Cha-Cha

Cha-cha on vinyl: the dance from Havana

In short: The cha-cha-chá emerged in Havana in the early fifties and is credited to violinist Enrique Jorrín. It is slower and easier to dance than the mambo, carried by flute, violins and percussion – and named after the sound of the dancers’ steps. The Vinyl Room currently has 43 cha-cha records.

What is cha-cha?

Elegance to sway to: Cuba’s Orquesta Aragón is regarded as one of the defining cha-cha-chá orchestras, here with “Aragón”. In the US, Tito Puente with singer Santos Colón and vibraphonist Cal Tjader took up the rhythm – Tjader with “Los Ritmos Calientes” and “Más Ritmo Caliente”.

Plus Bobby Capó from Puerto Rico, Peruvian bandleader Lucho Macedo and, as a seventies disco version, Santa Esmeralda with “Another Cha-Cha”.

What to look for

Many cha-cha records came out in the US in the fifties and sixties, some also in Latin America; label and country of release help you tell which edition you have – it’s noted with each copy.

From our stock

First pressings

New in

→ Mambo · Cal Tjader · Latin jazz · Latin on vinyl · How to spot a first pressing · Grading explained

FAQ

Where does the cha-cha-chá come from? From Havana in the early fifties; it is credited to violinist Enrique Jorrín.

Why is it called that? After the sound of the shuffling steps when dancing.

What is the difference from mambo? The cha-cha-chá is slower, lighter and easier to dance.

Who played cha-cha in the US? Among others Tito Puente and Cal Tjader.