Description
Book SynopsisThis book is a study of changÃÃ, a particular style of music and dance in GuantÃnamo, Cuba, and the roots of son, the style of music that contributed to the development of salsa, in Eastern Cuba. The book also highlights the connections between Afro-Haitian music and Cuban popular music through changÃÃ.
Trade ReviewLapidus synthesizes his ethnographic and historical research to present an indispensable text on one of Cuba’s and the Caribbean’s least documented and studied musical and dance genres. The author argues for an ethnographically-based alternative to the standard evolutionary construction of the Cuban son’s historical development by showing that changüí, nengón, and kiribá—the son’s perceived “antecedents”—are not only distinct in their performative dimensions, but they also continue to contribute in their own idiosyncratic ways to the local and contemporary soundscape of Guantanamo. Herein lies Lapidus’s major scholarly contribution to the kind of popular music studies that eschews a linear evolutionary framework of music history and instead focuses on the meanings generated where memory, history, performance, and the local, national, and transnational intersect. -- David F. García, assistant professor, ethnomusicology, UNC - Chapel Hill
In this ground-breaking study of changüí, Ben Lapidus sheds light on a lesser-known but important genre of Cuban music, providing detailed analysis of its musical form while at the same time situating it in the broader context of eastern Cuba's unique history and music culture. -- Peter L. Manuel, John Jay College and the Graduate Center, CUNY
Table of ContentsPart 1 Foreword Part 2 Preface Part 3 Acknowledgements Part 4 Introduction Chapter 5 1. Guantánamo and the Greater Oriente Region Chapter 6 2. Como se toca se baila, como se baila se toca: The Instruments and Their Roles in the Changüí Ensemble Chapter 7 3. Styles of Tres Improvisation Chapter 8 4. Historicity and Self-Referencing in Changüí Songs Chapter 9 5. The Changüí Complex In Guantánamo Chapter 10 6. Variations of Changüí Outside of Guantánamo Chapter 11 7. The Afro-Haitian Presence in Eastern Cuba and its Significance in the Development of the Cuban Son Chapter 12 8. Cultural Festivals and Musical Competitions in Guantánamo and Oriente Part 13 Conclusion: Changüí, Son, and the Pan-Caribbean Perspective Part 14 Bibliography Part 15 Index Part 16 About the Author
