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Son Son De La Loma Trio Matamoros Con Maña Se Rompe Cubanismo	Son is a style of popular dance music that originated in the Oriente province of Cuba. It is the foundation of modern salsa. There are several hybrids of Son, including Son-montuno, Afro-son and Guajira-son. There are two examples here: one very traditional, and one more modern.
Guajira Tocoloro Arsenio Rodriguez	A derivation of Son, usually played a little slower, and identified by its arpeggiated guitar or piano parts. "Guantanamera" is probably the most famous guajira.
Bolero Como Fue Beny Moré	A slow, romantic ballad.
Cha-cha-chá El Bodeguero Orquesta Aragón Cuba Klimax	Originally a derivative of the danzón-mambo, cha-cha-chá became a popular style of its own. Here are two examples: very traditional from Orquesta Aragón, and very modern by Klimax.
Rumba Chacho Los Muñequitos De Matanzas	A secular folkloric form, Rumba consists of drumming, dancing and call-and-response singing both in African and Spanish languages.
Yoruba Yemeyá Conjunto Folklorico Nacional de Cuba	Sacred music of the Lucumí religion featuring batá drums. This track features the master akpwón (caller) of Cuba, Lázaro Ros.
Zapateo Zapateo Cubano Frank Emilio Flynn	A flamenco-derived folk dance once popular throughout Cuba but now confined mostly to rural Oriente and associated with guajira music.
Danzón Isora Club Cachao	A style of music influenced by European dances, first developed in the late nineteenth century. The form later was expanded to contain a section initially known as "nuevo ritmo," later called mambo.
Mambo Mambo Cachao Mambo U.K. Cubanismo	The word mambo can have many meanings, but the samples here are representative of the dance style popularized in the 40's and 50's. The Cachao sample, written by his brother Orestes Lopez, is thought to be the first mambo.
Descarga Spoon Lips Cachao	Literal translation: to unload. The descarga is the Cuban jam session. Israel "Cachao" Lopez made several classic descarga records in the fifties.
Jazz Cubano Nueva Vision Emiliano Salvador Claudia Irakere with Chucho Valdez	Cuban jazz--self explanatory.
Mozambique Iliana Quiere Chocolate Pello Afrokán	A style of Cuban carnaval music created by Pedro Izquierdo, also known as Pello Afrokán.
Conga El Alcalde Cachao	Another style of Cuban carnaval music.
Pachanga/Charanga Sabrosona Orquesta Aragón	Charanga refers to instrumentation. Flute and violins take the place of brass. Pachanga was a popular style in the 50's and was usually played by Charanga bands.
Pilón Ritmo Pilón Pacho Alonso Salsa Pilón Cubanismo	Pilón was a popular dance based on the motions of pounding sugarcane. It originated in the Cuban town of the same name.
Timba Te Pone La Cabeza Mala Los Van Van Yo No Quiero Que Mi Novia Sea Religiosa Klimax	The newest and most controversial music out of Cuba, Timba is like salsa on steroids. It incorporates influences from Brazilian music, R&B, hip-hop and salsa. Note the different roles the piano and bass play. Just two samples do not do justice to this anything-goes genre.
Songo Soy Todo Los Van Van	Originated by Los Van Van, Songo was in many ways the predecessor to timba. The roles of the piano and bass were custom-fit to each song, rather than relying on traditional patterns.
Changüí ¿Donde Está Cotó? Cubanismo	An early style of Son.