Gloria Estefan walked so Shakira and Ricky Martin could run. She's the OG Latin crossover star, the artist who broke through to the mainstream with Miami Sound Machine and their massive hit "Conga" in 1985. She was also one of the best female balladeers of the 1980s, with songs like "Anything For You" and "Don't Wanna Lose You." In 1993 she released her first solo Spanish-language album, Mi Tierra, an homage to Cuban music. It spent a whopping 58 weeks at the top of the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart, only overtaken in 2020 by Bad Bunny.

Songs played:
Conga
Can't Stay Away From You
Volverás
Mi Tierra
No Hay Mal Que Por Bien No Venga
Tradición

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https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

Esteemed scholar of Latino/a popular culture and identity  Frances Aparicio joins Rebecca to speak about the most significant women in salsa, beginning with the Queen herself, Celia Cruz. We talk about the many struggles female salsa musicians have faced in the music industry over the decades and the different strategies they've used to speak/sing back to the patriarchy and claim space.

Songs played:
Yerbero Moderno, Celia Cruz with La Sonora Matancera
Burundanga, Celia Cruz with La Sonora Matancera
Puro Teatro, La Lupe
Usted Abusó, Celia Cruz and Willie Colón
La Voz de la Experiencia, Celia Cruz and La India
Que Manera de Quererte, Albita
Basta, Choco Orta


An amazing clip of La Lupe on the Dick Cavett show, 1973
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wCPNvP2osg

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https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

Musicologist, dancer and educator Sarah Town joins Rebecca to speak about the history and evolution of Cuban social dance, specifically casino and a particularly intricate and complex style called rueda de casino, danced in a circle. These styles of dance have become a global phenomenon since the 1990s and the rise of timba, and there are many local scenes across the U.S. and around the world.

Check out this incredible clip of a rueda de casino group:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZAjkXAhlXU

Songs played:

Las Alturas de Simpson
Rock Around the Clock, Bill Haley & His Comets
Abre Que Voy, Gonzalo Grau y La Clave Secreta
Esa Soy Yo, Elito Revé y Su Charangón
Para Bailar Casino, Adalbero Álvarez y Su Son
La Bailarina, Habana D' Primera

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https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

Part 2 of Rebecca's conversation with Kevin Moore focuses on several major timba groups and their unique styles: Pupy Y Los Que Son Son, Paulito y Su Élite, Bamboleo and Elito Revé y Su Charangón.

Songs played:
De La Timba a Pogolotti, Pupy Y Los Que Son Son
La Borrachera, Pupy Y Los Que Son Son
Enredadera de Amor, Paulito FG
Ya No Hace Falta, Bamboleo
Dale Agua al Dominó, Elito Revé y Su Charangón

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https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

Finally, a timba episode! Rebecca speaks with Kevin Moore, the mastermind behind Timba.com, the largest Cuban music website in the world, who explains what makes timba unique and how it revolutionized Cuban dance music. This episode focuses on the pioneering innovations of NG La Banda and La Charanga Habanera. Check out Kevin's book Beyond Salsa For Beginners for an incredibly comprehensive musical breakdown of timba.

Songs played:
Los Sitios Entero, NG La Banda
Picadillo de Soya, NG La Banda
Nube Pasajera, La Charanga Habanera
Charanguero Mayor, La Charanga Habanera
El Temba, La Charanga Habanera

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https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

In the past two decades, reggaeton has become the soundtrack of Cuba, eventually resulting in the birth of a more localized genre called reparto. Ethnomusicologist Mike Levine speaks with Rebecca about how reggaeton took hold first in the eastern part of the island, where Jamaican and Caribbean influences are much stronger, and how artists in Havana have transformed it into a uniquely Cuban genre that represents their contemporary lives.

Songs played:

Señor Oficial, Candyman
Soy Cubanito, Cubanito 2002
Bailando, Enrique Iglesias featuring Descemer Bueno & Gente de Zona
El Ditu, Elvis Manuel
Bajanda, Chocolate MC

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Find The Clave Chronicles on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @clavechronicles
https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

Part two of the Los Van Van series, where Rebecca covers the band's evolving lineup, sound, and song themes in the 1990s and 2000s.

Songs played:

Disco Azúcar
Un Socio
La Fruta
Soy Todo
Ven, Ven, Ven
Después de Todo

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Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

Los Van Van has been Cuba’s premier dance band since its formation in 1969, with its longevity earning the band the nickname El tren de la salsa (the salsa train). Rebecca covers the band's first two decades and the innovations of Los Van Van's founder/bassist Juan Formell, as well as other musicians like drummer Changuito and pianist Cesar "Pupy" Pedroso, such as the group's signature rhythm (songo).
With its charismatic lead singer Pedro Calvo, in the 1980s Los Van Van achieved an almost-perfect synthesis of catchy, danceable music and satirical commentary on diverse social issues and controversies.
 
Songs played:
Marilu
Llegada
Dale dos
La Habana No Aguanta Más
Sandunguera
No Soy de la Gran Escena

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Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

Nueva trova is one of the few Cuban genres that is for listening and reflecting instead of dancing - it's sung poetry, much like other Latin American singer-songwriter genres, namely nueva canción. Rebecca has an in-depth conversation with independent scholar and former Cuban diplomat Eva Silot Bravo about the major figures of nueva trova and how it came to be closely identified with the ideology of the Cuban Revolution. The genre's relationship with the government shifted in the wake of the economic crisis of the 1990s, as newer artists began to openly critiqued the preferential treatment given to foreigners, as well as emigrate abroad.

Songs played:
Pablo Milanés, Mis 22 años
Silvio Rodríguez, Sueño con Serpientes
Xiomara Laugart, Paria
Carlos Varela, Foto de Familia
Gema y Pavel, Se Feliz

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Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

Part 2 of a conversation with Pablo Herrera on Cuban hip hop, including a discussion of the relationship between rap cubano and repartero, or Cuban reggaeton.

Songs played:
Madre Tierra, Las Krudas
Tengo, Popy y La Moda
El Rap es Guerra, Los Aldeanos

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You can support this independently produced podcast by becoming a monthly subscriber - even $3/month helps!

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Find The Clave Chronicles on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @clavechronicles
https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions