Status
Though timba is considered to be a form of popular music, the technical mastery of timba is only possible through highly trained musicians, who have solid theoretical backgrounds in classical music, jazz, traditional Cuban music, as well as other international genres. This is made possible through the high standards of government-run music schools in Cuba, as well as the strong competition between musicians.
Government policy favours artistic excellence and Cuban music is regarded as a source of revenue and a legitimate way to attract tourism. However, the island's most popular dance bands have been virtually ignored by Latino radio in the USA and some parts of Cuba, and are absent from the charts. However, pieces of Cuban sound are beginning to reach large audiences in the USA through musical recordings produced by popular musicians, such as Willy Chirino and Qbadisc, from New York, Miami, and Puerto Rico who currently incorporate timba into their songs. New York and Puerto Rican musicians have further blended the double-hit bass drum in the breakdown in a more sophisticated way which does not exist in Cuba as of yet. Because of the available resources outside of Cuba, it is easier for musicians outside of the island to create music that has been heavily influenced by the Cubans. Meaning, it is easier for foreigners to imitate, create, and get their music out to the public more quickly because of the available technology. Gonzalo Grau, La Timba Loca band leader, hopes timba will gain popularity in the States, but he realizes that only small crowds will come to shows at first. Because of the politics surrounding Cuba, the music has not had a chance to gain exposure in the States and has not become as commercialized as traditional salsa from other Latin countries. Nevertheless, many Cuban musicians seek to work abroad, and a significant number of musicians now work in exile, both in the United States and in Europe (and to a lesser extent in Latin America), leading to a new wave of cross-breeding between the timba and salsa. While timba has gone past its peak in recent years, all major groups are still actively recording and performing, and major labels — especially in Europe — have started taking an interest in timba.
Because Timba is highly aggressive and a challenge to dance to some Cuban bands in search of a broader audience have intentionally made music that a majority of Latinos will find easy to dance to, mixing Latino staples such as salsa, merengue, and romantic ballads into the Cuban beat. By 1990, several bands had incorporated elements of funk and hip-hop into their arrangements, and expanded upon the instrumentation of the traditional conjunto with American drum set, saxophones and a two-keyboard format. Along with the Cuban congas and timbales, the drum set provided powerful funk and rock beats that added more punch to the rhythm section, and the bass players began to incorporate the playing techniques associated with funk, slapping, and pulling the strings in a percussive way. The combination of the trumpets and the saxes gave the horn section a more jazzed sound, and the harmony began to evolve on a more contemporary level.
Timba has start to become popular in the worldwide salsa scene today as commercial timba music selections are selectively accepted. However many salsa dancers consider it difficult to dance to, due to rapid rhythm and differential arrangements than traditional salsa and beats too strong to their ears, compounded by the strong Afro-Cubans rhythm heritage and the inability of many North American salsa dancers to listen to actual tempos. Nevertheless, it has found a niche among a growing number of fans and has been influential amongst Cuban-American and European salsa musicians. From the salsa dancer's perspective, timba (due to its rhythmically complex nature) is very hard to dance unless traditional Cuban salsa (also known as casino) is mastered and may require many years of practice. In the same way that musicians amalgamate salsa with funk, pop, jazz, rock & roll and even tango to create timba, dancing to timba reflects the rhythms/genre incorporated in the composition being danced to. Timba as a dance allows incorporation of moves seen in Afro-Cuban folklore, funk, pop, rock & roll etc., and the creation of new moves under the framework of Cuban casino.
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