Artists & Projects Directory
Los Muñequitos de Matanzas
In the first days of October 1952 a group of young rumberos
found themselves enjoying their evening's rest in the bar "El Gallo" in the
city of Matanzas, which lies 60 miles east of Havana on Cuba's north coast. They heard the chords of a son by
Arsenio Rodriguez on the bar's Victrola. Inspired by the rhythm and the contagious melody, they began to play
percussion on the counter, on the glasses and on the bottles, accompanying
Arsenio and his group. The other
customers as well as passers-by stopped to listen, and to the astonishment of
the young men they received their first applause.
In a rush of enthusiasm they decided to form a musical group
to entertain on Sundays and holidays at fiestas and barrio dances. They named their group Guaguancó Matancero and agreed that each member would find a way to get instruments made according
to their respective means. They would
interpret the "Guaguancó," the contemporary rumba born in the dockside areas of
Havana and Matanzas,
the patrimony of the humblest quarters of Cuban life. Once the group was together with their
instruments they began performing in barrios throughout Matanzas province.
In 1953 they were invited to perform in fiestas in the
barrios of Old Havana and Central Havana. Performances on radio and television followed,
and they recorded their first 78 rpm record for the Puchito label, with "Los
Beodos" on one side and "Los Muñequitos" on the other. The lyrics of the latter number told of
characters in the comic strips that appeared in the weekend newspapers. "Los Muñequitos" was such a hit that
the public of Havana and Matanzas renamed the group Los Muñequitos de
Matanzas, the name by which they are now known throughout the world.
Over more than 50 years, the musicians and dancers of Los
Muñequitos have become recognized as members of one of the most vital ensembles
to sustain and continue to popularize the African roots of Cuban culture. As said in Cuba
"Without rumba, there is no Cuba
and without Cuba
there is no rumba." In 1989, Los
Muñequitos began to add ritual and religious music and stories to their stage
repertoire in addition to various forms of the rumba. These range from pieces which represent the
oldest form of African religious music and ritual existing in Cuba today (such
as Palo Kongo "Gangá" from the Kongo or Bantu people, who began arriving
in Cuba the early 1500's) as well as the newest (such as Tambores, Cantos y
Danza "Arará" of the Arará slaves, who arrived as late as 1887).
Los Muñequitos de Matanzas have toured extensively in Canada, Brazil,
Great Britain and the U.S. In 1995 the group made its historic first
visit to Puerto Rico where thousands turned
out for their performances. They have
released five CDs on QbaDisc, including Los Muñequitos de Matanzas Live in
New York, recorded at Symphony Space on their wildly successful debut U.S.
tour in 1992. In that ten-week tour to
16 U.S. cities (organized by
Dance Theater Workshop's Suitcase Fund), the group performed their electrifying
music and dance for sold-out houses at every stop from D.C. to Detroit,
from New York to San Francisco, with many people following the
tour from city to city. The overwhelming
enthusiasm that greeted them and the continuing impact of their music and dance
resulted in four additional U.S.
tours, organized by and by MAPP International Productions in 1994, 1998, 1999 and 2002.
Parts excerpted from the Official
Biography of Los Munequitos de Matanzas (with special thanks to Yvonne
Daniel, Ph.D., Professor Emerita of Dance and Anthropology at Smith College
and to Ned Sublette, author of Cuba and its Music: From the First Drums to
the Mambo and Executive Producer of QbaDisc).