Holguín Son

Revised January 2020

During my 2003 visit to Cuba, the entire group quickly grew tired of the catchy, ubiquitous song "Guantanamara," to the point that we considered implementing a fine for involuntary humming of the song by group members. I might have felt differently had I understood the political significance of the song, but probably not: it is the ultimate earworm.

The opening chords of "Chan Chan" evoked no such response. We heard it almost as often, and I certainly never tired of it. A decade later, it always takes me on a brief mental journey back to Havana. The song is a romantic -- even somewhat ribald -- example of Cuban son, a style introduced to many North American audiences (including me) by Ry Cooder's Buena Vista Social Club project.

As much as I associate the song with Havana -- because it was recorded there -- the song itself is set in the eastern province of Holguín, coincidentally home to Fidel and Raul Castro. It evokes a day of traveling from three small towns in the hills down to the beach town of Mayari.


View Chan Chan in a larger map

Lagniappe

Enjoy more music and landscapes in this video set to "El Carretero" -- another song in the Buena Vista Social Club repertoire. I enjoy it because it captures parts of the ride I took from Havana to Trinidad in 2003.