Danzón
Cuba's elegant national dance, ancestor of mambo and cha-cha-chá.
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Danzón: Overview
A Cuban genre and partnered dance at the hinge of the island's musical lineage
5 min read
Contradanza and Habanera Roots of the Cuban Danzón
How a European salon dance, reworked by African rhythm, became Cuba's first national genre and the seed of son, mambo, and salsa
4 min read
The Paseo and Couple Figures
Pause, set footwork, and partnered movement in the Cuban danzón
3 min read
Antonio Arcaño: The Danzón’s Road to the Mambo
The flautist whose charanga, with the López brothers, forged the danzón de nuevo ritmo
3 min read
Overview
1 article
Etymology and naming
1 article
Origins
2 articles
Contradanza and Habanera Roots of the Cuban Danzón
How a European salon dance, reworked by African rhythm, became Cuba's first national genre and the seed of son, mambo, and salsa
4 min read
Miguel Failde and Las Alturas de Simpson (1879)
How the first formal danzón emerged in Matanzas and seeded a lineage of Cuban dance
3 min read
History
1 article
Musical anatomy
3 articles
Charanga Francesa Instrumentation
The violin-and-flute front line that gave the danzón its sound
3 min read
Danzón Structure and the Cinquillo
Form, rhythm, and the African inheritance in Cuba's national dance
3 min read
The Danzón Form: Paseo and Sectional Anatomy
How Cuba's national dance built a refrain-and-episode architecture from the contradanza
3 min read
Technique
1 article
Pioneers
7 articles
Antonio Arcaño: The Danzón’s Road to the Mambo
The flautist whose charanga, with the López brothers, forged the danzón de nuevo ritmo
3 min read
Antonio María Romeu
Cuban pianist and bandleader of the danzón charanga
3 min read
Arcaño y sus Maravillas: The Cradle of the Mambo
The danzón charanga where the López brothers invented the "nuevo ritmo"
1 min read
Barbarito Diez: The Golden Voice of the Danzón
The singer whose pure, elegant voice gave the danzón its definitive vocal sound
2 min read
Israel "Cachao" López: Father of the Mambo, Master of the Descarga
The Havana bassist who gave the danzón its new rhythm and Cuban music its jam session
4 min read
Miguel Faílde
The Matanzas bandleader credited as originator of the Cuban danzón
4 min read
Orestes López: Co-Creator of the Mambo
The Arcaño cellist whose 1938 danzón "Mambo" gave a new rhythm its name
3 min read
Cultural context
3 articles
Danzón as Cuba's National Dance
A genre understood through its place in Cuba's creole musical lineage
3 min read
Danzón in Mexico and Veracruz
From Cuba's national dance to a Veracruz emblem — and, in Arturo Márquez's hands, a symbol of Mexican concert music.
5 min read
Danzón in Veracruz and Mexico City
The Cuban genre's long life across the Gulf, from the dance hall to the concert hall
3 min read