Guaguancó

Guaguancó on vinyl: Cuban rumba and its way into salsa

In short: Guaguancó is a form of Cuban rumba: drums, claves and singing that passes between lead singer and chorus, danced by a couple. From Cuba the rhythm travelled into the salsa of New York, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. The Vinyl Room currently has 25 guaguancó records.

What is guaguancó?

Salsa with guaguancó: the Joe Cuba Sextet with “Recuerdos De Mi Querido Barrio”, Willie Rosario with “A Man Of Music” and Los Dementes with Ray Pérez from Venezuela.

Cuban roots: trumpeter Alfredo “Chocolate” Armenteros with “Y Sigo Con Mi Son” and Gilberto Valdés’s “Tambó – A Cuban Ballet”, played by the Madrid chamber orchestra.

What to look for

About half of our guaguancó records are US editions; many date from the sixties and seventies; label, catalogue number and year of release help you tell which edition you have – it’s noted with each copy.

From our stock

First pressings

New in

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FAQ

What is guaguancó? A form of Cuban rumba with drums, singing and a couple dance.

Which instruments are typical? Drums, claves and wooden sticks, plus lead singer and chorus.

What does guaguancó have to do with salsa? Many salsa tracks pick up the rhythm – in New York, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.

Which guaguancó records do you have? Here, for example, the Joe Cuba Sextet’s “Recuerdos De Mi Querido Barrio” and Willie Rosario’s “A Man Of Music”.