Thedanzón-mambo (also known asdanzón de nuevo ritmo) is a subgenre of Cuban dance music that marked the transition from the classicaldanzόn to themambo and thecha-cha-chá. It was also in the context of the danzón-mambo that the Cuban dance band format calledcharanga reached its present form.
The danzón-mambo was created by the musicians and arrangers ofAntonio Arcaño's charanga,Arcaño y sus Maravillas, which was founded in 1937 (Orovio 1981:324).According to Santos (1982),
The main forces behind Arcano's mambo were the Lopez brothers,Orestes ... and Israel (the great "Cachao") ..., who did most of the composing and arranging for the group, and played the 'cello and the string bass, respectively.
Generally speaking, thedanzón-mambo represents a further and stronger incorporation of elements of theson into thedanzón. The first sections, ordanzones, did not depart significantly from the traditionaldanzón structure[1]. But, the final section of thedanzón-mambo was based ontumbaos andguajeos from themontuno section of theson, which created a complex,clave-oriented polyphony with strong accents on the upbeat (Santos 1982). In order to further reinforce theson feeling, Arcaño added thetumbadora (conga drum) to the traditionalcharanga percussion lineup ofpailas andgüiro. Also, thepaila player began to use a cowbell in the final section (Santos 1982). This final section, at first callednuevo ritmo, later came to be calledmambo.[1]
Out of the danzón-mambo came both themambo and thecha-cha-chá. The mambo would subsequently become a genre played mainly by American-style big bands, and as such, did not pose a threat to the danzón-mambo. But, in the face of the sudden overwhelming popularity of the cha-cha-chá in the 1950s, the danzón-mambo began to disappear. However, a convention arose of playing the final section of the danzón-mambo with a cha-cha-chá rhythm, enabling the dancers to dance both the danzón and the cha-cha-chá in the course of the same composition. This became known as the danzón-cha and is the form of danzón most favored by dancers in Cuba at present.