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Maravilla de Florida
50 y mas maravillas
# 3046132
Smooth, tight and engaging,
Maravilla de Florida is another reference as far as charangas
go. Founded in 1948 in Camagüey, an agricultural province
renowned for its landscapes, the group became famous in Cuba
with such hits as 'El agua coge su nivel'. One of the first charangas,
after Los Van Van, to adopt the songo - a rhythm invented in
the 1970s by percussionist "Changuito" (josé
Luis Quintana) -, Maravilla de Florida also has an irresistible
swing, and its sophisticated and elaborate arrangements testify
to the creativity of today's Cuban music. An absolute must.
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Chepin Chovén
Chepineando #
3046142
Formed in Santiago de Cuba
in 1945 by violonist Electo Rosell (Chepín) and pianist
Bernardo García Chovén, the Orquesta Chepín-Chovén
was, with that of Mariano Mercerón, the most famous big
band from Oriente, the easternmost province of Cuba. With its
jazzy arrangements and outstanding singers, Chepín-Chovén
performed throughout the country, appearing on numerous radio
and television shows, and developed a big following in North
and Latin America. Directed by José Ramón Hernández
since Chepín's death, in 1984, this outfit has remained,
while evolving musically, one of the most stimulating big bands
in Cuba.
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Son del Cauto
El amor es libre
# 3046152
The son, a rhythm born in
Spain around the16th century but which surfaced in a creolized
version in the Oriente province at the end of the 19th century,
is the backbone of salsa. Organized some fifteen years ago, Son
del Cauto has kept, with its original songs, sometimes romantic
and sometimes humorous, all the rural flavor of the Oriente son.
Among other instruments the band uses a tres (a kind of guitar
also born in the countryside of Oriente) and - relatively rare
in popular music - a laúd, a lute of Arabo-Andalusian
origin. A small, well-crafted jewel from the very heart of Cuba.
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Aliamen
Santa Clara #
3046162
The Orquesta Aliamén,
set up in 1964 by Miguel Pinto Campa in the historical city of
Santa Clara, is considered in Cuba one of the most innovative
and ebullient of today's charangas. Originally specialized in
the danzón - a musical genre born at the end of the 19th
century -, charangas generally include a flute and violins, instruments
which long gave them a European, somewhat old-fashioned charm.
It is, however, towards the future that Orquesta Aliamén
chooses to turn, injecting new blood into the traditional genres
of Cuban music with biting riffs, unexpected breaks and sizzling
rhythms. Impossible not to dance !
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