Changui
History and Origins
Form
Instrumentation
Evolution
Media
Guararey De Pastora
This video features a performance of "Guararey De Pastora" by a Changui ensemble. As a popular standard in the Changui genre, the piece demonstrates themes of gossip in a humorous tone. More information for the potential meaning of the lyrics can be found here.
El Cocodrillo
This video features a performance of the song "El Cocodrillo" by a Changui ensemble. The song serves as an example of the utilization of humor in the genre, as evidenced by the call and response section in the chorus.
Coltrane Con Changui
This song features the use of Coltrane changes in the genre as a way of modernizing the genre by fusing it with jazz harmonies. The composer of this tune, Benjamin Lapidus, is a notable researcher of the genre. His book "Origins of Cuban Music and Dance: Changüí" is an indepth study of the genre and its influence in the formation of other genres.
Llego El Changui
Elio Revé Matos was a Cuban percussionist and composer who left a lasting legacy in the Cuban music scene. He founded one of the most respected orchestras in Cuba, the "Orquesta Revé," in 1956. The orchestra featured prominent musicians such as Ibrahim Ferrer, Chucho Valdés, Juan Formell, César "Pupy" Pedroso, Moisés Valle "Yumurí," and Juan Carlos Alfonso. Revé drew inspiration from changüí, a rural Cuban music genre that combined elements of Spain's canción and the Spanish guitar with African rhythms and percussion instruments of Bantu origin. He helped popularize changüí and brought Cuban music to multiple continents.
DOCUMENTARY ''OUR CHANGÜI''
The changüí is a music of rural or montuna origin. It emerged, just like the son, in the eastern part of the island of Cuba, more specifically in the municipalities near the city of Guantanamo. The changúi is derived from Nengón and its birth, at the end of the 19th century, is linked to figures such as the three-man Nené Manfugás.
CHANGÜI: The Sound Of Guantanamo
The song "Guararey de Pastora" is featured on the album "Changüí: The Sound of Guantánamo," released on July 9, 2021, by Petaluma Records. The album showcases various groups performing the traditional Cuban musical style of changüí, including Grupo Familia Vera, Grupo Changui de Guanta, Las Flores de Changui, and Grupo Estrellas Campesinas, who perform the featured song. The album's focus on the sound of Guantánamo highlights the region's important contributions to Cuban music and provides a valuable resource for scholars and enthusiasts of traditional Cuban music.