Several thousand people, most of them dressed in white, filled the streets and market square of the west coast fishing village on the first weekend of February for son cubano, salsa, rumba and mambo.
Kathrin Lucia Meyer is a freelance journalist. She writes about a range of topics relating to the Canary Islands - particularly La Palma - as well as issues concerning agriculture, tourism and the environment.
4 min read
Kathrin Lucia MeyerDie Fiesta del Son de Alcalá, die in den frühen 2000er Jahren zum ersten Mal auf Teneriffa stattfand, hat sich schnell zu einer beliebten Veranstaltung auf der Insel entwickelt. Das Fest wurde ins Leben gerufen, um die musikalischen und kulturellen Verbindungen zwischen der Karibik und den Kanarischen Inseln zu feiern.
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The two-day festival centres on Son Cubano, but also features other Caribbean musical styles such as salsa, rumba, mambo and cha-cha-cha, which are derived from Son.
Every year, several thousand people gather in the colourfully decorated streets and on the market square in Alcalá.
The Son Cubano in particular – a blend of Spanish, African and Caribbean rhythms – has become an integral part of culture on the Canary Islands thanks to the influence of Latin American immigrants.
Kathrin Lucia Meyer
The festival was launched to celebrate the musical and cultural ties between the Caribbean and the Canary Islands.
Kathrin Lucia Meyer
To the beat of Afro-Cuban rhythms, locals and tourists alike – most of them dressed in white – celebrated the „Fiesta del Son“ on the first weekend in February, naturally with plenty of mojitos and Cuba Libres.
Who still remembers the music of the ‚Buena Vista Social Club‘ and the documentary of the same name by Wim Wenders? With the active support of the American musician Ry Cooder, the CD *Buena Vista Social Club* was released in 1996 and helped the musical style gain widespread recognition, particularly abroad.
Visitors also had great fun at the orchestra’s salsa dance session.
Kathrin Lucia Meyer
The Son Cubano also came to play a major role in the history of Cuban music because, following independence from Spain, it found an equal following amongst both white and black musicians.
For Cubans, however, it is the primordial sound of music, the mother of all rhythms. It gave rise to such significant Latin American musical styles as the cha-cha-cha, the rumba and the mambo. It is also often referred to as the precursor to salsa. The clave, also known as ‚rumbaholz‘, determines whether one dances in time with the beat or against it (‚contratiempo‘). Son, cha-cha-cha, New York-style salsa and mambo are all danced in contratiempo.
Kathrin Lucia Meyer
After the revolution, it had lost its significance. Cuba effectively shut itself off from Western musical influences such as jazz and the blues. Consequently, over time, son largely disappeared from public life in Cuba too, or was relegated to being ‚music for the old‘. Since its revival in the 1990s by the aforementioned ‚Buena Vista Social Club‘, there has been a resurgence of newly formed music groups dedicated to Son Cubano.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the son finally made its way to the capital, Havana. The sparse line-up of son groups – usually trios featuring a tres, marimbula, maracas or claves – was soon expanded to form sextets or septets with the addition of further instruments (double bass instead of marimbula, guitar, bongos and trumpet).
As the sun set, everyone gathered to the sound of salsa music playing in the background.
The intervals between concerts were also put to good use and celebrated, with the music shifting at short notice from Cuban son to electronic sounds and reggaeton with a DJ.
You can now find more important festival dates in the Canary Islands right here on our website:
Make a note now and join in the celebrations: >>> These are the most important public holidays in the Canary Islands
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