Son - The root of Salsa Music

Son is a unique sound from Santiago De Cuba, in the East of Cuba. The sound can be traced back to the seventeenth century when musical groups fused African and Spanish musical rhythms to develop the sound which later became known as Son. The music has evolved over the years by absorbing new musical influences from instruments such as ‘bungas’ or clay pots, the guitar, tres, maracas, claves, the bongo and the botijuela (African hand piano). The format used a ‘motivo’ or story told by a solo singer which made gentle mockery of the hardships of life and the absurdities of the authorities. The cheeky lyrics and sensual dancing which accompanied the music made this a form of music and dance looked down on by the ruling Spanish elite. Son remained very much a sound enjoyed by working people until it was made more popular in Havana in the 19th and early 20th centuries by the ‘Soneros’ such as Sexteto Habanero and Sexteto Occidente, who started playing at popular and religious celebrations, and from there its influence spread to the rest of Latin America. If you want to hear Son, you can do no better than listen to the legendary Cuban band Sonora Matancera, or to the music of one of the greatest Soneros of all time, Oscar D’Leon.