The Clave Chronicles

Ethnomusicologist and percussionist Johnny Frias joins Rebecca to speak about one of the lesser known Afro-Cuban folkloric practices, the tonada trinitaria, from the central Cuban city of Trinidad. We then delve into the rumba percussion style that has become dominant in recent decades, guarapachangueo, created by a group of brothers from the outskirts of Havana known as Los Chinitos. Songs played...

Afrocuba de Matanzas is widely considered one of the best preservers of Afro-Cuban folkloric music and dance on the island, but the group also created one of the funkiest and most exciting musical innovations in 1973 when they blended rumba percussion and batá drumming to create batarumba . As the years went on, batarumba became even more complex and versatile, as Afrocuba musicians added in instr...

Grammy-nominated percussionist, recording artist and educator Michael Spiro joins Rebecca to speak about his apprenticeship in Matanzas with masters of Afro-Cuban folkloric drumming, differences in drumming styles between Havana and Matanzas, and his innovative recordings, which fuse batá drumming with other Afro-diasporic traditions, such as Brazilian samba, Candomblé, and Zimbabwean mbira music....

Acclaimed pianist/bandleader/composer/author/educator Rebeca Mauleón discusses the long and incredibly versatile career of pianist/composer Chucho Valdés, who founded the groundbreaking jazz fusion group Irakere 50 years ago.  In 2018, Mauleón and Valdés co-authored the book Decoding Afro-Cuban Jazz . In both his Irakere compositions and in his solo career, Valdés has often drawn from Afro-Cuban f...

Ethnomusicologist and prolific scholar Peter Manuel joins Rebecca to speak about the many centuries of musical exchange between Cuba and Spain, which birthed genres like the Cuban punto and contributed to the evolution of flamenco in Andalucía. Author and editor of numerous books on Caribbean and Indian popular music, including an important anthology of Cuban musicology , Manuel's newest book...

In our first episode en español (!!!), Rebecca interviews Mario Seguí Correoso, a Santiago-based percussionist who has worked with various groups over the course of his career: an innovative rumba group (Kokoyé), a son/salsa group (Sonora La Calle), and currently a more traditional son group (Los Jubilados), as well as a percussion-based group (Los Tambores de Enrique Bonne). We talk about how dif...

Congolese scholar Ribio Nzeza Bunketi Buse joins Rebecca to speak about the many sub-styles and evolutions within Congolese popular music over the past 60 years. While many in the West refer to the music as "soukous," that's only one specific style of rumba, which also includes rumba chachacha (Joseph Kabasele & African Jazz), rumba odemba (Franco Luambo & OK Jazz), rumba ca...

Rebecca is joined by reggaeton scholar Petra Rivera-Rideau , who co-created the Bad Bunny Syllabus to provide historical and social context for Bad Bunny's music. His massive hit Un Verano Sin Tí  was the most globally streamed album of 2022 and the first Spanish-language album to be nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammys. We speak about what makes him such a unique, versatile artist,...

Franco-Haitian cultural influences in Cuba date back over two centuries, beginning with the "refugees" from the Haitian Revolution who fled to eastern Cuba in the early years of the 19th century. However, a much larger wave of Haitian migrants arrived in the first decades of the 20th century to fill labor shortages on sugar plantations, and most stayed. Anthropologist Grete Viddal joins...

Multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and educator Dr. John Calloway joins Rebecca to speak about the Cuban music scene in the Bay Area. Calloway has written for Grammy-nominated projects and recorded several of his own albums. He has spent 35 years as a music educator in San Francisco public schools and at San Francisco State University, founding the Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble and the Afro-Cub...

Ethnomusicologist and event producer Lani Milstein joins Rebecca to talk about Santiago de Cuba's quintessential musical practice: conga, an Afro-Cuban percussion and song genre linked to the city's famed Carnival celebrations. It involves mass participation by people parading along with the mobile percussion ensemble and continues to be a major symbol of santiaguero identity. Songs play...

No new episode this week, but a quick note from Rebecca, followed by a slow, juicy  yambú from the legendary Havana rumba group Clave y Guaguancó.   Send us Fan Mail Support the show You can support this independently produced podcast by becoming a monthly subscriber - even $3/month helps! If you like this podcast, please hit "Follow" and give us a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts Find Th...

Rebecca speaks with musician/producer/historian Ned Sublette , author of the most comprehensive history of Cuban music in English, Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo . Sublette is leading trips to Cuba through his organization, Postmambo, and in January will embark on La Ruta de los Fundamentos, a tour focusing on Afro-Cuban sacred sites in western Cuba (email postmambo@gmail.co...

The most well-known African-derived religion in the Americas is La Regla de Ocha or Lucumí, more popularly known as Santería. The music used to accompany rituals and ceremonies involves complex, polyrhythmic drumming and a huge repertoire of songs for the different orishas (Yoruba-derived deities), like Yemayá, Oshún and Changó. Rebecca breaks down some basic features of the religion and its diver...

Cuban son, under the label "rumba," became incredibly popular following the success of "El manicero" in 1930, including in the two Congos (at the time colonized by Belgium and France). Congolese musicians heard echoes of their own traditional music and began creating a new genre (Congolese rumba) largely based on son, mambo and cha cha cha and sung in a mix of Spanish, French a...

Grammy-nominated musician, ethnomusicologist, and professor Benjamin Lapidus joins Rebecca for a deep dive into the eastern Cuban roots music called changüí, considered to be one of the antecedents of  son.  Songs played: Nengón, Kiriba y Nengon de Baracoa Así Es El Changüí, Grupo Changüí de Guantánamo Fiesta en Cecilia, Grupo Changüí de Guantánamo 21 de Mayo, La Orquesta Revé Quiriba, Los Univers...

Timba star Tirso Duarte (pianist, singer, arranger, songwriter) passed away tragically on Sept. 29 in Colombia. Timba.com creator Kevin Moore, who worked closely with Duarte and wrote a book about him, joins Rebecca to pay tribute to "el angel negro" and discuss what made him so special as a musician. Songs played: El bla bla bla, La Charanga Habanera  Iala, Tirso Duarte Aquí Están, Los...

Gloria Estefan walked so Shakira and Ricky Martin could run. She's the OG Latin crossover star, the artist who broke through to the mainstream with Miami Sound Machine and their massive hit "Conga" in 1985. She was also one of the best female balladeers of the 1980s, with songs like "Anything For You" and "Don't Wanna Lose You." In 1993 she released her firs...

Esteemed scholar of Latino/a popular culture and identity  Frances Aparicio joins Rebecca to speak about the most significant women in salsa, beginning with the Queen herself, Celia Cruz. We talk about the many struggles female salsa musicians have faced in the music industry over the decades and the different strategies they've used to speak/sing back to the patriarchy and claim space. Songs...

Musicologist, dancer and educator Sarah Town joins Rebecca to speak about the history and evolution of Cuban social dance, specifically casino and a particularly intricate and complex style called rueda de casino, danced in a circle. These styles of dance have become a global phenomenon since the 1990s and the rise of timba, and there are many local scenes across the U.S. and around the world. Che...

Part 2 of Rebecca's conversation with Kevin Moore focuses on several major timba groups and their unique styles: Pupy Y Los Que Son Son, Paulito y Su Élite, Bamboleo and Elito Revé y Su Charangón. Songs played: De La Timba a Pogolotti, Pupy Y Los Que Son Son La Borrachera, Pupy Y Los Que Son Son Enredadera de Amor, Paulito FG Ya No Hace Falta, Bamboleo Dale Agua al Dominó, Elito Revé y Su Cha...

Finally, a timba episode! Rebecca speaks with Kevin Moore, the mastermind behind Timba.com , the largest Cuban music website in the world, who explains what makes timba unique and how it revolutionized Cuban dance music. This episode focuses on the pioneering innovations of NG La Banda and La Charanga Habanera. Check out Kevin's book Beyond Salsa For Beginners for an incredibly comprehensive...

In the past two decades, reggaeton has become the soundtrack of Cuba, eventually resulting in the birth of a more localized genre called reparto. Ethnomusicologist Mike Levine speaks with Rebecca about how reggaeton took hold first in the eastern part of the island, where Jamaican and Caribbean influences are much stronger, and how artists in Havana have transformed it into a uniquely Cuban genre...

Part two of the Los Van Van series, where Rebecca covers the band's evolving lineup, sound, and song themes in the 1990s and 2000s. Songs played: Disco Azúcar Un Socio La Fruta Soy Todo Ven, Ven, Ven Después de Todo Send us Fan Mail Support the show You can support this independently produced podcast by becoming a monthly subscriber - even $3/month helps! If you like this podcast, please hit...

Los Van Van has been Cuba’s premier dance band since its formation in 1969, with its longevity earning the band the nickname El tren de la salsa (the salsa train). Rebecca covers the band's first two decades and the innovations of Los Van Van's founder/bassist Juan Formell, as well as other musicians like drummer Changuito and pianist Cesar "Pupy" Pedroso, such as the group&apo...