joséito's hideaway, Dec 13, 2023
From Cuban Rumba directed & edited by Yvonne Payne
Daniel PhD 1992.
Originally accompanied a doctoral dissertation entitled
Ethnography of Rumba: Dance and Social Change in Contemporary Cuba.
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Excerpt of this video's auto-generated transcript (given without time stamps and including punctuation and some spelling corrections)
[the first dance] -"Here we see Rumba Yambu from Matanzas, the chase of a male and female dancer epitomizing the beauty and graciousness of the woman and the virtuosity and sensuality of the male.
[the second dance beginning at .047] This is Rumba Guaguanco performed by dancers from Losito De Matas Baro= Ramos and Anna Perez and including many gestures from ritual as well as popular dance."...
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Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents information about Cuba's Rumba Guaguanco dance and showcases four YouTube videos of that music and dance.
The content of that post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to the producers and publishers of these videos.
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2024/04/some-of-history-of-congolese-rumba.html for a related pancocojams post entitled "Some Of The History Of Congolese Rumba (videos & information)".
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INFORMATION ABOUT GUAGUANCO
Excerpt #1
From https://cubansinamerica.us/web/cuban-music/guaguanco/
"Guaguancó
A type of rumba. Originating in the aftermath of the
abolition of slavery on the island in 1886, guaguancó represents the fusion of
several Afro-Cuban profane rituals, known as rumbas. The other two important
varieties are yambú and columbia. Guaguancó’s dancers, moving to the beat of
percussion instruments and surrounded by a chorus with a lead singer, perform a
figurative erotic choreography. The male pursues the female with strong pelvic
movements of a mimetic nature. She, in turn, evades and repels him, until
ultimately surrendering. The final
symbolic act of possession is known as the vacunao.
Many, if not most, guaguancós were anonymous compositions. The oldest, dating from late Spanish colonial era, are known as rumbas “de tiempo España.” Though African in rhythm, the guaguancó reveals certain Spanish influences, especially by way of flamenco and the rural décimas, in the text of its songs. According to Mongo Santamaría (b. 1927), one of the genre’s leading interpreters, guaguancó came about when Afro- Cubans tried to sing flamenco.
Founded in the 1950s, the ensemble “Muñequitos de Matanzas”
has performed traditional rumba, especially guaguancó, in the urban Matanzas
style. Since the late 1990s, authentic Cuban rumba has experienced an
international revival, largely due to groups like the “Muñequitos de Matanzas,”
Los Papines, AfroCuba, and others."
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Excerpt #2
"From https://everythingsoulful.com/what-is-guaguanco/
"Guaguancó is one of the most popular styles of rumba that is
still danced today. Rumba developed among the different African ethnic groups,
primarily from Central and West Africa, who were brought to Cuba as
slaves. Guaguancó, like the other rumba
styles Yambu and Columbia, developed in the middle 1800’s. Guaguancó is played in 2/4 or 4/4 tempo
giving it a moderate to fast tempo. Guaguanco is danced by a male-female couple
and consists of a flirtatious, sexual game with a distinctive body movement
called the vacunao (“pelvic thrust) performed by the male dancer. Dance
historians have noted that the vacunao is found in other African based dances
in Latin America and the Guaguancó maybe derived from the “yuka”, a secular
dance of the Bantu people.
“The couple begins to dance…the male dancer is more active
as he circles around her without touching her. The dance climaxes as the male
attempts to give the vacuano when the female is unprepared to avoid it. Much of
her dancing expertise resides in her ability to entice the male while
skillfully avoiding being touched by his vacunao.” (Boggs 1992)
By the turn of the century, rumba had migrated to the black working class neighborhoods of Cuban cities. The music consisted mainly of percussive instruments including drums, wooden boxes (cajones), tables and chairs, spoons and jars. During the first half of the 20th century rumba bands were comprised of singers, one or more large drums (tumbadoa-conga and tumbadora-salidor), a small conga drum (quinto) and a pair of wooden sticks (palitos) that were beaten against the side of one of the drums.
Claves (two hardwood sticks that are struck together) and
the cajones were often added to the ensemble. You can still see remnants of
guaguanco in the hip and pelvic motions of of today’s salsa dancers when the
couple separates and each person dances “freestyle”."
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Excerpt #3
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guaguanc%C3%B3
"Guaguancó (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡwaɣwaŋˈko]) is a
subgenre of Cuban rumba, combining percussion, voices, and dance. There are two
main styles: Havana and Matanzas.
Percussion
battery of three conga drummers: the tumba (lowest), tres
dos (middle, playing a counter-clave), and quinto (highest, and lead drum).
These parts may also be played on cajones, wooden boxes.
claves usually played by a singer
guagua (aka Catà) (hollowed piece of bamboo)
maraca and/or a chekeré playing the main beats
Other instruments may be used on occasion, for example
spoons, palitos (wooden sticks striking the side of the drum), and tables and
walls played like drums.
Song
The term guaguancó originally referred to a narrative song
style (coros de guaguancó) which emerged from the coros de claves of the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Rogelio Martínez Furé states:
"[The] old folks contend that strictly speaking, the guaguancó is the
narrative."[6] The guaguancó song often begins with the soloist singing
meaningless syllables, which is called the diana. According to Larry Crook, the
diana is important because it "... also contains the first choral refrain.
The lead singer provides a phrase or motive for the choral sections, or they
may present new, but related material. Parallel harmonies are usually built
above or below a melodic line, with thirds, sixths, and octaves most
common."[7] Therefore, the singer who is presented with singing the diana
initiates the beginning of the guaguancó. He then may proceed to improvise
lyrics stating the reason for holding the present rumba ('decimar'; span.: to
make ten-line stanzas), During the verses of the song the quinto is capable of
sublime creativity, while musically subordinate to the lead vocalist. There are
natural pauses in the cadence of the verses, typically one or two measures in
length, where the quinto can play succinct phrases in the "holes"
left by the singer. Once the chorus (or montuno section) of the song begins,
the phrases of the quinto interact with the dancers more than the lead singer.
Dance
Guaguancó is an Afro Cuban couple dance of sexual
competition between the male and female. The male periodically attempts to
"catch" his partner with a single thrust of his pelvis. This erotic
movement is called the vacunao (‘vaccination’ or more specifically
‘injection’), a gesture derived from yuka and makuta [dances], symbolizing
sexual penetration. The vacunao can also be expressed with a sudden gesture
made by the hand or foot. The quinto often accents the vacunao, usually as the
resolution to a phrase spanning more than one cycle of clave. Holding onto the
ends of her skirt while seductively moving her upper and lower body in contrary
motion, the female "opens" and "closes" her skirt in
rhythmic cadence with the music. The male attempts to distract the female with
fancy (often counter-metric) steps, accented by the quinto, until he is in
position to "inject" her. The female reacts by quickly turning away,
bringing the ends of her skirts together, or covering her groin area with her
hand (botao), symbolically blocking the "injection." Most of the time
the male dancer does not succeed in "catching" his partner. The dance
is performed with good-natured humor—David Peñalosa.[8]
Vernon Boggs states that the woman's "dancing expertise resides in her ability to entice the male while skillfully avoiding being touched by his vacunao."[9] The pattern of quinto strokes and the pattern of the man's dance steps are at times identical, and at other times, imaginatively matched. The quinto player must be able to switch phrases immediately in response to the dancer’s ever-changing steps.”…
YOUTUBE VIDEOS
These videos are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.
This video is embedded at the top of this post.
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VIDEO #2 - Rumba Guaguanco Dance - Domingo Pau & Dayana Torres
Socioswing - Boogalu Productions, Jun 26, 2013
Rumba Guaguanco Dance - Domingo Pau & Dayana Torres
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SalseandoChevere Cuba, Premiered Dec 1, 2020
RUMBA GUAGUANCO
Video: Pedro A. Rodríguez Díaz
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VIDEO #4 - Rumba Guaguancó, , Los Angeles, California
Patricia Vision, Sep 1, 2022
Una de las expresiones más populares de la música Cubana que le ha dado al mundo, es la Rumba Guaguancó. El hombre hace los movimientos pelvicos para "vacunar" a la mujer ya sea con el pañuelo, la mano, el pie y ella sensualmente sacude con su pañuelo que él no la pudo "vacunar". Los tamboreros son también parte de la conversación ya que ellos siguen el ritmo, cantos y enfatizan con toques agudos cuándo el hombre "vacuna".
You are watching one of the most popular expressions of the many musical gifts Cuba has given to the world. Watch for the way the male dancer tries to catch the female dancer off guard so that he can "vacunar" her with his foot, his hand or a pelvic thrust and the way she flirtatiously cleans herself with the scarf or skirt to prove that he wasn't quick or slick enough to succeed. The drummers are also part of the conversation as they contribute to the pace and accentuate the movements of the dancers.
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Here's Google translate's Spanish to English translation of the summary that is given in Spanish:
"One of the most popular expressions of Cuban music that it has given to the world is the Rumba Guaguancó. The man makes pelvic movements to "vaccinate" the woman either with his handkerchief, his hand, or her foot and she sensually shakes him with her handkerchief because he could not "vaccinate" her. The drummers are also part of the conversation since they follow the rhythm, sing and emphasize with high-pitched touches when the man "vaccinates."
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For comparison's purposes, click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iODr4JisDE for a 2024 video entitled "American Rumba vs International Rumba (what you need to know)".
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