Son

Son is a style of music that became popular in the second half of the 19th century in the province of Oriente and reaching Havana around the 1880s. Son is a combination between the Spanish canción and the Spanish guitar with African rhythms and percussion instruments of Bantu and Arara origin.

Son is a Cuban music style, but it is also often used for other traditional music styles of other Spanish speaking countries. The Cuban style is called "Son Cubano". Other son styles exist in Mexico where for example the Son Jarocho of Veracruz and the Son Huasteca of the Sierra Huasteca are distinct popular musical styles where the concept has been fusioned with indigenous musical styles.

The music style was created by two sisters, Teodora and Micaela Ginez, who were black slaves who emigrated to Cuba from Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic and brought with them the new rhythm. "El Son de la Má Teodora" marks the birth of Son which Cubans have made their own and which formed the origin of modern Salsa.