Coros De Clave

Coros de Clave Villaverde, Cirilo. 1974 (1882). Cecilia Vald é s, o La popular style of the Afro-Cuban music and dance Loma del Angel [Cecilia Vald é s or El Angel Hill]. genre rumba. In addition to coros de clave , there were Havana: Ediciones Hurac á n. also groups called coros de guaguanc ó , which diff ered in certain ways, although the two are oft en discussed Discographical References as the same tradition. Scholars utilize a variety of Irakere. Teatro Amadeo Rold á n . Areito LD-3420. names to refer to the tradition, and it is likely that LP-12. 1974 : Cuba. (Contains a version of Ernesto there were diff erent appellations used in Havana and Lecuona ’ s ‘ Danza ñ á ñ iga. ’ ) Matanzas. For example, in discussions of the tradi- Orquesta Todos Estrellas. Danz ó n All Stars. Mi gran tion in Matanzas, scholars have used the terms coros pasi ó n . EGREM CD-0353. 1999 : Cuba. de rumba (Grasso Gonz á lez 1989, 9; É vora 1997, Rotterdam Conservatory Orquesta T í pica. Cuba: 187) and bandos (Mart í nez Rodr í guez 1977, 128; Contradanzas and Danzones . Nimbus Records CD Esquenazi P é rez 2001, 210). Although mentioned by NI5502. 1996 : UK and USA. numerous scholars, there are no in-depth studies on Vald é s, Chucho, and Irakere. Chucho Vald é s, Piano this tradition. I . Areito LD-3781. LP-12. 1976 : Cuba. (Contains ‘ Contradanza no. 1 ’ by Chucho Vald é s.) History Coros de clave were an Afro-Cuban imitation of Discography Catalan choral societies brought to Havana in the later Choose Your Partners! Contra Dance and Square Dance nineteenth century, and were named aft er a Catalan of New Hampshire. Smithsonian Folkways SFW CD composer, Jos é Anselmo Clav é , who established a 40126 . 1999 : USA. choral society made up of uneducated, working-class Conjunto Enso ñ aci ó n. ‘ Las Virginias. ’ Tesoro de la people in Barcelona in 1845 (Sublette 2004, 262 – 3). m ú sica norestense , 3rd ed. Fonateca del INAH 29. (Th e coros were not, therefore, named aft er the per- 2002 : Mexico. (Originally released 1991.) cussion instrument consisting of two wooden sticks Fern á ndez, Frank. Todo Cervantes (Danzas)/Todo beaten against each other to provide a timeline Saumell (Contradanzas) Vols I and II. EGREM rhythm, although claves were used in performance.) CD-1034-1 and 1034-2. 2010 : Cuba. Several scholars discuss the emergence of coros de Grupo de experimentaci ó n sonora del ICAIC. Grupo clave in terms of the specifi c situation of blacks in late de experimentaci ó n sonora del ICAIC . Areito LD nineteenth-century Cuba – that is, the gradual aboli- 3450. 1974 : Cuba. Contains Emilio Salvador ’ s ‘ La tion of slavery in the 1880s and the large-scale migra- contradanza. ’ tion of former slaves from rural plantations to urban La Volanta: danzas y contradanzas cubanas . EGREM centers. In addition, the tradition is oft en linked to CD-0082. 1993 : Cuba. cabildos – colonial-era mutual aid societies formed by Lecuona, Ernesto. Lecuona toca Lecuona . EGREM African slaves and their ancestors along ethnic lines – CD 0045. 1992 : Cuba. with some scholars asserting that coros de clave func- Meringues and Folk Ballads of Haiti. Lyrichord LLST tioned as a substitute in the wake of the dismantling 7340. 1978 : USA. (Contains a recording of Haitian of cabildos aft er full emancipation in 1886 (Grasso contredanse , ‘ Ba li chaise pou moi, ’ played by a Gonz á lez 1989, 9; Sublette 2004, 263). Martinican band between 1947 and 1953.) Although coros de clave and guaguanc ó are generally Th e Cuban Danz ó n: Its Ancestors and Descendants . linked to Havana and Matanzas, the tonada trinitaria Smithsonian Ethnic Folkways Records FE 4066. from the central Cuban city of Trinidad is sometimes 1982 : USA. (Recorded 1954 – 78.) discussed as part of this tradition (see Le ó n 1984, HETTIE MALCOMSON 163). Martha Esquenazi P é rez states that the coros de clave tradition migrated to the city of Sancti Sp í ritus Coros de Clave (near Trinidad) around 1894, and that societies were Coros de clave , literally ‘ clave choirs, ’ were ambula- founded there in the early twentieth century (2001, tory choral groups that would circulate in the streets 210). She also discusses the tonada trinitaria within of the western Cuban cities of Havana and Matanzas the coros de clave tradition, specifi cally noting that the in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, diff erent choral groups were, like the coros , defi ned by particularly during the Christmas holidays. Although neighborhood of origin and engaged in competition this tradition has not been extant at least since the during the Christmas holidays (ibid., 211). 1960s, its repertoire and vocal style are thought to Th ere does not seem to be a consensus within be an important infl uence on guaguanc ó , the most the scholarship about how long this tradition lasted. 223 EEncyclopediancyclopedia ..indbindb 222323 11/14/2014/14/2014 33:50:33:50:33 PPMM Genres: Caribbean and Latin America Th e dates given for its disappearance range from the utilized cajones , or wooden boxes of various sizes that early twentieth century (Al é n Rodr í guez 1998, 863; functioned as drums (Esquenazi P é rez 2001, 217; É vora 1997, 189), to the 1920s (Sublette 2004, 263), to Sublette 2004, 263), which also constituted the instru- the 1950s (Esquenazi P é rez 2001, 218). Nonetheless, mental ensemble of early rumba, before the incorpo- both É vora (1997, 187) and Argeliers Le ó n (1984, 161) ration of conga drums in the 1930s. Esquenazi P é rez suggest that the famed Matanzas group Bando Azul implies that there may also have been a greater spirit was still extant in the early 1960s, and Grasso Gonz á lez of rivalry within the coros de guaguanc ó tradition, and asserts that it was still active into the 1980s (1989, 9). presents fragments from a few songs that constitute puyas , or lyrical battles of wit between groups. A few Musical Description of the most famous coros de guaguanc ó in Havana were Coros de clave were constituted by as many as 150 El Paso Franco, Azules Amalianos (formed as early as choral singers, and generally included a director, 1862) and Los Roncos, the last of which became the usually the most experienced member of the group, most famous in part because its main composer was and a clarina , a female lead singer who possessed a legendary son musician Ignacio Pineiro. Some of the particularly powerful voice, and who engaged in call famous coros de rumba in Matanzas were the Bando and response with the chorus, usually singing in two- Azul, the Bando Rojo, El Marino and Los Congos or three-part harmony (Moore 1997, 92). In addition, de Angonga. Th e Bando Azul, which maintained a the decimista was the primary composer of the group, famous rivalry with the Bando Rojo, emerged in 1910 the tonista kept the group in tune and functioned as from an Arar á cabildo (Grasso Gonz á lez 1989, 11), a conductor, and the censor was ‘ responsible for the which was dedicated to preserving the religion and quality of the song texts and the beauty of the mel- traditions of slaves and descendants from the ancient odies ’ (Al é n Rodr í guez 1998, 836). Th e d é cima , or kingdom of Dahomey, present-day Benin. Th is his- Spanish ten-line poetic form, was the most common tory thus constitutes evidence of the close links lyrical structure, although sometimes texts consisted between the choral societies and the Afro-Cuban of more simple rhyme schemes. Descriptions of the cabildo tradition. instrumental ensemble used to accompany coros de Although coros de clave and guaguanc ó are no longer clave vary somewhat within the literature, but the extant traditions, and unfortunately do not seem to most commonly mentioned instruments are guitar(s), have been recorded in their original manifestations, claves and viola , a string-less banjo that was struck in their infl uence lives on in secular traditions still prac- a percussive manner. In addition, accompaniment ticed in the early twenty-fi rst century. For example, could include a small harp, botija (earthenware jug the mobile performance format of coros de clave is that is blown and serves a bass function) or other echoed in the Cuban carnival comparsas , which are instruments. It is likely that there was substantial also ambulatory ensembles that parade through the regional variation in the instrumentation of central streets and engage in lyrical competition and friendly Cuban manifestations of the tradition, especially in rivalry. In fact, Le ó n (1984, 161 – 2) notes that the coros tonada trinitaria (Esquenazi P é rez, 212). oft en organized comparsas during Carnival, compos- Although coros de clave and coros de guaguanc ó are ing special songs for the occasion, and Crist ó bal D í az oft en discussed as the same tradition, some scholars Ayala (2003, 109) asserts that the coros de guaguanc ó note diff erences between the two, with most asserting were the basis for the renewal of comparsas aft er they that the latter evolved from the former (see Esquenazi were banned for a period in the 1910s. Th e most P é rez 2001, 215; Sublette 2004, 263). Argeliers Le ó n important legacy of this tradition is in the arena of diff erentiates them further, by noting that they devel- rumba song, and prominent rumba groups – such as oped independently of each other and that the coros the Havana-based Clave y Guaguanc ó (whose name is de clave repertoire was more oft en appropriated for a homage to the defunct practice) and the Matanzas- use in the teatro bufo , or comic theater, tradition based Afrocuba de Matanzas – still perform songs (Le ó n 1984, 163).

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