Musical Trip

 Music Of Cuba

Celia Cruz and Carlos Puebla are two Cuban artists whom I've chosen to represent the style of Cuban music. While Celia Cruz's music is more dance-oriented and upbeat, Carlos Puebla delivers a sound that's more traditional, per se. While their sounds may differ, they share numerous similar elements rooted in Cuban music. Celia Cruz's music overall carries messages of positivity. love, and celebration. Meanwhile, Carlos Puebla's music pertains to themes of social justice and political issues. While Celia Cruz is referred to as the "Queen of Salsa", Carlos Puebla is referred to as "El Cantor de la Revolución" (the singer of the revolution).

Celia Cruz Miami 1994, Alexis Rodríguez-Duarte
  Although Celia Cruz's music has made the journey to America, it's still rooted in her Cuban culture. One of her more popular songs, La Vida Es Un Carnaval (Life Is a Carnival), was released in 1998 and composed by Victor Daniel. Since Celia Cruz moved to the United States in 1960 after being exiled from Cuba due to her nonacceptance of the new regime at the time, La Vida Es Un Carnaval was actually released in the United States but heard worldwide. The song is about being grateful for life and how hard times will pass, so we should remain strong and hopeful. 

    A song by Carlos Puebla that I've enjoyed for years now, thanks to my husband, is Soy Del Pueblo (I Am For The People). The song was composed by Carlos Puebla himself and was released in Cuba during 1962. He sings about how his music is the way he helps pick people up from their sorrows and restore their joy through his music, 
as well as giving a voice to the people through his career in music.

Puebla Hasta siempre comandante
    An element that is always present in Cuban music is the accompaniment of African and Spanish instruments.   Cuba received Spanish instruments such as the tres,   timbales, and the guitar when it was colonized by the   Spanish in the 16th century. The tres is a three-stringed instrument that's similar to a guitar, and the timbales is a percussion instrument. Cuba later received African instruments like congas, bongos, and bells when the   Spanish colonizers purchased African slaves for labor purposes. The colonizers attempted to prevent African culture, such as their music, from spreading throughout the country. However, this was thankfully ineffective and allowed for the Cuban music that we hear today to be born. Although this origin story is dark, we can look at Cuban music as a way of honoring and celebrating two cultures that walked so others like Celia Cruz and Carlos Puebla could run. 

    One of the main components of any Cuban song is the clave. The clave is simply two thick wooden sticks that are hit together to create a beat for the musicians and vocalists to follow. Claves can also come in different forms. "Traditional African claves tend to be lower in pitch, as one of the sticks is thicker and hollowed out to produce a more open tone. Salsa claves tend to be longer and brighter in tone as they have to be heard over other bright instruments, such as trumpets and other brass instruments"(Bache A Guide To Cuban Music: Instrumentation and Clave). The clave in Cuban music is typically played at the same pace throughout the entire song, whereas in Brazilian music, for example, the clave is played loosely and varies throughout the music. 

   Cuban music is often polyrhythmic due to its African influence. This is when a song consists of two different rhythms playing simultaneously. "Polyrhythmic complexities prevail not only in the music of Cuba but in the music of the Caribbean and some cultures of Latin America"(León Polyrhtythmia in the Music of Cuba). In Celia Cruz's song La Vida Es Un Carnaval, during the chorus, you can hear how there are two different rhythms playing at the same time. However, they blend flawlessly together as one melody, as the music should sound put together and effortless. 

    A final element that is often heard in Cuban music is repetition within melodies and often the lyrics as well. Both songs from Celia Cruz and Carlos Puebla contain repetition. In Soy Del Pueblo, the main example of repetition is the melody itself. As you listen to the song, you can easily notice how the same melody is consistent and plays the same notes and holds the same beat throughout the entirety of the song. Then, La Vida Es Un Carnaval is a song where the melody is relatively repetitive but definitely changes up more than the melody in Soy Del Pueblo, but La Vida Es Un Carnaval, like a lot of Celia Cruz's songs, has lots of repetition within her lyrics. 

    My personal opinion regarding Cuban music as a whole is that I love it. Typically, if a songs really repetitive, it's not for me; however, I can easily enjoy repetitive Cuban music, while repetitive pop music, for example, feels like a headache to me. So I found this observation to be the most interesting realization that came out of this research. I've learned so much I didn't know before that went unnoticed to me, which will now allow me to enjoy Cuban music even more than I have in the past.





León, Tania. “Polyrhtythmia in the Music of Cuba.” Escholarship, 2016, https://escholarship.org/content/qt3sc408fm/qt3sc408fm.pdf

Tabata. “Soy Del Pueblo (Lyrics in English) - Quilapayún.” Letras.Com, https://www.letras.com/quilapayun/230861/english.html Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.

Daniel, Victor. “La Vida Es Un Carnaval (Lyrics in English) - Celia Cruz.” Letras.Com, https://www.letras.com/celia-cruz/9256/english.html Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.

Bache, Brendan. “A Guide To Cuban Music: Instrumentation and Clave.” Liberty Park Music, 3 Aug. 2017, www.libertyparkmusic.com/cuban-music-instrument-clave/.

Florida Department of State. “Celia Cruz.” Florida Music Tour, Ron DeSantis, Governor Cord Byrd, Secretary of State, www.floridamusictours.com/musicians/celia-cruz/. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.

“Carlos Puebla.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Mar. 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Puebla

Prieto, Laura R. “Celia Cruz.” National Women’s History Museum, https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/celia-cruz. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.

Puebla, Carlos. “Hasta Siempre Comandante.” Spotify, 1 Jan. 2018, https://open.spotify.com/track/03cQnBDJHy9OKZam9TuPNg?si=7c677396c26a42cb










Comments

  1. Emma WichmannMarch 20, 2026 at 12:33 PM

    After listening to the songs I can see why you love the music. This is not a genre I would listen to but it is upbeat and fun. Something I find interesting about Cuban music is that person playing the bongos will also play cowbells during certain parts of the songs.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Christopher SpraulMarch 22, 2026 at 11:43 PM

    It was cool to read your breakdown of this style of music. I agree that La Vida Es Un Carnaval is more upbeat and has that modern dance to it compared to the other song where it's more of a slow dance style. This is a unique style of music, and I like how no matter what part of the song it is, you can always expect something new that wasn't in any other part of the song.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction

Image
Music has always been a huge part of my life. Growing up, it was my only relief that kept me going amongst all the chaos. I was left in the care of my grandparents most of my childhood due to separated parents. Although I love my now passed on grandparents, they did have some funky old school Catholic rules. One of these rules was regarding music. They encouraged instruments, but listening to music was generally not allowed, with the exception of Bing Crosby during Christmas time, of course. So knowing how deaf my grandparents were, my brother and I found ways around this rule. One way we enjoyed music was by turning the volume down extremely low while riding in her car or when she was doing the dishes after dinner, as she kept a stereo in the music room.  Stevie Nicks photographed at a Fleetwood Mac concert in 1978      However, I was fortunate enough to have parents who loved music as much as I did. Although I still have memories of being caught and yelled at ...
Read more

Musical Analysis 1

Image
 "NO KINGS " NO KINGS by Earth to Eve is a powerful song with deep meaning in our reality right now as Americans. The song was intentionally released on October 18th, 2025, the date of the "No Kings" Protest . These infamous protests occurred all around the United States, even outside of the United States, in countries such as Germany and Europe. There were 2,700 events this day, drawing in more than 7 million people. The photo below is from the "Remove the Regime" rally held in November 2025 at the Lincoln Memorial, where Earth to Eve performed for protesters.  Jose Mejia @josemeji4 via Owl Media — in Washington, D.C.         The song was composed in the United States by Eve Weisberger herself. I only just discovered the song in January, but it's stuck with me ever since. Not only is it an important message, but it's also actually a really great song.     One aspect of this song that sticks out to me is the chords. There are four c...
Read more

Musical Analysis 2

Image
"Northern Attitude" The harmonic texture is by far my favorite part of this song. I love how it's homophonic during the verses, then leads into the loud pound of a drum. I think this part of the song makes it stand out and creates power by pulling attention towards the chorus. At the same time, when the song emerges out of the chorus and back into the homophonic texture, it again draws the listener's attention back into the song, assuming they got caught up in the striking melodic chorus because I know I do. This then leads into another aspect of the song that I really love, which is the pacing. The verses slow you down while the chorus speeds you up. It's a really amazing metaphor within the music to describe life itself. Sometimes life feels slow and calm, then suddenly out of nowhere, much like the drum that begins each chorus, we're quickly hit with the unexpected, which leads me into the lyrics.      The lyrics to this song engaged my affection just as mu...
Read more