Cuban Son with Mark Carr-Rollitt and Jorge Peña
The Basics
Cuban son is a style of music unique to Cuba that blends elements of Spanish and African music into something new. It’s a style of music that can be arranged in many ways, and that everyone likes to dance to! Mark Carr-Rollitt and Jorge Peña perform Cuban son together in a band called Montuno Cubano. In these videos they perform a song for us, share about their experiences with Cuban son and teach us some common rhythms played on Cuban percussion instruments.
The song that Jorge and Mark perform is called “Echale Salsita” (“Add Some Spice to It”), originally by Ignacio Piñeiro and his Sexteto Nacional. The instrument that Jorge is playing may look like a guitar, but it is actually a smaller version of the guitar called a requinto. The percussion instruments that Mark plays in these videos include the claves, guiro, cowbell, and bongos.
Extension Activities
Since Cuban son is dancing music, see if you and your learners can master the basic son dance step! Teachers may want to learn the basic step first, so you can teach it to your learners at a pace that works for them. Some examples where the dancers keep it relatively simple can be found on the Oliver’s Song website. When you’re ready, see if you can dance along to the Cuban rhythms you practiced with Mark and Jorge, or even to their performance of “Echale Salsita!”
About Jorge and Mark
About Jorge
Jorge (pronounced: Hor-hey) Peña (pronounced: Pain-ya). Jorge Luis Peña Acosta is a professional musician from Cuba. He has performed with his brother as a duo in several cities in Europe and has recorded CDs in Barcelona and Paris. In Canada, Jorge has performed at concerts, festivals, private parties, on yachts, and at special events.
Originally from Santiago de Cuba, he is the youngest of 8 children and his siblings say he was singing before he was talking. Everyone in the family is musical and music reinforces their strong family bond. He writes and sings about his family, his culture, and his life in Cuba.
Cuban music is complex, but the rhythms are part of Jorge’s DNA. He can play anything: salsa, bolero, son, campesina, guajira, guaracha, bolero, trova, and mambo, etc.
Jorge is keen to perform as a guest artist, as a duo, or as part of an existing group. He has an infectious personality and always has a special connection with every audience. He especially enjoys when others, including members of the audience, want to make music with him.
About Mark
Mark Carr-Rollitt is an event organizer, percussionist and guitar player who performs with Montuno Cubano, I and the Village, and Amy AmyAmy. He has also performed with ECMA-nominated The Count and the Cuban Cocktail, The Knot, Baba’s Jazz night, and as a band member for Play in the Park - A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He is a Master of Island Studies candidate at UPEI, focussing on Caribbean Rhythms in Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica.
Jorge and Mark play together in the band Montuno Cubano, and are available for performances and in-class sessions.
