of 3

Here is the first of 3 clips from a 1978 Cuban documentary called simply "La Rumba," directed by Oscar Valdes.

Some excellent historic clips here of AfroCuba de Matanzas, Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, and Carlos Embale.

In the Muñequitos sequence, Diosdado is dancing like crazy, and from left to right I can identify (please correct me if I am wrong):

Saldiguera, Jesús Alfonso on 3/2, Goyito on tumbadora, Florencio Calle on maruga, Chachá on quinto... and then I am lost with the singers. Anyone know?

I am also curious to know the name of the group featured in the still photographs at the end.


Click here to download a HQ mp4 clip of this file (88.6MB).