The Clave Chronicles Rebecca Bodenheimer

Scholar and singer Hannah Burgé Luviano joins Rebecca to discuss the career of the "King of Mambo," Dámaso Perez Prado. Unable to achieve much acclaim in Cuba because of his unique compositional style, Pérez Prado struck gold after relocating to Mexico in the 1940s.Songs played:México LindoMi GalloMambo PolitécnicoPianolaSend us a Text Message.Support the Show.If you like this podcast, please subscribe and give us a 5-star rating on Apple PodcastsFollow The Clave Chronicles on Twitter, Instag...

Musicologist Marysol Quevedo joins Rebecca to speak about Cuban art music composers of the mid-20th century, such as Harold Gramatges, Juan Blanco and Argeliers Leon. As she details in her recent book, although their works largely relied on classical music structures and forms, they brought in elements of Cuban popular and folkloric music. Pieces played:Tres preludios a modo de toccata, Harold GramatgesSonata a la Virgen del Cobre, No. 2, Argeliers LeonQuinteto No. 1, Juan BlancoCirkus T...

Cuban dancer, musician, and educator Roberto Borrell speaks with Rebecca about his incredibly versatile career, spanning popular and folkloric styles. He talks about growing up hearing the legendary bands of the 1950s like Orquesta Aragón and Chappottín y Sus Estrellas, and attending the Black social clubs that were eliminated in the early years of the Revolution.Songs played:Linda cubana, Orquesta de Antonio Maria RomeuMambo, Arcaño y Sus MaravillasLa engañadora, Orquesta América de Ni...

Punk cubano emerged during the Special Period crisis, giving young disaffected Cubans an outlet to express their angst and rage, often toward the Cuban government. Carmen Torre Pérez joins Rebecca to speak about the counter-cultural genre and its DIY ethics.Songs played: J*****s y perdidos, RoturaEres tú, EskoriaAzul, AkupunkturaEsta no es mi puta guerra, EztafilokokoRuido en el sistema, Pólvora SoxialSend us a Text Message.Support the Show.If you like this podcast, please subscribe and ...

(Rerun of nueva trova episode, first aired in July 2023)Nueva trova is one of the few Cuban genres that is for listening and reflecting instead of dancing - it's sung poetry, much like other Latin American singer-songwriter genres, namely nueva canción. Rebecca has an in-depth conversation with independent scholar and former Cuban diplomat Eva Silot Bravo about the major figures of nueva trova and how it came to be closely identified with the ideology of the Cuban Revolution. The genre's rela...

Ethnomusicologist and percussionist Johnny Frias joins Rebecca to speak about one of the lesser known Afro-Cuban folkloric practices, the tonada trinitaria, from the central Cuban city of Trinidad. We then delve into the rumba percussion style that has become dominant in recent decades, guarapachangueo, created by a group of brothers from the outskirts of Havana known as Los Chinitos.Songs played:Una corona al General Maceo, Conjunto Folclórico de TrinidadPlegarias, Grupo Abbilona (Los Chinit...