Biography
Florencio Santana, Gerardo Macia, Felix Escobar and Nico Saquito founded Los Guaracheros de Oriente (The Guaracha Players of Oriente) in 1940. Saquito, who passed away in 1981, was one of Cuba's most prolific and beloved song-writers and many of his songs are classics of the Cuban repertoire. The quartet moved to Venezuela in 1950 and gained local fame by performing live on radio variety programmes. Saquito left the group in 1955, but they continued on as a trio, moving to the United States in 1959.
As the name of the group implies, Los Guaracheros de Oriente primarily performed <<guarachas>>, a relative of the <<son>> that developed in eastern Cuba. <<Guaracha>> is essentially a balladic song style with poetic lyrics and lush, multi-part harmonies that were very influenced by French and Spanish music. It is less percussive and syncopated than <<son>>, but they are both instantly engaging musical styles that liven up any party. The instrumentation is often quite basic: guitar, <<maracas>>, <<timbales>> and <<cencerro>> (cowbell).
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