New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Cuba’s danzon genre: ‘150 years later, it’s still alive.’
MATANZAS, Cuba — A man in a white guayabera approaches a woman and stretches out his hand, palm up, inviting her to dance. She stands up and waves her fan. On the dance floor, they get closer.
Such a scene at the end of the 19th century in Cuba was scandalous in some circles. It was also a new musical genre, the danzon.
Now some danzon scores from that time that were lost in the archives in the Cuban city of Matanzas have been rediscovered. Four of them were recently recorded by the Failde Orchestra, highlighting what became the national dance of Cuba and later spread to other countries in the region.
Recording the scores is important so that society today and future generations “have a reference for what was their identity,” said musicologist Maria Victoria Oliver.
She and colleagues found the scores after checking the archives of several Matanzas institutions, including the provincial library, the concert band and the local museum. Even though the danzon started in the city in 1879, there were few written records of it until the early 20th century.
The 16 pieces that were discovered included both danzones and danzonetes, the latter being a variation that incorporated vocal interpretation and other changes. Several are part of the album “Joyas Ineditas,” or “Unpublished Jewels.” It is produced by the Egrem label, with arrangements and performance by the Failde Orchestra, led by flutist Ethiel Failde, a great-great-grandnephew of the creator of danzon.
“It is a great joy to be able to find unpublished scores that allow us to demonstrate an evolution of the genre,” said Oliver. The work was cumbersome and included “translation” of the scores, since the 19th century writing method was different from that of today and arrangements had to be made to update the music without losing its essence.
The danzon spread to the Dominican Republic and Mexico, where it has passionate followers today.