Arsenio Rodríguez

Arsenio Rodríguez, one of the most important figures in the history of Cuban music, was a prolific composer (he wrote closet o 200 songs), tres player, percussionist and band leader, whose innovations changed the face of Latin dance music and made it possible for this music to eventually be known as salsa.

He is considered father of the conjunto, an instrumental line up that was revolutionary for is time because it introduced the conga drum, which had previously been considered forbidden due to its African origin. His compositions, many of which were typical in salsa repertoires in Cuba and New York, emphasize the Afro-Cuban elements, especially the congolese elements in his songs.

Arsenio Rodríguez, a descendant of Congolese slaves, was born on August 30, 1911 in Guira Guira de Macurije in the western province of Cuba, Matanzas. At age 7, Rodríguez was left blind by a horse kick; he would later be known as "El Ciego Maravilloso" (the Marvelous Blind Man). As a child he began playing a variety of instruments, including Afro-Cuban drums, percussion, the bass and the tres, a Cuban guitar with six strings that would become his main instrument. Some influential tres players of his youth include Nene Malfugas, Isaac Oviedo and Eliseo Sirviera.

He began composing in his teens and in the beginning of the thirties he formed the Sexteto Boston. In 1937 he joined trumpeter José Interain’s Septeto Bellamar. That same year also saw the recordings of Rodríguez’s first compositions; Miguelito Valdes sang "Bruca Manigua", "Ven acá, Tomás", and "Funfuñando" with the "Casino de la Playa" Orchestra.

During this period the standard line-up for playing the was the septeto, made up of a trumpet, guitar, tres, bongoes, bass, maracas and claves with two or more members of the band singing. The general tendency in the thirties was that the son would deviate partly from its African roots, adopting a duller sound. This changed completely in 1940 when Rodríguez added the conga drum, piano and a second (and even third) trumpet to the typical son ensemble, giving birth to the "conjunto".

The conjunto line-up revolutionized the son with the addition of the deep tone provided by the conga and the power of the trumpet section. Around this time Rodríguez introduced the son montuno, a son with a montuno section, where improvised sung parts (soneos) by the lead singer (sonero) would sound out over a repeated chorus; trumpet, tres and piano solos were also frequent.

Rodríguez is also responsible, along with Antonio Arcaño and Pérez Prado, of having developed the mambo rhythm during that period. Another key innovation was the adaptation of the guaguancó band in a dance conjunto line-up. The guaguancó is an Afro-Cuban style traditionally executed with voices and percussion; Rodríguez mixed some of the formal and melodic elements with those of the son. These "Afro-Cubanizations" of the son include some of Rodríguez’s most important and long-lasting contributions. The conjunto line-up, the son montuno and the mambo are three essential elements of what would later be called salsa.

The forties were a classic period in Rodríguez’s career and in the history of son. Many of his most famous compositions were recorded during this time, including "A Belén le toca ahora", "La Yuca de Catalina", "Juventud Amaliana" and maybe his most famous work, the bolero "La vida es un sueño" which was written after a failed attempt at regaining his sight in 1947. In the forties, there were various key figures in the development of the son, such as vocalists Miguelito Cuní, Marcelino Guerra and René Scull, trumpeters Féliz Cahppotin and Chocolate Armenteros, and pianist Lilí Martinez.

In 1953, Rodríguez moved to New York, leaving his conjunto in Cuba under the guidance and leadership of trumpeter Chappotin, who would later become a legend in his own right. Compositions such as "La Gente del Bronx" and "Como se goza en el barrio" continued reflecting Rodríguez’s talent for writing about day-to-day subjects. His popularity in New York, although strong, was never what it had been in Cuba. In the mid-fifties the album "Sabroso y Caliente" was released, where he added flute and timbales to the conjunto design. "El Ciego Maravilloso" continued experimenting with different instrumentations throughout the rest of his career, sometimes adding one or more saxophones to his band.

Toward the end of the 50’s, Rodríguez recorded "Primitivo" and appeared in the release of Blue Note, "Palo congo", under the guidance of conguero Sabú Martínez, who had Rodríguez’s brothers Quique and César Rodríguez as conjunto member. This album includes "Palo congo" songs, an Afro-Cuban religion of Congolese origin. In the early seventies, Rodríguez recorded "Quindembo/AfroMagic", an innovative and experimental album in which he wrote and sang all tracks. Rodríguez called this style, which mixed jazz influences with son and more authentic Afro-Cuban religious elements "Quindembo", a Congolese word that means a mixture of many things.

In his final years he continued experimenting, developing a style he called "swing son". The last album recorded by Rodríguez was "Arsenio Dice", a 1968 release for Tico. On December 30, 1970, he died of pneumonia in Los Angeles. As a composer, musician and musical experimenter, Arsenio Rodríguez was one of the undoubted giants of Cuban music. In the U.S. he had influential force in the typical movement of the 60’s and 70’s and his experimentation was headed towards some of the developments made by the more adventurous architects of salsa, such as Willie Colón.

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