Zaragemca's Bass and Clave history

[davidpenalosa]

...my ancestors knew more than all of those Scholars together..Dr. Zaragemca

I was waiting for that!!!

[zaragemca]

El son es lo más sublime para el alma divertir

se devería de morir quien por bueno no lo estime.

Ignacio Piñeiro

" El origen del Son se ubica en la región oriental de la isla cubana principalmente en Santiago y en la cordillera montañosa de Sierra Maestra. También, se menciona la provincia de Guantánamo y se asocia con las fiestas Changüí que allí se celebraban. Este género musical surge a fines del siglo XIX como parte de la forjación de la nacionalidad cubana.

El Son se comenzó a popularizar en los carnavales de Santiago para el 1892 por un interprete llamado Nené Manfugás, éste ejecutaba un instrumento rústico de tres cuerdas doble y una caja de madera llamado Tres, el cual se convertiría en el símbolo del Son hasta el día de hoy. En sus inicios su estructura musical se basaba en la repetición constante de un estribillo de cuatro compases o menos cantado por un coro, conocido como el Montuno. En éste la improvisación que realiza un cantante solista, por lo general contrastante con el estribillo. Al asentarse en los centros urbanos adquiere un elemento estructural de la música europea, la inclusión de una sección cerrada, que se ubicó al inicio del canto y fue seguida por el estribillo o Montuno. En la primera parte del Son se centralizó el tema, esto enmarcó la improvisación o Montuno a repeticiones del tema con algunas variantes sobre el mismo.

Los instrumentos originales del Son fueron: el tres y la guitarra como una manifestación concreta la cultura hispana, el bongó aportó la concepción de la interpretación politímbrica que se desprende de sus múltiples formas de ejecución, las maracas y la clave normalmente ejecutadas por el cantante ("Sin clave no hay Son") y, finalmente, la marímbula y la botija que fueron sustituidas por el contrabajo en los predios urbanos.

En el Son se da un sincretismo musical entre los instrumentos percusivos africanos y los instrumentos de cuerda pulsada españoles; en el aspecto vocal entre la décima española y el canto alternado entre coro y solista (antifonal) de origen africano." Dr. Zaragemca



Edited By zaragemca on 1150228693

[davidpenalosa]

Ignacio Piñeiro
" El origen del Son se ubica en la región oriental de la isla cubana principalmente en Santiago y en la cordillera montañosa de Sierra Maestra. También, se menciona la provincia de Guantánamo y se asocia con las fiestas Changüí que allí se celebraban.

:cool:

[ralph]

Hi Ralph,
I can only offer some semi-educated guesses. Did Ben have an answer to your question?

Not that I remember, although he is probably where I got the notion that tumba francesa may have had primary influence over this...thanks for the reply...your response does shed a little more light on the subject...

[zaragemca]

As it have been since the time I was a kid,(in Cuba), what they called a Son was a 'Decima Guajira' in which they used the Guitar,(for harmony),and the Tres, (as dynamic percutive interaction),but it DIDN"T SOUND LIKE THE ACTUAL SON,..all the musical structural change,the change in the harmony,the change in the lyrics,the incorporation of the Clave,incorporation of the Bongos,the name of Sextetos,Septetos,and later Conjuntos,the incorporation of the Trumpet and Piano and later the Timbales and Congas,(everything happenned in the Habana)...Ancestor of Son,(Bolero and Danzon),...name associated with the Son,(Changui,Guajira,Guateque).Dr. Zaragemca



Edited By zaragemca on 1150315406

[ABAKUA]

Gerry, could you please answer in what year did you leave Cuba?
Thankyou.

[zaragemca]

Houston,Texas
-----------Zaragemca's biography---------------------------------------------------------------------

We all would see how long this post would last.This is why I'm considered Master Percussionist from my students and the people which had worked with me.I was born and raised in a rumberos-house in the neighborhood of 'Los Sitios' which have fame all over Cuba for his percussionist,(conga players and Bata players), I couldn't affort a drum,so I was into hand percussion,untill around 11 years old,but I did start with my ancestors the learning of African-Drumming-Patterns, Yoruba,Arara,Bantu,etc.,and learning from the weekly Rumba jamming of the top rumberos of the neighborhood,(some of them comming from others neighborhood to compete).Also close observasion of the percussion riffs of the yearly Carnival,(where differents percussionist would come every year with percusion patterns to outgrow the other competitors).Then in school I get in to drumming,and by late 60's get in to Rock and Jazz,(which was prohibited at that time in Cuba),but I kept defending the right to play that music,that situation and not joining the communist party,ultimately brought me to the U.S...In the U.S., after I came to Houston i started getting called by mexicans bands,so I have played with around five mexican bands,(two of them show-bands),where I have to play everything. I also played with the top Vallenato-Orquesta at that time in Houston,(Colombian Music),and was able to share the stage with the best colombian bands comming to Houston at that time,Grupo Niche,Fruco y sus Tesos,Los Graduados,Los Corraleros de Majagual,Pipe Pimienta, later from Honduras,(Central America),Silver Star,Los Rolands,Banda Blanca,(around that time I started getting requested to teach).The business of music and curiosity took me to traveling to other States,( I did work for three record labels,G.P. Records,Ramex Records,and Balboa Records).Then in California I did work for Universal Studios,(where I did learn a lot in relation to film Industry and promotion).Back in Houston,I started playing with la Sonora Santa Ana,(and sharing the stage with the top bands from El Salvador,(in The Carnavales de San Miguels),with was a yearly celebration.From there in to Salsa-Cumbia-Merengue band,(in 1998 I started my teaching of African,Afrocuban,and Brazilian percussion .Also I was part of the Core-Band, of the Red Cat Jazz Cafe,( playing all type of jazz in the open jam every Tuesday around 6 years)...From there I got called from an Austin band to play at the Bob Marley's Festival,( I did played two festivals with that Band),Then I have the opportunity to play with top Djembe players and Ensembles from,Ghana,Senegal,Guinea,South Africa, and Ethiopian Bands.(several of the african players becoming my percussion students).Again playing at Bob Marley's Festival,(This time with Dr. King Cobra Band), we were playing,.Reggae,Calipso,Socka,Afro-Jazz,and Afro-Pop...At this point I started teaching advanced percussion structure,multy-Percussion Patterns,and writing articles about Percussion,(The foundation of Drumming),(Classification of an Advanced drummer),(Zaragemca brief on Jazz),(Zaragemca's bongos,congas,Timbales and bata),and other which are available in the internet.There was an audition for percussionists,(around 20's percussionists,the number 1,2,3, players of that audition were all Djembe players from my training).Started performing with my Drumming Ensemble,at Clubs,Universities,Festivals,Private parties, Corporate Events, and Clinics for Guitar Centers store..I had the opportunity to be invited for performing at a Buddhist Temple with Table,Darbukas,and Djembe. The notice of my Samba-Bateria brought a group of people from Brazil which were thrilled,(becouse I had incorporated few 'cookies' to play the Samba which were news),so they took a lot of pictures and a video which is somewhere around Brazil.Also I'm the first cuban to use the Djembe as a lead instrument for Guaguanco-Rumba, and introduced it into the Ethiopian Music,( have played congas too).The mayority of my students are caucasian,but I had also,africans,cubans,puertorican,colombian,mexican s,british,canadian,indian,brazilian,afro-american,costarican,venezuelan,etc.I'm actually playing with a Fusion-Reggae Band,teaching,and doing consultation.I recetly did a unique show with a mexican with is a known Muralist-Painter, another mexican,( specialist in Azteca-Percussion), a guy from Bolivia playing Zampona,and Quena,(from Inda-Culture),and I was doing Drum-Set,Vibra-Slap,Wind Chimes,Rattles,Rain-Fores,China-Gons,Bongos,etc.This is the first time that this have been done,putted together like this.(It was sponsored by M.E.C.A.),a mexican cultural school here in Houston.
__

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[JohnnyConga]

He can never answer with a 5 word answer....he is asking WHAT YEAR DID U LEAVE CUBA?????????..."JC" Johnny Conga... ???

[zaragemca]

Sorry the year was 1980.Dr. Zaragemca

[JohnnyConga]

Did u come with the Mariel Boatlift?....."JC" Johnny Conga...

[zaragemca]

In 1980 when we heard that the guards at the Peru's Embassy were removed becouse the incident which happenend,a lot of people from Habana and my Barrio,(Los Sitios),went there, thousands of people were all over the place,they gave the guaranty that everybody which was there would be taking care of,and with a piece of paper they told us to go home and wait,(it was a change which be took to be screw up but we did,(and the rest is history).Dr. Zaragemca



Edited By zaragemca on 1150476357

[ABAKUA]

In 1980 when we heard that the guards at the Peru's Embassy were removed becouse the incident which happenend,a lot of people from Habana and my Barrio,(Los Sitios),went there, thousands of people were all over the place,they gave the guaranty that everybody which was there would be taking care of,and with a piece of paper they told us to go home and wait,(it was a change which be took to be screw up but we did,(and the rest is history).Dr. Zaragemca

So thats a 'no' ???? You did not arrive as part of the Mariel Harbour boatlift?

[zaragemca]

Well what happened was that the government at that time,did a trick, and brought people from the jails,homosexuals,and mental/hospital and set them up together,(in the mariel beach), which the one requesting political/asylum,and nobody but the government knew what was going on.Dr. Zaragemca



Edited By zaragemca on 1150564718

[davidpenalosa]

Did YOU arrive as part of the Mariel Harbour boatlift?

[zaragemca]

Not I came here with the Father Felix Varela exilio in 1824,(Are you fallowing the post david?). Dr. Zaragemca