The Son

''Son is the most sublime music to delight the soul''
Ignacio Piñeiro

Born at the oriental mountains, Cuban Son is a genre of sing and dance, having festive character which has gained a top in our musical history. Its texts reflect the Cuban`s idiosincrasy, where the smiling seriousness, humor or anecdote find place at the most different topics. In this eternal oscilation, Son is revering love, women, couple relationships, famous characters, Cuban cities, musicians and rhythms plus all events from daily days. Its structure cames from African and Europena roots, alterning couplet and chorus in a answer-like form.

There's no unique Son regarding to origin and development, they have became definite types around different zones of the oriental and middle part of the island, above all around the half of XIX century. In other historical stages, around the 20s and the 50s, important styles have been conformed in hands of Miguel Matamoros, Ignacio Piñeiro, Arsenio Rodríguez and the central-occidental nucleus formed by Julio Cuevas, Benny Moré and Sonora Matancera. In this way, the personality of Adalberto Alvarez concentrated a contemporary canon, who is based on traditions giving it a contemporary seal.

In its evolution the instrumental format was diversified, running from trío, sextet, septet, conjunto until jazz band and other groups owning the sonero repertoire. In Cuba, its fusion holding great diversity of genres has aroused different combinations highlighting bolero-son, son-cha, guajira-son, son-pregón and its legate becomes evident in other sonororous stages like songo, guasón and timba finisecular. Likely, unavoidables interactions among the diverse sorts from international and Caribbean contexts have been produced, underscoring salsa movement.