Episodes

  • Ethnomusicologist Robin Moore joins Rebecca to discuss the subject of his forthcoming book, ViolĂ­n: Mediating Musical Style and Devotional Practice in 21st-Century Cuba. As music used to accompany ceremonies for the ancestors and orishas, violines have been growing in recent decades in Cuba, and are an example of an increasingly hybrid musical approach to worship in Cuba.

    Songs played (all by Orquesta Estrellas Cubanas except where noted):

    Ave Maria

    Plegaria a ObbatalĂĄ

    Two versions of Sea El SantĂ­simo - second one by Ifa Fore & Pepe y Sus Tambores

    DanzĂłn Virgen de Regla

    OchĂ­mini II

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    https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

  • The most beloved Cuban musician of all time was born on this day 100 years ago: Celia Cruz. We're honoring her with a brand new episode featuring Delia Poey, a professor at Florida State University who has written extensively about Celia's Career.

    Songs played:

    Quimbara

    Field recording of Afrocuba de Matanzas' version of Quimbara

    Chango Ta' VenĂ­

    Que Le Den Candela

    Usted AbusĂł

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    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

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  • Columbia University professor and trombonist Chris Washburne joins Rebecca to pay tribute to "el rumbero del piano," Eddie Palmieri, one of Latin music's most significant pioneers. His music straddled salsa, Latin jazz, and other genres, and he was known for his innovative experimentation in form and harmony.

    Songs played:

    AzĂșcar

    El dĂ­a que me quieras

    Broken home & If (We had peace today), from the Harlem River Drive project

    Puerto Rico

    Rebecca's recent piece on Eddie Palmieri:

    https://www.grammy.com/news/how-eddie-palmieri-changed-latin-music-obituary

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    Find The Clave Chronicles on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @clavechronicles
    https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

  • Cuban journalist Rafa Escalona joins Rebecca to talk about the latest trends in Cuban music, including how hard it is to track this information on the island and how recent out-migration has affected the evolution and definition of "mĂșsica cubana." While contemporary Cuban music is of course dominated by reparto, the songs shared by Rafa provide a broader look into the latest trends.

    Songs played:

    Un Momentico + — Melanie Santiler & Dale Pututi

    Andala Remix — Wildey, Musteerifa & Raydel El Q Manda

    Suite Para Isaac Oviedo — Jorge Iván Martín feat. Juan Carlos Aguilera

    Amanacer Sin Ti — Albita & Lenier

    Tertuliando — Angel Toirac feat.

    LINKS

    Newness Cuba playlist (50 best songs in Cuban music from the past year): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1gPyKTGHHQy16z7YO2lhHV

    Cuba Tracklist (Instagram account with weekly lists of most popular Cuban tracks): https://www.instagram.com/cubatracklist/

    Rafa's Substack: https://divagacionesmusicales.substack.com/

    A recent piece Rafa wrote (in Spanish) about reparto and YouTube: https://revistaelestornudo.com/reparto-youtube-dicen-charts-musica-cubana/

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    Find The Clave Chronicles on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @clavechronicles
    https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

  • Kevin Moore is back to help us pay tribute to one of timba's brightest stars, Paulito FG (EPD), who died tragically on March 1.

    Songs played:

    El humo o la vida, Dan Den feat. Paulito FG

    Y ahora que,

    Percussion and vocal track for Entre Dos Amigos

    No te lo creas,

    Laura (demo track)

    El punto

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    Find The Clave Chronicles on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @clavechronicles
    https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

  • Finally, we're back with a brand new episode, inspired by Bad Bunny's love letter to Puerto Rico, DebĂ­ Tirar MĂĄs Fotos! We get deep into the weeds of the Puerto Rican musical and political traditions that are referenced in Bad Bunny's wide-ranging, exquisitely produced album. Joining Rebecca are Puerto Rican musician and educator Hector Lugo (founder of the Bay Area Latin roots band La Mixta Criolla), and Puerto Rican writer, translator and Bad Bunny scholar Carina del Valle Schorske.

    Songs played:

    A Guayama, Desde Cero

    Si Yo Fuera Alcalde, ChuĂ­to el de BayamĂłn

    Aires de Navidad, Hector Lavoe & Willie ColĂłn

    La Huelga, La Mixta Criolla

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    Find The Clave Chronicles on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @clavechronicles
    https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

  • Send a text

    Support the show

    You can support this independently produced podcast by becoming a monthly subscriber - even $3/month helps!

    If you like this podcast, please hit "Follow" and give us a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts

    Find The Clave Chronicles on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @clavechronicles
    https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

  • Cuban journalist JesĂșs Jank Curbelo joins Rebecca to speak about a range of topics, including the legacy of El Taiger, one of Cuba's most popular artists who was killed recently in Miami. We also talk about Curbelo's career in Cuba reporting on the reparto movement, as well as the pain of leaving Cuba and challenges of building a new life in Texas.
    Curbelo has published several pieces at the Texas Observer and Palabra.

    Conversation in Spanish. Follow along with an English-language transcript here:
    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1El7dqfI2n-eTFs--dNryJI8OBsqXRhePszFu6I1PCzg/edit?usp=sharing


    Songs played:

    Coronamos (Remix), Taiger & J. Balvin (feat. Cosculluela, Bad Bunny & Bryant Myers)
    Hilito Rojo, El Taiger & DJ Conds

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    Support the show

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    Find The Clave Chronicles on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @clavechronicles
    https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

  • Part 2 of Rebecca's conversation with Cuban music historian Rosa Marquetti. The second edition of her book Celia en Cuba (1925-1962) was recently published in Spanish, and will be translated into English next year.

    Conversation in Spanish. Follow along with an English-language transcript here:
    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W8qgbzs7DHwP2JlTl3FDZfbCc2aLSFovv2SVxZSw3Xc/edit?usp=sharing


    Songs played:
    Quédate Negra, Celia con La Orquesta Leonard Melody
    La Sopa en Botella, Celia con La Sonora Matancera
    Sueños de Luna, Celia con La Sonora Matancera

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    Find The Clave Chronicles on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @clavechronicles
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    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

  • Rebecca speaks with Cuban music historian Rosa Marquetti Torres, author of several books, including one on Chano Pozo and another one on Celia Cruz's career in Cuba—the Celia book has just been released in a new edition!
    Part 1 of our conversation covers the challenges of conducting research in Cuba and her work on Chano Pozo

    Conversation in Spanish. Follow along with an English-language transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WKJZoLnQJHo3t85_AMxsZ08p_nwPNZ_rZTBDTKmgoSQ/edit?usp=sharing

    Songs played:
    El pin pin, Chano Pozo
    Tin Tin Deo, Chano Pozo & Dizzy Gillespie

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    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

  • Ethnomusicologist Edwin Porras joins Rebecca to speak about Chinese musical influences in Cuba, which date back to the mid-19th century. The double-reeded suona was adopted by Santiago conga groups around 1915, becoming an unmistakable musical signifier for conga santiaguera.

    **Fun fact: Cuba was the first destination for Chinese laborers in the Americas, before even the U.S.**

    Songs played:
    Example of Cantonese opera
    Lion dancing musical accompaniment (field recording)
    Caridad Amaran and Georgina Wong performing excerpt of Cantonese opera in Havana (field recording)
    De Oriente a Occidente, Diana Fuentes
    Paso Franco en la loma de TivolĂ­, Conga Paso Franco

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    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

  • Eva Silot Bravo joins Rebecca again to talk about her recently published book, Cuban Fusion: The Transnational Cuban Alternative Music Scene, which focuses on Cuban musicians who have migrated to New York, Madrid, and other major cities since the 1990s. They have created new transnational musical scenes, with some traveling back and forth between Cuba and abroad, fusing jazz, Afro-Cuban folkloric music, nueva trova and other genres.

    Songs played:
    Levitando, Ramon Valle
    Bolero Filin, Gema Y Pavel
    Café, Interactivo
    Se Feliz, Fernando Alvarez & Descemer Bueno
    The Magic Danzonete, Dafnis Prieto
    Baba ElegguĂĄ, Brenda Navarrete

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    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

  • This week The Clave Chronicles is sharing an episode of Cuban Serenade, a podcast exploring the history of Cuban music in Canada that's hosted by Freddy Monasterio and Karen Dubinsky. This episode focuses on the genius of Cuban-Canadian pianist/composer/arranger Hilario DurĂĄn.
    Follow Cuban Serenade on your favorite podcast platform!

    Send a text

    Support the show

    You can support this independently produced podcast by becoming a monthly subscriber - even $3/month helps!

    If you like this podcast, please hit "Follow" and give us a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts

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    https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

  • Freddy Monasterio, a Cuban-born researcher, educator and arts administrator based in Toronto, joins Rebecca to talk about the Cuban musical diaspora in Canada. He also co-hosts a podcast on the topic called Cuban Serenade.

    Songs played:
    La Reina del Norte, OKAN
    Cry Me a River, Hilario Duran and his Latin Jazz Big Band
    La Ceiba de Mayuya, Luis Deniz Group
    Rebirth, Dee Hernandez

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    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

  • Anthropologist and prolific scholar Umi Vaughan, author of Rebel Dance, Renegade Stance: Timba Music and Black Identity, joins Rebecca to speak about his 25 years of research on timba and how the genre has changed in the past three decades. Vaughan has been conducting research in Brazil more recently, and will soon be publishing a book on the repression of Afro-Brazilian religious practice and music.

    Songs played:
    La bola, Manolín El Médico de la Salsa
    De La Habana, Paulo FG
    No estamos locos, David Calzado y Charanga Habanera
    Mi medicamento, Havana D' Primera
    La chica del escenario, Havana D' Primera

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    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

  • Legendary Afro-Cuban hip hop group Krudxs Cubensi (Odaymar Cuesta and Oli Prendes) join Rebecca to speak about their career and the particular challenges they've faced as artists who are Afro-Cuban, queer, non-binary, and immigrants. Their latest album, They/Them Les Elles, features collaborations with Greg Landau and many other Bay Area-based musicians.

    Songs played:
    Mi cuerpo es mĂ­o
    You are not better than me
    They/them les elles
    Justicia y libertad

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    Support the show

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    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

  • Percussionist and educator David Peñalosa, author of the book The Clave Matrix, joins Rebecca for an in-depth discussion on the concept of clave, delving into its origins, variations and the way it works in various Afro-Cuban genres. If you've ever wondered what 3-2 or 2-3 clave means or what the difference is between "son clave," "rumba clave" and 6/8 clave, this episode is for you!

    Songs played:
    Eco (bembé-abakuå), Julito Collazo and Mongo Santamaria
    Los beodos, Los Muñequitos de Matanzas
    Era una gran señora, Alberto Zayas
    Wanileilo (makuta), Cabildo Kunalungo de Sagua La Grande
    Andule andule (makuta), Cabildo De Congos Reales
    Chinatown (Philadelphia Mambo), Tito Puente

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    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

  • Back by popular demand, Mike Levine joins Rebecca again to speak about the latest happenings in Cuban reparto, including a recent controversy related to the genre's popularity in Peru.

    Check out the new Buzzsprout option below to send Rebecca a message about the episode!

    Songs played:
    Reparto, DJ Yus, Wampi, Nesty, Wow Popy, Un Titico, JP El Chamaco
    Por Ustedes (Pornosotros), Wampi
    Toma que toma, JP El Chamaco
    Birribiri, Harryson

    Wampi live in Lima
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVOxxbOe4Lo&t=4s

    Official video for "Reparto", the response to the controversy, with reparto dancing
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TesmP7wL3wM

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    Support the show

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    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

  • Scholar and singer Hannah BurgĂ© Luviano joins Rebecca to discuss the career of the "King of Mambo," DĂĄmaso Perez Prado. Unable to achieve much acclaim in Cuba because of his unique compositional style, PĂ©rez Prado struck gold after relocating to Mexico in the 1940s.

    Songs played:
    México Lindo
    Mi Gallo
    Mambo Politécnico
    Pianola

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    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

  • 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 Gramatges
    Sonata a la Virgen del Cobre, No. 2, Argeliers Leon
    Quinteto No. 1, Juan Blanco
    Cirkus Toccata, Juan Blanco

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    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions