Cuban Folk Music - Classification of Genres

Classification of Genres

The Cuban folk music is the traditional music that persisted up to the first decades of 20th-century. Many of this genres entered the popular music sphere.

The Cuban folk music is classified in complejos by musicologists:

• Complejo de la rumba, with its variants yambú, guaguancó, columbia, congas and comparsas.
• Complejo del danzón, with its variants contradanza, danzonete, mambo and chachachá.
• Complejo del son, with its variants changüí, sucu-sucu and guaracha.

One of the main styles used is the son. The son consists of many repeating sections and features much improvisation. It combines the Spanish elements of guitar with African rhythms as well as percussion.

• Complejo de la canción. Bolero, filin.
• Complejo del punto, with its variants punto libre and punto fijo.

All the genres are performed by people of different ethnicities, afrocubans, mulatos, trigueños and whites.