by jorge » Fri Jun 11, 2021 3:48 pm
Rapsodia Rumbera was a recording (parts 1 and 2, part 2 was never released commercially) that included many of the best and most senior rumberos in la Habana. Tata, Maximino, Lazaro, Markito and Gato were part of Tata Guines' group, Pancho Quinto was with Yoruba Andabo, Amado and several others came out of Clave y Guaguanco, los Aspirinas Mario Jauregui and Miguel Angel Mesa as well as El Goyo, Santa Cruz, Juan de Dios, I think Chabalonga, and others had been in Conjunto Folklorico Nacional, and there was a lot of crossover among the groups. They had been developing the rumba de cajon style for years, reviving and popularizing one of the oldest forms of rumba. Yoruba Andabo and Clave y Guaguanco had recorded similar styles earlier, but Rapsodia was sort of an all stars get together. A lot of people outside Cuba hated Rapsodia Rumbera at first, couldn't figure out where the salidor went, didn't really get the whole cajon thing, couldn't understand some of the lyrics, and rejected the style for a few years until it became more publicly accepted in and outside Cuba. Several years later many of the musicians, singers and dancers who played on Rapsodia evolved into Rumberos de Cuba. Rodolfo Chacon has been one of the main driving forces behind recording most of these rumba groups (Clave y Guaguanco, Tata's group, Rapsodia, Rumberos de Cuba) and Pablo Milanes produced the first Yoruba Andabo CD. Rodolfo Chacon is probably the single person most responsible for making all these recordings happen and bringing the real rumba to international attention. He is currently the director and sings with Rumberos de Cuba, who I believe are still performing weekly at el Patio de la Egrem, located next to the EGREM recording studio at 410 San Miguel between Lealtad y Campanario in Centro Habana. Rumbon Tropical is one of the best videos of folkloric rumba I have ever seen, and really shows you some of the masters playing, singing and dancing their typical styles.