The Clave Chronicles – Details, episodes & analysis

Eva Silot Bravo joins Rebecca again to talk about her recently published book, Cuban Fusion: The Transnational Cuban Alternative Music Scene, which focuses on Cuban musicians who have migrated to New York, Madrid, and other major cities since the 1990s. They have created new transnational musical scenes, with some traveling back and forth between Cuba and abroad, fusing jazz, Afro-Cuban folkloric music, nueva trova and other genres.

Songs played:
Levitando, Ramon Valle
Bolero Filin, Gema Y Pavel
Café, Interactivo
Se Feliz, Fernando Alvarez & Descemer Bueno
The Magic Danzonete, Dafnis Prieto
Baba Elegguá, Brenda Navarrete

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Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

This week The Clave Chronicles is sharing an episode of Cuban Serenade, a podcast exploring the history of Cuban music in Canada that's hosted by Freddy Monasterio and Karen Dubinsky. This episode focuses on the genius of Cuban-Canadian pianist/composer/arranger Hilario Durán. 
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Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

Punk cubano emerged during the Special Period crisis, giving young disaffected Cubans an outlet to express their angst and rage, often toward the Cuban government. Carmen Torre Pérez joins Rebecca to speak about the counter-cultural genre and its DIY ethics.

Songs played: 
Jodidos y perdidos, Rotura
Eres tú, Eskoria
Azul, Akupunktura
Esta no es mi puta guerra, Eztafilokoko
Ruido en el sistema, Pólvora Soxial

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Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

(Rerun of nueva trova episode, first aired in July 2023)

Nueva trova is one of the few Cuban genres that is for listening and reflecting instead of dancing - it's sung poetry, much like other Latin American singer-songwriter genres, namely nueva canción. Rebecca has an in-depth conversation with independent scholar and former Cuban diplomat Eva Silot Bravo about the major figures of nueva trova and how it came to be closely identified with the ideology of the Cuban Revolution. The genre's relationship with the government shifted in the wake of the economic crisis of the 1990s, as newer artists began to openly critiqued the preferential treatment given to foreigners, as well as emigrate abroad.

Songs played:
Pablo Milanés, Mis 22 años
Silvio Rodríguez, Sueño con Serpientes
Xiomara Laugart, Paria
Carlos Varela, Foto de Familia
Gema y Pavel, Se Feliz

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Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

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:
Una corona al General Maceo, Conjunto Folclórico de Trinidad
Plegarias, Grupo Abbilona (Los Chinitos)
Caridad, Pancho Quinto
El conflictivo, Humo + La Liga Rumbera

Learn more about guarapachangueo in Rebecca's book: Geographies of Cubanidad: Place, Race and Musical Performance in Contemporary Cuba 

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Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

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 instruments and rhythms from son, Abakuá, Iyesá and adapted the songs of Celia Cruz to a batarumba format.

Songs played:

Tambor, Afrocuba de Matanzas
Baila Mi Guaguancó, Afrocuba de Matanzas
Caridad, Afrocuba de Matanzas
Rinkinkalla, Celia Cruz & Sonora Matancera
Rinkinkaya, Ritmo y Canto

Learn more about batarumba in Rebecca's book: Geographies of Cubanidad: Place, Race and Musical Performance in Contemporary Cuba 

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Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

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. 

Songs played:

Inspiración a Santiago, Los Muñequitos de Matanzas
Para Clave y Guaguancó, Clave y Guaguancó
Osain, Michael Spiro & guests
Butsu Mutandari/Iyesa, Michael Spiro & guests
Maracambique, Michael Spiro, Joe Galvin & guests
Stardust (El Encanto), Michael Spiro,Wayne Wallace & guests

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https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

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 folkloric music—rumba, batá drumming—for inspiration.

Songs played:

Misa Negra, Irakere
El Tata Cimarrón, Irakere
Xiomara, Irakere
Ochún, Chucho Valdés featuring Regina Carter

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Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

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 is Flamenco Music: History, Forms, Culture. 

Songs played:
Fandango, Antonio Soler
Controversia, Justo Vega & Adolfo Alfonso
Corazón Tu Eres Mi Amigo, Luis Gómez
Guajira, Pepe Marchena
Juro Que, Rosalía
Me Voy Contigo, Remedios Amaya

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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

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https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

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 difficult the situation has been for musicians since the pandemic.

**IF YOU DON'T SPEAK SPANISH, CHECK OUT A TRANSCRIPT OF THE CONVERSATION TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QfvV7JelKB2tDjsNFkT_LxXPwOgUO89anRFCIAMMtMI/edit?usp=sharing

Songs played:

Manigueta, Los Tambores de Enrique Bonne
Calle Enramada, Los Jubilados
(title unknown), Grupo Folklórico Kokoyé

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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 The Clave Chronicles on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @clavechronicles
https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions