and women. Some tell the story of important people such as, “Pedro Navaja,” “Mi-
caela,” and “Vivir lo nuestro.” Others relate to relationships like “Ironía,” “Me faltas
tú,” “Así es la vida,” and “Contra la Corriente.” In this context, dance and music
are an escape valve for repressed emotions that cannot be freely expressed in daily
life because of the confines of society. The body expresses the yearning to escape
in the form of steps, gestures, visages, and uncountable dance figures that are often
sexual, sensual, and erotic. Lyrics express themes that turn to music as means of
recounting essential aspects of society.
Dancing in Latin America is provocative and sensual because it is meant to show
interest as a form of greeting and flirting. Such games of seduction can be seen
in reggaetón, champeta, mapalé, and soca where the couple looks for a connection with their bodies. In bachata, tango, and cumbia, the woman uses displacement to
test the perseverance of the man in pursuit of conquest. This conquest develops a
struggle between both sexes that seek to establish equality.
As a result of these themes, music and dance are also symbols of national identi-
ties that play an ideological function as a struggle that belies the illusion of national
consciousness of equality. The body is the object used to transmit sensations, much
like a group of people that yearns for liberty through the recollection of tradition.
This socialized form recalls the superiority of collectivity over individuality where
the national identity is heterogenous. The rhythmic movement rests on the acknowl-
edgment of others on the dance floor, and the capacity of the musicians to follow the
art of dancing with the way of playing. Improvisation is the integration of society
in this game, ignoring completely the implicit division between the conceptual di-
chotomy of body and mind. Sexuality in music, under the influence of cultural pa-
rameters, is a natural aspect of the human condition that has a tight connection with
nature and its processes of birth, growth, and reproduction. Music is the way used
by musicians to set rules that accompany the act of dancing as matters of recreation.
368 | Siku
Dance simply reveals the sexuality that is already a part of Latin American music.
The music was not composed to be only heard; movement is also demanded as the
body cannot help but respond to the beats and rhythms.
Further Reading
Beezle, William H. and Curcio-Nagy, and Linda Ann. Latin American Popular Culture:
An Introduction . Lanham, MD: Scholarly Resources, 2004.
Chasteen, John Charles. National Rhythms, African Roots: the Deep History of Latin
American Popular Dance . Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2004.
Fraser, Celeste, José Delgado, and Muñoz, Esteban. Every Night Life: Culture and Dance
in Latin/o America . Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2004.
Moreno Fraginals, Manuel. Africa en América Latina . México D.F.: Siglo veintiuno edi-
tores, S.A. de C.V., 1996.
Rivera, Quintero. Ángel G. Cuerpo y cultura: las músicas ‘mulatas´y la subversión del
baile . Mexico, DF: Bonilla Artigas editores, S.A. de C.V., 2009.
Walker, Sheila S. African Roots / American Cultures: Africa in the Creation of the Ameri-
cas . Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2001.
Tatiana Flórez-Pérez
Siku
Siku is the Aymara term for a panflute made of multiple vertical reed pipes. Tubes
are closed at the distal end and they are held together by one or two thin strips of
cane or other materials. The instrument has two rows of pipes, each with a variable
number of tubes that can range from two or three to eight or nine. Tubes have dif-
ferent lengths and diameters, placed from small to large in a row. The sound is ob-
tained by blowing air across one of the open ends of the pipe. Traditionally, the siku
is played in interlocking or alternating fashion, literally sharing a melody between
two players. The two rows of the siku are called ira or male, the one that leads, and
arca or female, the one that follows.
Siku or zampoña, the Spanish term for the instrument, receives different names
according to the musical style or the geographical location where it is utilized.
Among the various types of sikus, we can mention the sicus de italaque, which have
an extra row of pipes that acts as resonators; ayarichis, which only have one row
of pipes with resonators; tabla sicus, made of pipes that continue after the closed
end finishes, the moroa or panflute used by the Moré people in the Beni region of
Bolivia, and so on.
Traditionally, sikus are played collectively in large groups or tropes of 30 or more
players who use sikus of different sizes. Panpipes are very common throughout the
Andean regions in South America, although different variants of panpipes can be
found in other parts of South America, Africa, and Australia.
Soca | 369
Further Reading
Baumann, Maz Peter. “Music and Worldview of Indian Societies in the Boliv-
ian Andes.” In Music in Latin America and the Caribbean: An Encyclopedic History.
Volume 1: Performing Beliefs: Indigenous Peoples of South America, Central America,
and Mexico, edited by Malena Kuss, 101–121. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2004.
Turino, Thomas. “Local Practices among the Aymara and Kechua in Conima and
Canas, Southern Peru.” In Music in Latin America and the Caribean: An Encyclopedic
History. Volume 1: Performing Beliefs: Indigenous Peoples of South America, Central
America, and Mexico, edited by Malena Kuss, 123–43. Austin: University of Texas
Press, 2004.
Valencia Chacón, Americo. El Siku o Zampoña. The Altiplano Bipolar Siku: Study and
Projection of Peruvian Panpipe Orchestras. Lima: Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo de
la Música Peruana: Artex Editores, 1989.
Raquel Paraíso
Soca
Soca is a style of popular music that emerged in Trinidad and Tobago in the early
1970s. It represents the latest phase in the development of calypso music, a song
form that has two primary roles in Caribbean culture: as musical accompaniment
for Carnival and other festivals, and to provide a platform for sociopolitical com-
mentary and critique. During the past 40 years, soca has become the dominant form
of dance music during Trinidad and Tobago’s annual Carnival. Soca is crucial to the
annual Crop Over Festival in Barbados, and Carnival celebrations throughout the
West Indies. The Caribbean diaspora in North America and the United Kingdom
also embraces soca as a key symbol of homeland and there are many Carnival cel-
ebrations around the world in which soca music is a prominent feature.
The development of the soca sound, and the name of genre, is frequently attrib-
uted to the calypsonian Lord Shorty (Garfield Blackman, later Ras Shorty I) and his
musical arranger, Ed Watson. Shorty expressed the desire to blend East Indian and
African rhythms, suggesting to Ed Watson that he add East Indian percussion in-
struments, particularly the dholak and dhantal of Hindu folk and popular music, to
his musical arrangements. Shorty called his new style sokah in order to emphasize
> the East Indian contribution. Responding to negative criticism, Shorty asked Wat-
son to transfer the East Indian rhythmic patterns to the drum set, iron, and congas of
the calypso rhythm section. Watson also foregrounded the bass guitar, Hammond
B3 organ, and electric guitar in musical arrangements, which gave the music a
sound and energy similar to 1970s funk and reggae . The result was the album End-
less Vibrations, which was released in 1974. Journalists changed Shorty’s spelling
from sokah to soca, further making a connection between soul and calypso, and the
new spelling became standard.
370 | Soca
Although initially resistant to Shorty’s innovations, older calypsonians such as
The Mighty Sparrow (Slinger Francisco) and Lord Kitchener (Aldwin Roberts) re-
alized the popularity of the soca sound, and wrote compositions in the new style.
One of the most successful soca songs during this early period was Lord Kitch-
ener’s “Sugar Bum Bum,” arranged by Ed Watson, and released in 1978. Thanks
to the large populations of West Indians in North American cities such as Toronto
and New York, and in the British Isles, soca quickly came to international atten-
tion. The best-known soca song of the 1980s was “Hot Hot Hot,” recorded by the
singer Arrow (Alphonsus Cassell), who was from Montserrat. The song was later
brought to the attention of American audiences by the novelty singer Buster Point-
dexter (David Johansen). This success opened the way for other artists in foreign
markets, and encouraged the emergence of soca music scenes in various countries
in the Caribbean, North America, and the United Kingdom. Notable performers
who became popular during the 1980s include David Rudder, the Mighty Shadow
(Winston Bailey), Baron (Timothy Watkins), and Super Blue (Austin Lyons).
By the early 1990s, soca had become the most common form of music in Car-
nival fetes and the preferred form of music to accompany masquerade bands on
Carnival Monday and Tuesday. A turning point occurred when Super Blue (Austin
Lyons) developed an energized form of soca featuring faster tempos, instructions
to dancers, shorter call-and-response vocal phrases, and melodic hooks. This is the
jump and wave music that came to dominate Carnival dance music. Throughout
the 1990s, further experimentation created new variations on soca music. Jamaican
dancehall had gained enormous popularity among Trinidadian youth during this
time. This led to the development of ragga soca, which is characterized by a slower
tempo and vocal delivery that is similar to dancehall reggae. Among the primary
proponents of ragga soca have been Ghetto Flex (Hilton Dalzell), Denise Belfon,
Maximus Dan (Edghill Thomas), Bunji Garlin (Ian Alvarez), and KMC (Ken Mar-
lon Charles). Chutney soca also emerged during the same decade and has paved the
way for greater visibility of Indo-Trinidadian musical artists. These include Rikki
Jai, Sundar Popo, Drupatee Ramgoonai, and Ravi B. (Ravi Bissambhar).
Along with Trinidad and Tobago, soca music plays a significant role in Carnival-
like celebrations in most English-speaking Caribbean islands, including Barba-
dos, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenandines, Antigua, and Barbuda. Soca music
is popular in the French Antilles, particularly St. Lucia and Dominica, and was
an influence on the development of zouk in Martinique and Guadeloupe. Since the 1980s, soca music has also found success outside the West Indian market in
North America and the United Kingdom. Some hit songs include the aforemen-
tioned “Hot Hot Hot,” “Tiney Winey” by Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, “Dollar
Wine” by Colin Lucas, “Follow the Leader” by Soca Boys (originally recorded by
Nigel and Marvin Lewis), and “Who Let the Dogs Out” by Baha Men (originally
sung by Anselm Douglas). In general, soca has become a dominant form of dance
Son (Cuba) | 371
and party music in the Caribbean and is an important symbol of identity for West
Indians today.
Further Reading
Dudley, Shannon. Carnival Music in Trinidad. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Guilbault, Jocelyne. Governing Sound: The Cultural Politics of Trinidad’s Carnival Mu-
sics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.
Rohlehr, Gordon. “Calypso Reinvents Itself.” Culture in Action: The Trinidad Experi-
ence, ed. Milla Cozart Riggio, 213–27. New York, Routledge, 2004.
Hope Smith
Son (Cuba)
Son cubano is the most important of the many popular music genres that originated
and developed in Cuba during the 20th century because of its deep penetration into
nearly every aspect of musical culture within Cuba, its vast international dissemi-
nation and popularization, and its immense impact on Latino popular dance music.
The genre, which gave birth to or heavily influenced a multitude of genres, includ-
ing mambo , rhumba , charanga , boogaloo, salsa , songo , timba , and Latin jazz, is often described as the first invented by Cubans and as the common denominator in
almost all of Cuban music. Emerging from the rural areas of el Oriente, Cuba’s east-
ern provinces, particularly around Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo, during the
late 19th century, the original manifestations of son (the qualifier cubano is added only to distinguish the genre from Mexican sones, such as son jalisciense or son
huasteco ) consisted of a constant alternation between the improvisations of a solo
singer and a short composed refrain sung by a small group. As the genre became
increasingly urbanized, an additional structural element, an initial closed song sec-
tion, was added, thereby solidifying the binary form that it retains to this day, the
tema or son, a 32-bar song—usually in AABA form—followed by the montuno , which is usually much longer than the tema and consists of extended instrumental
solos (called the descarga ) and short precomposed horn sections (the mambo or
yambú ) as well as call and response vocals (called the guajeo and the coro or es-
tribillo, respectively).
This binary structure is an example of the son representing a mix of European-
and African-derived elements, the tema being derived from the European song tra-
dition while the call-and-response montuno has strong African antecedents. This
combination exhibits itself in other elements of the genre, including the instru-
mental ensemble, where European-based plucked stringed instruments, such as the
guitar and the tres (a Cuban invention consisting of three sets of double strings), play alongside African-based percussion, such as the bongó (also a Cuban-invented
372 | Son (Cuba)
instrument), and the marimbula , a bass instrument derived from the African thumb
piano, the mbira. The singing, predominantly black and mulatto musicians singing
about Afro-Cuban barrio life in a smooth European-based bel canto style, and the
dance, a combination of a European-derived couples dance with African-derived
rhythmic steps and movements, also exemplify this mixture of influences.
The confluence of cultures embodied by son would lead to its adoption as an
important marker of an emerging Cuban national identity that began developing
in the decades following Cuba’s independence from Spain in 1902 and that sought
to unite the entire
country, black, white and mulatto. This process began with the
genre’s introduction in the capital city of Havana around 1909, brought by immi-
grants from el Oriente serving obligatory terms as soldiers of the permanent army,
a practice that led to mass urbanization during this time. The early son ensembles
were tríos , consisting of guitar, tres, and maracas , with at least two of the musicians singing, exemplified by Trío Matamoros, which was founded in Santiago in
1912 by Miguel Matamoros and would reach its height of popularity in the 1920s
and 1930s, and Trío Oriente, a group formed within the army before 1910, which
would, once its members moved to Havana, add a bongocero, effectively trans-
forming itself into a cuarteto . While the practice of tríos and cuartetos performing at dances and parties was brought from el Oriente, other performance practices
emerged in Havana after son ’s introduction. These include the publication, in the
form of sheet music, and recording of sones and the development of coros de son,
choral groups of 18 to 20 singers, in Havana barrios, the groups often being asso-
ciated with a particular barrio.
The development of son as a marker of national identity continued in the early
1920s when the genre became popular throughout Cuba, spurred in part by the in-
creasing availability of record players, more affordable records, and the introduc-
tion of regular radio broadcasts on the island in 1922. Tríos and cuartetos were
playing at parties thrown by some of the richest white families in Santiago by
around 1920, but the elite in Havana was slower to embrace the genre. In 1924
“you couldn’t play son in Havana yet,” according to Matamoros. In fact, with the
exception of their hugely popular “El son de la loma,” Trío Matamoros was play-
ing exclusively danzónes in their performances in the capital. The genre’s general
acceptance by Havana’s largely white upper class would not be solidified until the
1926 appearance of Sexteto Habanero, a son group consisting of black musicians,
at the presidential palace in Havana at the invitation of mulatto President Machado.
Son ’s continued popularity in Havana in the 1920s also led to increased urban-
Encyclopedia of Latin American Popular Music Page 63
