Son Cubano

Son Cubano is the foundational popular music and dance form of Cuba, born in the eastern provinces (particularly Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo) in the late nineteenth century from the fusion of Spanish guitar-based traditions with African percussion and call-and-response vocals. Son became the primary ingredient in what the world would later call Salsa, making it arguably the single most influential Latin American music and dance style of the twentieth century.

The dance is performed by couples in a close or semi-open embrace, with a basic pattern built on a three-step-pause rhythm that would later evolve into the salsa basic. Partners shift weight in a side-to-side or forward-and-back pattern while incorporating turns, arm movements, and the distinctive Cuban motion — a rolling hip action generated by the alternating bending and straightening of the knees. Musical accompaniment features the tres (a Cuban guitar variant), bongos, maracas, claves, and the characteristic bass pattern called the tumbao. Son's golden age in Havana during the 1920s-1950s produced legendary groups like the Buena Vista Social Club, whose 1997 album introduced Son to a new global audience.