Monday, 12 September 2011 12:04
Aragón, an essential band. Photo courtesy of tumbao.pt.
One 30 September, in 1939 in Cienfuegos, Cuba, the famous band of Cuban culture was born: Aragón. Founded by bassist Orestes Aragón, this group grew big from their very beginnings, using rhythms such as the son, danzon, cha cha and bolero.
In the fifties, other musicians such as Rafael Lay joined, who was their director and first violinist, José Olmo (Pepe) as the lead vocalist, Richard Egües on flute and Rafael Bacallao, who sang with Pepe.
Their presentations mainly use the cha-cha rhythm, created by Enrique Jorrín, who´s accompanied them in international performances in countries such as the United States, Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Argentina, Europe and Africa, where they were named ambassadors of Cuban music. It´s worth nothing that they went to Japan for the EXPO 70, where they recorded a phonogram in record time, 12 hours. It was so successful that their two-week scheduled tour extended to six months.
They currently still play old hits such as "El bodeguero," (the winemaker) by Richard Egües, and ballads such as "Me vas a echar de menus," (You´re going to miss me) from the repertoire of José José and the mosaics.
They have performed or recorded with internationally renowned figures such as Jorge Negrete, Lucho Gatica, Bobby Capó, Oscar de León, Maggie Carlés, Elena Burke, Omara Portuondo, Moraima Secada and Argelia Fragoso, among others. Grand experts have belonged to the group such as Lázaro Dagoberto González (violinist) and excellent flute player René Lorente. Over the span of half a century, generations of Cubans have enjoyed Aragón, their contagious rhythms and musical excellence, which by their own doings, has reached the top of Cuban music.
As an example of their ties to Cubans, starting 2 October, they will play in Miami and other North American cities.
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