Danzón is the official genre and dance of Cuba. It is also an active musical form in Mexico and is still beloved in Puerto Rico. The danzón evolved from the Cuban Habanera (known inside and outside of Cuba as the habanera). The danzón developed in 1879, and has been an important root for Cuban music up to the present day. The first use of the term danzón, which dates from the 1850s, is for just such a dance. The form of danzón created by Miguel Faílde in 1879 (Las alturas de Simpson), begins with an introduction (four bars) and paseo (four bars), which are repeated and followed by a 16-bar melody. The introduction and paseo again repeat before a second melody is played. The dancers do not dance during these sections: they choose partners, stroll onto the dance floor, and begin to dance at precisely the same moment: the fourth beat of bar four of the paseo, which has a distinctive percussion pattern that’s hard to miss. When the introduction is repeated the dancers stop, chat, flirt, greet their friends, and start again, right on time as the paseo finishes. The interesting thing is that Faílde’s first danzóns were created for just such sequence dances. Faílde himself said “In Matanzas at this time there was a kind of square dance for twenty couples who carried arches and flowers. It was really a dance of figures (sequence dance), and its moves were adapted to the tempo of the habanera, which we took over for the danzón.” Early danzón was played by groups called orquestas típicas, which were based on wind instruments. They had several brass instruments (cornet, valve trombone, ophicleide), a clarinet or two, a violin or two and tympani (kettle drums). At the beginning of the 20th century, the lighter and somewhat more elegant sound of the charanga emerged (see Early Cuban bands). Initially, they were small orchestra of two violins, a cello, flute, timbales, güiro, and doublebass. Charanga and típicas competed with each other for years, but after 1930 it was clear that the days of the típica were over. In 1898 a piano was included in a charanga for the first time. In Antonio María Romeu’s hands a piano became standard. Its musical flexibility, its ability to influence both melody and rhythm, made it invaluable. In 1926, in his arrangement of Tres lindas cubanas, Romeu incorporated a piano solo for the first time. His was the Cuba’s top charanga for many years. Danzón as scandal Similar to other dances in the Caribbean and Latin America, the danzón was initially regarded as scandalous, especially when it began to be danced by all classes of the society. The slower rhythm of the danzón led to couples dancing closer, with sinuous movements of the hips and a lower centre of gravity. The author of a survey of prostitution in Havana devoted a whole chapter to the iniquities of dancing, and the danzón in particular. Articles in newspapers and periodicals took up the theme: “Because I love my country, it hurts me to see danzón at gatherings of decent people.” “We recommend banning the danza and danzón because they are vestiges of Africa and should be replaced by essentially European dances such as the quadrille and rigadoon.” Apparently, the danzón, which later became an insipid dance for older couples, was at first danced with “obscene movements” of the hips by young couples in close embrace, with bodies touching, and by couples who might come from different races… Later development led to more syncopation, which eventually led to the danzón-chá, nuevo ritmo, cha-cha-chá, pachanga and mambo. In the 1940s, 50s and 60s the danzón and its derivatives were highly popular in Cuba, with several truly fine charangas playing most days of the week. Orquesta Aragón kept up an exceptionally high standard for many years, but the danzón itself gradually dropped out, and is now a relic dance. Danzón has never ceased to influence Cuban musicians, and it is reflected in many popular Cuban music genres, in Cuban Latin jazz, salsa, songo and timba, the latter building upon the charanga orchestration. Groups like Los Van Van and Orquesta Revé developed from charangas. Their make-up and orchestration (by Juan Formell) has been so greatly altered that it is difficult to identify traces of danzón, indeed, their present styles owe more to the son than to the danzón. The addition of brass instruments such as trombones and trumpets, and conga drums signalled a wider range of music. Danzón was also very popular in the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz, Mexico, because of the strong Cuban influence in the region. Later on danzón developed in Mexico City, specially in the famous Salón México; in fact, it has survived as a dance longer there than in Cuba. Danzón also flourished in the city of Oaxaca, and many famous danzones were composed by Oaxacan musicians such as the famous Nereidas and Telefono de larga distancia, both works of Amador Perez Dimas, from the town of Zaachila, near Oaxaca city. The basic timbales part for danzón is called the baqueteo. The güíro also plays this pattern. The danzón was the first written music to be based on the organizing principle of sub-Saharan African rhythm, known in Cuba as clave. Danzón is elegant and virtuoso music, with dance. A danzón, in its original form, was not sung, and did not feature any improvisations, unlike some other Cuban genres.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Aug 2013 08:22:01 +0000
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