Son Cubano — The Mother of All Rhythms

The Son Cubano is the foundation of Cuban music — and the father of Salsa, Mambo, Cha-Cha-Chá, and a dozen other genres. Emerging at the end of the 19th century in eastern Cuba (Oriente), the Son combines Spanish guitar tradition with African rhythms: the Tres (Cuban three-string guitar) provides the melody, the Claves (two wooden sticks) the rhythm, Bongos and Maracas the percussion, with bass and trumpet added later.

The Son became popular throughout Cuba in the 1920s thanks to the Sexteto Habanero and the Trío Matamoros. In the 1940s, musicians like Arsenio Rodríguez further developed the Son — more instruments, more complex arrangements — laying the groundwork for Salsa, which exploded in New York from the 1970s onwards.

The best place to experience Son live is the Casa de la Trova in Santiago de Cuba — the genre's motherhouse. Here, musicians who have been preserving the tradition for decades play in a small room full of photos and history.