{"id":240505,"date":"2026-01-16T15:05:33","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T13:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visit-latin-america.com\/?p=240505"},"modified":"2026-01-16T15:05:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T13:05:34","slug":"cuban-son-at-the-roots-of-latin-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/visit-latin-america.com\/en\/cuban-son-at-the-roots-of-latin-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Cuban Son: At the Roots of Latin Music"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are musical styles that don\u2019t need introductions: they make themselves known from the very first notes. In Cuba<\/mark><\/a><\/strong>, this power has a precise name: son<\/strong>. Just a few chords are enough to recognise a way of inhabiting the island\u2019s everyday life. Much more than a memory from another time, this genre remains a living language, present in neighbourhoods, studios, and on stage. An expression where tradition and modernity coexist without apparent effort. It is precisely this balance\u2014between memory and the present\u2014that explains why son has become one of the musical pillars of the region. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A crossroads of traditions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
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The term son cubano<\/em> can be translated literally as \u201cCuban sound.\u201d It refers to a musical and dance genre that emerged at the end of the 19th century, born from the encounter between European and African traditions. Spanish influences brought the guitar and the tres<\/strong>\u2014a small three-course guitar\u2014along with melodic and vocal structures. The African contributions are expressed above all in the percussion, particularly through the clave<\/strong>, bongos<\/strong>, and maracas<\/strong>, which give son its characteristic heartbeat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This fusion did not remain confined to the countryside. When it reached Havana in the 1920s, son <\/em>incorporated the trumpet and the double bass, giving rise to larger ensembles. It then became an emblematic style of Latin music, spreading internationally over the decades\u2014to the point of being inscribed, since December 2025, on UNESCO\u2019s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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