The Art Of Music And Poetry

The Art of Music and Poetry as One

"Afro-Cuban music is the root of today's salsa. It is steeped in cultural identity and embraces the folklore of every town and province of the tropics. It is a source of pride, of happiness, of being alive. It is what I bring to the people."

These are the wise words of Celia Cruz, the "Queen of Salsa and Latin Music." She easily grabs the attention of her audience with her calm composure, vibrant smile and striking attire, as seen in her PBS live concert. Her style of music though, is her true genuinely extraordinary attribute. Her Ð''charmed tune, rapid firm staccato, bits of witty wisdom, social commentary, and great observations in tune' is what makes Cruz unique and one of the coolest representations of Latin American music today. Her lyrics consist of life in Cuba, love, and society.

Salsa is the style of music that Cruz performs. Most salsa compositions derive from the Cuban son and are a fusion of West African rhythmic and textual principles. Songs are based on a two-part formal structure, with verses sung by the lead vocalist, followed by a call-and-response section known as the montuno. The montuno section features driving rhythms, solo improvisation and punchy brass choruses' known as mambos. Salsa ensembles typically include vocal, Cuban percussion, piano, bass, trumpets, trombones and saxophones, and usually range from 10 to 14 members.

To better understand salsa, we must look at the source for where it derived from. Cuban Son music is to salsa as roots are to a tree. Although salsa may have many roots, the form that gave it rise and shape is the Cuban Son. Son derived from the Ð''changui' of the African slaves. This music then moved to the city and musician began to incorporate this African form with Spanish music. The Son in Cuba soon gained importance to the lives of the people. Armando Sanchez, the leader of Conjunto Son de Loma, stated that the Son "is a people's music- a true expression of the Cuban history and life." This Cuban form has gained such popularity in Cuba because it has a perfect balance of African and Hispanic touch to it that make it exotic and the Ð''highest expression of the cultural identity of the Caribbean nation of Cuba.'

The Son not only gained popularity and success in music, but also in other forms of art. A literary figure with great success in revolutionizing literature by breaking forms and styles was Nicolas Guillen. The time he entered the world of literature, movements were going sporadic and changes were occurring. The transition from modernism to post modernism was occurring and another movement in the Caribbean was taking place. Afro- Cubanism stemmed in the 1920's, from a rediscovery of the region's African heritage. Nicolas Guillen was the pathfinder in this movement with his first work of poetry that gave a Ð''starkly realistic portrait of urban life, entitled Motivos de son (Son Motifs, 1930).'

A few characteristics make Guillen a revolutionist and an important figure in Cuban poetry. First, is that he broke free from the rigid structure that the canonical tradition called for. Secondly, and most importantly, is the content Guillen used for his work. In his earlier work, the theme would evolve around the black condition. These characteristics are evident in the Son Motifs, his slim collection of eight poems that describes the lives of the black in Cuba's urban slum. Surprisingly, this gained much popularity among both the black and the white Cubans. It was accepted as an authentic Cuban art form.

The Son Motifs focused on the poor black person in the streets. They dealt with issues such as poverty and race. What set these poems apart from others of the time was that the poems were structured in the form of the Cuban Son. As a result, the poems were festive, lyrical, and musically inclined as they utilized the rhythmic patters of the Afro- Cuban dance. The important thing is that these poems were unlike anything during the time. They were so radically different that they were able to occupy a place in the Latin American literary canon. The mind set for this might have also been because he set such an example for the Afro- Cubans to explore intellectual terrains never imagined before.

The success of the Son Motifs comes not from the themes or content, but rather from the structure and creativity put into the making of the poems. In these sorts of poems, you are not just reading. It is more like watching a performance on stage. The Motifs come to life when read out loud, like a mini drama. Combining two distinct yet compatible forms of expression, the Son Motives are critical breakthroughs in the world of poetry.

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