"...one of the most beautiful, most influential, and moreover one of the first recordings of the Afro-Cuban batá drums..."
So says Thomas Altmann in this beautiful articleshedding some much-needed light on this historic recording.
Altmann's article made us very curious to hear this record, so we tracked down a friend who had a copy, who made the transfer to vinyl for us, and we now pass it on to you.
Patricio went crazy over the holidays and published this as part of a 6-part article on the history of the batá drums in Cuba, which sadly we have no time to translate from the French. Maybe one of these days, or if there are any volunteers out there, feel free. Even if you don't read any French there are some amazing photographs, so take a look.
Many thanks to Thomas for his excellent work, the field of afro-cuban studies could use much more of these kinds of studies to recover stories which will otherwise soon be lost forever.
(Altmann is also the editor of the songbook "Cantos Lucumí a los Orishas," available at folkcuba.com.)
The description of the tracks is not always correct. As a suggestion, a better list might read as follows:
1. Eleggua (toque "Latokpa", cantos Moyuba Orisa, Ibaragó Moyuba) 2. Oggún (toque "Ogún", canto Ogún dé Arere) 3. Ochosi (toque "Aggueré" - seco) 4. Drume Negrita (canción de cuna, con toques "Aggayú" y "Rumba Obatala") 5. Obatala ("Obbantala") (toques a Obatala "por derecho" - seco) 6. Yemayá ("Yemalla") (toque "Alaró", canto Osi ni ba o yalé) 7. Changó (toque Chachálokpafúñ, cantos Obalube, Oba icheré, Kawo e) 8. Oyá ("Olla") (toque "Oyá bí 'kú" - seco) 9. Babalú Ayé (toque "Babalú Ayé" Aberikuto a wa; toque "Yegua": Asokara luwe, Towe Towe) 10. Obba (toque "Obba" - seco) 11. Ochún ("Rumba Iyesá", cantos Omí yeyé, Ore Ore, Ala umba che ma che) 12. Eleggua ("Salida"; cantos Eleggua ni tá, E agó Eleggua e, Kini-kini yo)
I would like to add that:
* the toques secos for Ochosi, Obatala, and Oya, are not complete; * the words on most songs are not correct; * the secular Afro-Cuban lullabye song by Ernesto Grenet, "Drume Negrita", is neither part of the orthodox liturgy, nor is it usually accompanied by these toques or with batá drums at all, but with a rhythm called "Afro" ("Afro-Cuban"); * the song "Kini-Kini Yo" is traditionally not sung in the Closing ceremony (Cierre).
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.
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 Cubatells 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.
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.
Let’s take a look at the current discographic panorama of rumba: what do we have regarding groups who are making records, who are they, and how could we classify them? Here we will try to answer, and see what we have about groups who have made recordings in the last ten years:
Leading « historic » groups such as Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, Conjunto de Clave y Guaguancó, Grupo Yoruba Andabó, Afro-Cuba de Matanzas, and Los Papines.
A few important musicians who, as independent artists, make their own album under their own name, such as : “Pancho Quinto” Mora, Gregorio Hernández “El Goyo”, Mario Dreke “Chavalonga”, Pedro Celestino Fariñas, and some more yet internationaly unknown.
New groups playing « advanced » style rumba, such as Iroso Obba, or Rumba Eriera – both groups are composed with quite the same musicians.
New « agrupaciones » making « mixed rumba & afrocuban » or « mixed rumba & jazz » such as Wemilere (how difficult the birth of their CD), Awiri Yo (rumba-comparsa) or USA’s Deep Rumba.
A few american groups (with Cuban musicians who came to live in USA recently, or a few years ago) such as LP’s Montvale Rumba or Eddie Bobé’s Central Park Rumba…
A few provincial Cuban groups, who with many difficulties finally make their album, like Rumbatá (Camagüey), El Folkloyuma (Santiago), Rumberos de Hoy (Santiago)…
A few ethnomusicological recordings, produced all around the world from occidental countries or in Cuba itself.
Besides all these, there has been in Havana since the 1990’s a particular nucleus of rumberos, centered around Cuban producer Rodolfo Chacón Tartabull, a man close to Tata Güines and José Luis Quintana “Changuito”, both being very official artists and Egrem stars.
There never seemed to appear a single group out of this nucleus, nor a man able to gather those people under his own name – except for Tata during the « Aniversario » period.
This «conjunto de rumberos» existing since early 90’s could be called the «Rapsodia Rumbera school».
From this nucleus will finally emerge in early 2000 «Rumberos de Cuba», Rodolfo Chacón’s new project.
In this article we will now try to describe every single artist within this project.
Maximino Duquesne, Mario "Aspirina" Jauregui, "Marquito" Diaz First version of percussion section of RDC (Photo Credit: Official RDC photo)
Rumberos de Cuba is not what we could call a «guarapachangueo» group. It is more on the traditional side – but yet its style definitely belongs to modern rumba. The use of a « cajón and tumbadora » set for the tumbador player is a modern element, as is the style of the "conversations" between the tumbador and tres-dos. Compositions in RDC repertoire are either old songs (Omelé, Flor de Mayo), or « creative » (their version of the cumbia « El Cafetál » ), or new rumbas (El Trovador).
RDC is formed by old traditionalist musicians (Mario Aspirina) as well as young new rumberos (Ariel Monteresi). Therefore, Rumberos de Cuba is a clever mix of tradition and modernity.
The musicians’ resumes are so impressive that only respect can be shown to them, just this element is sufficient to put them among famous groups in the island. We can be sure of their future success when they become a bit more well-known. The quality of their first CD leaves no doubt about their future.
In the first version of the group, Mario “Aspirina” Jauregui Francis, Maximino Duquesne, “Marquito” Herminio Diaz, his son “Yosvani” Diaz played percussion, and Lázaro Rizo often palyed catá. Singers, (in addition to El Gato) were Luis Chacón Mendivel “Aspirina”, Miguel Ángel Mesa Cruz “Aspirina”, Sofía Rámos Morejón, and Pedro Francisco Almeida Berriel “Tatá” (at the same time working with Clave y Guaguancó). Dancers were « Aidita » Salina Sánchez and Dionisio Paul Palma. Both were in the coro in non-danced parts.
In year 2000 they recorded their first album, produced in 2004 by Egrem: “¿Dónde Andabas Tú, Acerekó?” (Egrem 0600), and a beautiful DVD, « Rumbón Tropical, » with guest Ricardo Gómez « Santa Cruz ».
(Photo Credit: Official RDC photo)
Within this first version of the group they also recorded three unreleased CD tracks (“Yo Viné pa’ Ver”, “Dónde Andabas Anoche” and “Guantanamera”) with Tatá Güines and José Luis Quintana “Changuito”, with famous trumpet player Julio Padrón, tremendous tresero “El Guajiro” and a bass player, too. Within this project they toured in France during Summer and Autumn 2002 (I was lucky to see them at “Toros y Salsa” Festival in Dax).
The second version of the group added Santiago Garzón Rill “Chaguito” who also made a DVD named “Rumbambeo” with El Negro Triana and Juan de Dios Rámos.
After that Rumberos de Cuba worked in another project directed by Puntilla, as an “Homenaje a Gonzálo Asencio "Tío Tom"”. They recorded one still-unreleased 9 tracks cd with rumbas Tío Tom wrote, such as “La China Linda”, “¿Dónde Están los Cubanos?” or “Como tu Sabes”. Ernesto wrote a beautiful columbia called “El Tío Tom" for this project. The singers are Ernesto, Miguel Ángel Mesa and Puntilla, but some famous singers were invited too: El Goyo, Lázaro Rizo, and (from Grupo Yoruba Andabo) Juan Cámpos Cárdenas “Chán”, Geovani del Pino Rodríguez and Miguel Chapottín Beltrán.
Yosvani Diaz, Maximino Duquesne, "Marquito" Diaz Second version of RDC percussion (Photo Credit: Official RDC photo)
In the last months of year 2004 Marquito Diaz died tragically, after a heart attack and being operated in a Havana hospital. Since 1992 he had formed with Maximino Duquesne one of the best “rítmica”, recording many famous albums, among them Rapsodia Rumbera.
After that, Rumberos de Cuba had to change for a 4th version of the group, with the famous “Cusito” (Jesús Lorenzo Peñalver), one of the best young akpwones in Havana, and tremendous drum player. Cusito had been a member of Juan de Dios’ Raices Profundas and Chavalonga’s “Ven Tú”, called now “Wemilere” (hear cd “Santería” at Harmonia Mundi). The young Yosvanni Diaz Herrera (Marquito’s son) is now more and more important in the group. I have see him playing better and better each year between 2001 and 2004. Their future and fourth cd project is called “Habana de mi Corazón”.
Members (or ex-members) of Rumberos de Cuba:
"El Gato" (Photo Credit: Official RDC photo)
Ernesto Gatel Cotó “El Gato”- lead vocals “El Gato” has always been a central character in the RDC project, as the main singer, and for being several times musical director of the group (see complete article about Ernesto).
Rodolfo Chacón Tartabull ( Photo Credit: Official RDC photo)
Rodolfo Chacón Tartabull- producer Born in Cienfuegos, he enters the Egrem in 1990. “Songs and Dances” is the first record he produced. He won a “Gran Premio Egrem” in 1995 producing Tatá Güines and Anga Diaz “Pasaporte.” He also won a “First Prize in Traditional and Folkloric Music” with Tatá Güines’ “Aniversario.” He finally won a “First Prize at Cubadisco” Festival with the “Guajira con Tumbao” record.
“Marquito” (Photo Credit: Official RDC photo)
Marcos Herminio Diaz Scull “Marquito” - percussion Marquito began working as a professional dancer in the “Rita Montaner” company in Havana in 1968. Then he began to play percussion in many folkloric groups, then entered the “Conjunto Artístico de las FAR” (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias) where he stayed 10 years. He died in 2005, being not more than 43 years old. He was in Tata Güines’ group, in Rapsodia Rumbera and in Jane Bunnett’s project.
Yosvanni Diaz Herrera (Photo Credit: Richard Housset)
Yosvanni Diaz Herrera - percussion (tres/dos) One of the youngest member of Rumberos de Cuba. Marquito’s son. He has been member of many folkloric groups in Havana like “Iroso Obba” or “Awiri Yo”. He took part in the last cd of Miguel Ánga Diaz and in an experimental project leaded by Ry Cooder.
Yosvani Diaz & Maximino Duquesne at Palenque (Photo Credit: Official RDC photo)
Maximino Duquesne Martínez “El Moro Quinto”- percussion and second vocals Born May 29 1939 in the famous reparto “La Cueva del Humo” in Luyanó, barrio Concha y Fábregas, Maximino moved at the age of 9 to the barrio “Las Yaguas.” He has been a member of early 1950’s rumba groups such as “El Coro Folklórico Cubano,” and a founding member of the Conjunto Folklórico Nacional. He studied cuban folkloric percussion, and has always been considered a great rumbero, as well as güiro or bembé specialist. He’s been a part of many great rumba recordings, and took part in canadian Jane Bunnett’s project.
“Chaguito” ( Photo Credit: Official RDC photo)
Santiago Garzón Rill “Chaguito” - percussion and lead vocals Born in Gantánamo, he began his musical career in changüí groups. He moved to Havana at the beginning of the 1990’s and entered “Conjunto de Clave y Guaguancó,” where he stayed for six years. He is a rumba composer, too. He has been musical director of Rumberos de Cuba at a time. You may find his very good dvd “Rumbambeo” at boogalu.com.
Ariel Monteresi (Photo Credit: Official RDC photo)
Ariel Monteresi- lead vocals Many people present Ariel as a “spiritual son” of Juan de Dios Rámos “El Colo”. At the age of 12 he began to work with Juan de Dios. He’s been a member of famous groups such “Ébano”, El Goyo’s “Oba Ilú”, or “Clave y Guaguancó”. He stayed one year in Italy working at the “Cabaret Tropicana de Roma”. He has been quite famous in Havana for singing his rumba “Dile que Yo Soy tu Tío”.
Dionisio Paul Palma (Photo Credit: Official RDC photo)
Dionisio Paul Palma- dancer He was graduate of the ENA University of Arts in 1982, and then entered the “Conjunto Folklórico Nacional.” He still works with the CFN, with the title of “Primer Bailarin Solista”, and as a teacher too.
Sofía Rámos Morejón (Photo Credit: Official RDC photo)
Sofía Rámos Morejón- lead vocals She began her career in folkloric music in 1994, in the “Iyá Aché” group, staying with them for seven years. Like many women do, she often sings yambú in Rumberos de Cuba.
“Aidita” (Photo Credit: Official RDC photo)
Aida Salina Sánchez “Aidita”- dancer and coro Since she was very young, she acted as a professional dancer on stage with artists such as Merceditas Valdés or Celina González. She has been a member of “Raices Profundas” and “Havana Night”. Later she danced with Conjunto Rumbavana or Jane Bunnett.
Mario, Miguel Ángel, and Luis Chacón: “Los Tres Aspirinas” This famous family of Guanabacoa rumberos has had numerous members, many of whom have passed on, and many grandchildren or nephews form the new generation. The name “Aspirina” comes from one elder brother of Mario, Pedro, who always had serious toothaches, and had to keep for hours a aspirin tucked against his bad tooth. People nicknamed him “Aspirina.”
Mario "Aspirina" Jauregui Francis (Photo Credits: Pascal Gouy "El Chévere.")
Mario "Aspirina" Jauregui Francis - percussion Born 22 July 1932, Mario is considered the greatest quinto player in Cuba with Jesús Alfonso in Matanzas. At the age of nine he began to play batá drums with legendary Pablo Roche Okilakpá, and is said to have learned much quicker than anyone else. When he was still a child he began to play in ceremonies. He says he was the quinto player in the first rumba record ever “El Vive Bien,” but the credits don’t mention him [Tumbao CD reissue says Giraldo Rodriguez]. He is a founding member of the Conjunto Folkórico Nacional as a dancer. He is definitely the main guardian of the Havana-style percussion tradition in rumba as well as in batá drumming. He is one of the very few “alumnos” of Pablo Roche still alive, along with Esteban "Chachá" Vega. But unlike another of Roche's alumnos, Pancho Kinto (ibae), who invented many things in batá drum and in rumba, Mario is the incredible living testimony of old times, for he never changed his own style, that he learned with “Los Rumberos de la Historia.” Unlike many Cuban musicians, Mario is a small, thin, discreet and quiet man, and keeps himself in a very good physical condition. The French musician Karim Ammour is writing a book on Mario’s incredible life.
Miguel Ángel “Aspirina” Mesa Cruz “El Caballero de la rumba”- singer One of the oldest rumba singers in Havana, Miguel Ángel is undeniable champion of the columbia syle. El Goyo often tells that he had been inspired with Miguel Ángel’s style. Member of early Clave y Guaguancó, as you can see in the incredible 1967 documental “Y tenemos Sabor”, Miguel Ángel opens the Rapsodia Rumbera record with his famous song “Miguel Ángel el Divertido”. He worked in Cabaret Tropicana for years. He is the perfect example of self-taught rumba musicians, and worked many times with legends of rumba habanera, such as Flor de Amor and Odilio Urfé.
Luis Chacón “Aspirina” Mendivel (R) with the Author
Luis Chacón “Aspirina” Mendivel- percussion, singer and dancer A little younger than the two others, Luis Chacón has been director of many groups since the 1960 years. He sings, plays drums and dances with an incredible energy. He began playing in la Orquesta Jorrín and was a founding member of the Conjunto Folkórico Nacional. In 1964 he had his own group “Sicamalié.”
Rumberos de Cuba have made one beautiful cd “¿Dónde Andabas Tú, Acerekó?” you may find at: www.descarga.com
