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Orquesta Aragón

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Orquesta Aragón is a Cuban band that was founded on 30 September 1939 by Orestes Aragón Cantero in Cienfuegos. At first it was called Ritmica 39, then Ritmica Aragón. In the beginning the orchestra consisted of eight musicians: double bass, two violins, piano, flute, timbales, güiro and vocals. When Aragón fell ill in 1949, Rafael Lay Apesteguía took over the leadership. Around 1953 he put the orchestra together according to his own ideas, and flautist Richard Egües, who joined in 1955, became an important arranger and composer, alongside Lay.

Music and breakthrough

Orquesta Aragón did not invent the cha-cha-cha, but in the 1950s and 1960s it was regarded as the best charanga in Cuba. Its trademarks were excellent instrumentalists who played tightly together and rhythmic innovations that kept the sound up to date. The orchestra began as a danzón orchestra and then played cha-cha-cha, onda-cha, pachanga and hybrids with son. Between 1955 and 1958 four LPs appeared on RCA, including That Cuban Cha-Cha-Cha and The Heart of Havana. The onda-cha was an invention of cellist Alejandro Tómas Valdés, who worked capoeira into the dance and let heavy African percussion sound in the cha-cha-cha.

Influence

After Lay's death in 1982 Egües became leader, and from 1984 Rafael Lay Bravo. The orchestra still plays in Havana. In School of Rock, El Bodeguero from 1955 is the example of this style. In it we see how Cuban dance music from the halls of Havana travelled out into the world.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to El Bodeguero. Notice how the flute and violins play tightly together and how light-footed the rhythm underneath stays.

Discography

Studio albums

See also

Categories: ArtistsCha-cha-chá