1.

Guantanamera
2.Cafewahita
3.Elbeserittolittlecalf
4.Veinteaos
5.Changui
6.Songfrom30sWategePortavaslesNostligiaGuajira
Changuimusicbeforesonnoclavenodrumsbcreligiousthisgoeswith
Bongowassoloingguiroandmaraca
ThenamesofmusicianswereJuanchoHerra,theleadsinger,Chuitoquintero,thedrummer,and
BenWillis,chorussinger.Thebandisusuallydonebyothergig.Thesixsongsplayedinthesetwere:
Guantanamera,Cafwahita,Elbeserito,Veinteaos,ChanguiandNostligiaGuajira.Whenaskedwhat
beatwasusedandwhyclavebeatwashardtohear,JuanchosaidthatChanguiwasusedinthebeginning
beforeson.Thisisfromfollowingthetraditionthatdrumswereusuallyusedinreligiouspractices,and
becausethisisnotareligioussong,wedidnothavetheclaverhythm.Rather,theBongoplayerhada
couplesolosectionduringthemontuno.Juanchoadded,ususallytherhythmsarecreatedthroughguiroand
maracaforChangui.Moreover,onethingnoticeableaboutthedrumplayerhisuseofbothfeetinplaying
thebeat.Hewastappingandusingapedalthatwaslikedinsidethebasedrumtocreatemorediverse
soundscomparedtojustusinghands.
Guantanameraisthenameoftherestaurantaswellasthetitleofthesong.Thissongisafamous
Cubansongandisrepresentativeofpatriotism.Thelyricstothesongwasaboutawomanfrom
Guantnamo.Ascomparedtotheoriginalsong,thesongplayedatthelocationstartedwithashort
introduction,continuedontothecantosection,followedbymontuno,wherebassplayerimprovised.The
exchangeoflyricsbetweenleadvocalandchoruswasalsosignificantinGuantanamera.Moreover,the
secondbassplayerusedhisbassalmostlikeapercussioninstrument,repeatedlyplayingfourbeatsperbar
ononenote.
Thesecondsong,CafWahitastartedoffwithasloweddownbeat,withbassplayerplaying
minor.Thiswasachachachainasensethatthesongwasmediumtempodancesongandwithharmonic
andrhythmicostinatostartingwithcaf.butnoneoftheinstrumentationincludedviolinorflute.The
polyrhythmicexperiencecreatedthroughthebassguitarsconsistentbeatanddrummermadethesong,
repetitiousversesandoffbeatcallandresponsemadethemusicaBlues.
Thethirdsong,ElBeseritomeanslittlecalfinSpanish.The song also had a montuno section
where it almost reminded me of a round canon, because the lyrics started off by the lead singer was
followed immediately by second singer, the modified lyrics from the second singer was followed by
that of the first singer again. After the canto section, the montuno section featured an improvised
solo by the bass player, and the drum player lightly playing the beat at the back. In the improvised
section, the lead singer, from Venezuela, shouted out Venezuela, the casa rosa,
The fourth song, Veinte aos, was a bolero, singing about how he misses his past lover.
Bolero emerged as the predominant slow-tempo, romantic dance genre in Cuba in the early 20 th
century. In the middle, went a montuno, but what was interesting about this section was that instead
of a solo player, it was the whole band playing instrumental, just like some of the Western pop music
then. The original song was from the Buena Vista Social Club that we learned in class,
The first part of the song does not include any rhythms by a percussion instrument, but just the bass
and lyrics. Then the bongo player started to play a meter. After the first part of the music, both
guitar players started played for the monuto section, creating an instrumental harmony of sound.
ThefifthsongwastheChanguimusicandbeat,astyleofCubanamusicoriginiatedinearly19th
centuryinaruralregion.Thus,thesubjectmatterofthesongwasoftenrelatedtonatureand quotidian
lifestyle, including this song. The music is usually played with the ensemble of four instruments:
marimba, bongo, tres, and guiro. However, they played the song with two guitars, one sometimes
almost taking the role of percussion instruments. The song also had an interesting off-beat, where it
felt as if the lyrics were running half a beat behind.

The sixth and the last song played in the set was Nostalgia Guajira. Originally, this song was
from a famous Cuban sing-and-song writer Guillermo Portabales, who help popularize the Cuban
music in the 1930s. The song is about nostalgia towards his homeland. The music was definitely a
guajira in a sense that the bongos were playing, vocals, and string bass was used. However, the song
also entailed elements from rock music, because it was led electric guitars. Especially noticeable was
during the extended montuno section, where the bass player went on to play the electric guitar and
electric bass in a very fast pace, making it almost
This is also influenced by Guantanamera, is a restaurant located in Midtown New York, so the venue
also promotes a fusion of music between Cuban and jazz or rock to attract more people.

1910sUrbanMigrationrumba/guajira/changuicongoclavebongos,vocals,maracasstringbass

Chachacha
Changui
Blues
Montuno
Bolero
Bothfeet
Clavefeetandpesalforbasedeum
Diffsoundwiththehorn
Chachacha
JuanchoHerraleqdsingee\
Chuitoquinterodrummer
Benwillis
Reliouss
Mixed
Salondanson
Venesula
Illonis
Gigusuallydonebyotherband
Cubancontemporaryrockandtimba
Cubanmusicandfrenchjazznycthing
Communitymusic