From Ballrooms To Concert Halls, Mexico Kept This Cuban Style Alive
The Salón Los Angeles is the oldest dance hall in Mexico City. The classic 1930s ballroom is located in a working-class neighborhood near downtown, and every week, it sees dozens of well-dressed couples of all ages moving to an orchestra of saxophones, trumpets, trombones, clarinets and percussion instruments.
The music is called danzón, and it was born in Cuba in the late 1800s. By early in the next century, it had couples gliding in set patterns in a kind of formal square dance. It was huge. But, like popular music in every era, danzón was eventually replaced by more modern styles.
In Mexico, however, danzón is still a popular ballroom dance in cities across the country. Composer Arturo Márquez caught the danzón bug when he started going to a Mexico City dance hall in the early 1990s.
"And that's where I really learned — the way they play, the danzón sounds, the rhythms, the melodies, more or less the harmonies," Márquez says. "And especially the connection between the dance and the music, which is very strong. I think it's one of the dances that the dance, the music, really goes together, all the time. It's like a marriage."
This kind of music and dance atmosphere inspired Márquez to compose not one, but a series of eight danzónes for orchestra.
"It allowed me to go into the symphonic world, into the classical world — I wouldn't say easily, but with a very natural sense," Márquez says.
Arturo Márquez was born in the northern state of Sonora. The family eventually moved to Los Angeles, where Márquez took up violin and later piano in high school. He eventually received a Fulbright scholarship to study composition with Morton Subotnick and James Newton at the California Institute of the Arts. But Márquez did not follow their musical path, says Aurelio Tello, a Peruvian composer and researcher based in Mexico City.
"Marquez signed the new epoch in music in Mexico because he refused the avant-garde style," Tello says. "When he gave to know the Danzón No. 2, the avant-garde style was finished."
Tello has written extensively about classical music in Latin America, as well as about Márquez's work. He says when Danzón No. 2 premiered in 1994 in Mexico City, the audience reaction was intense.
"The audience was shouting, and for five or six minutes, the audience were clapping," Tello says. "It was amazing. I don't remember, never, in 30 years, 32 years that I'm living in Mexico, a similar occasion, a similar perception, a similar situation. The public was impressed with danzón."
Danzón No. 2 has been performed by orchestras around the world. Superstar Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic, makes Márquez's music a regular part of his concerts.
Márquez wrote Danzón No. 2 in early 1994. But he wasn't trying to conjure a bygone era so much as respond to the social and political upheaval around him, particularly the Zapatista Chiapas uprising against the Mexican government.
"The social life around you really influences you, no? So that's what happened in Danzón No. 2," Márquez says. "Yes, there was this background, this knowledge background in 1993, of the salons, the dance saloons. But there was also this — what's happening in Mexico in January and February, and I think this piece, it shows — it has hope. I think it's a piece for hope, para esperanza."
It's music with echoes in an old dance hall and on the streets of Mexico today — musical paths Arturo Márquez will continue to follow into the future.
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Transcript
TAMARA KEITH, HOST:
The warming relations between the U.S. and Cuba have created all kinds of speculation about possible exchanges in trade, tourism, sports and culture. And now a new generation of North Americans will eventually have a chance to learn about the island nation's rich musical history. Danzon is a style of music that was once one of Cuba's most popular; then all but disappeared there, only to be kept alive in Mexico. Betto Arcos has the story of a classical composer who's taken that music to concert halls.
BETTO ARCOS, BYLINE: The Salon Los Angeles is the oldest dance hall in Mexico City. The classic 1930s ballroom is located in a working-class neighborhood near downtown. And every week it sees dozens of well-dressed couples of all ages moving to an orchestra of saxophones, trumpets, trombones, clarinets and percussion instruments.
(SOUNDBITE OF DANZON MUSIC)
ARCOS: The music is called danzon, and it was born in Cuba in the late 1800s. By early in the next century, it had couples gliding in set patterns in a kind of formal square dance. It was huge, but like popular music in every era, danzon was eventually replaced by more modern styles. In Mexico, however, danzon is still a popular ballroom dance in cities across the country. Composer Arturo Marquez caught the danzon bug when he started going to a Mexico City dance hall in the early 1990s.
ARTURO MARQUEZ: And that's where I really learned the way they played, the way the danzon sounds - the rhythms, the melodies, the harmonies - and especially the connection between the dance and the music, which is very strong. The dance and the music really goes together, you know, all the time. It's like a marriage.
ARCOS: This kind of music and dance atmosphere inspired Marquez to compose not one, but a series of eight danzones for orchestra.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DANZON NO. 7")
MARQUEZ: It allowed me to go into the symphonic world, you know, into the classical world. I wouldn't say easily, but with a very natural sense.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DANZON NO. 7")
ARCOS: Arturo Marquez was born in the northern state of Sonora. The family eventually moved to Los Angeles, where Marquez took up violin and later piano in high school. He received a Fulbright scholarship to study composition with Morton Subotnick and James Newton at the California Institute of the Arts. But Marquez did not follow their musical path, says Aurelio Tello, a Peruvian composer and researcher based in Mexico City.
AURELIO TELLO: Marquez signed the new epoch in music in Mexico because he refused the avant-garde style. When he gave the "Danzon No. 2," the avant-garde style was finished.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DANZON NO. 2")
ARCOS: Tello has written extensively about classical music in Latin America and about Marquez's work. He says when "Danzon No. 2" was premiered in 1994 in Mexico City...
TELLO: The audience was shouting for five or six minutes. It was amazing. I don't remember, never, in 32 years that I am living in Mexico, a similar occasion. The public was impressed with "Danzon."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DANZON NO. 2")
ARCOS: "Danzon No. 2" has been performed by orchestras around the world. Superstar Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic, makes Marquez's music a regular part of his concerts.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DANZON NO. 2")
ARCOS: Marquez wrote "Danzon No. 2" in early 1994, but he wasn't trying to conjure a bygone era as much as respond to the social and political upheaval around him, particularly the Zapatista Chiapas uprising against the Mexican government.
MARQUEZ: The social life around you really influenced you, you know? So that's what happened in "Danzon No. 2." Yes, there was this background, you know, of the saloons, the dance saloons, OK. But there was also what was happening in Mexico, and I think this piece has - how can I say - has hope, you know? I think it's a piece for hope, para esperanza, you know?
ARCOS: It's music with echoes in an old dance hall and the streets of Mexico today - musical paths Arturo Marquez will continue to follow into the future. For NPR News, I'm Betto Arcos. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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