← Encyclopedia
Pachanga
A bouncy, festive Cuban craze of the early 1960s.
Section
Overview
Section
Origins
Eduardo Davidson and the Birth of La Pachanga (1959)
How one Cuban TV hit turned a word for "party" into a dance craze
4 min read
Eduardo Davidson and "La Pachanga" (1959)
The 1959 composition that defined a Cuban dance idiom and seeded the road to salsa
4 min read
The New York City Charanga Craze
Origins, Evolution, and Legacy of the Charanga Phenomenon in Mid‑Century Manhattan
4 min read
Section
Musical anatomy
Section
Technique
Section
Pioneers
Charlie Palmieri: The Giant of the Keyboards
His Charanga Duboney helped ignite the US charanga and pachanga craze
1 min read
Eduardo Davidson
The Cuban songwriter and choreographer credited with creating the pachanga
5 min read
Joe Quijano: The King of Pachanga
His Conjunto Cachana and his label Cesta Records carried pachanga from New York to the world
2 min read
José Fajardo: The Cuban Flute of Pachanga
The charanga flutist whose orchestra reigned over the chachachá and pachanga craze
2 min read
Section
Cultural context
Section
Recordings
Section
Common misconceptions
Section
Glossary
Section