Orquesta Aragón

Photo courtesy of the Diaz-Ayala Cuban and Latin American Popular Music Collection of Florida International University Libraries

One of my great loves is Cuban music, it’s the balm of my soul. I’m not a musicologist, I just buy what I think I’ll like based on recommendations and then if I like the artist, buy more. I have probably less than a hundred CDs in my Cuban collection. I always have my eyes and ears on the lookout for an undiscovered treasure but so far there are about a half dozen favorites that I listen to over and over again. They’re perfect, and I can’t get enough of them. The artists vary from early Arsenio to Cachao just great music that touches my heart.

One of my favorites is Orquesta Aragon’s “That Cuban Cha Cha Cha”. Like many Cuban bands that were successful B.C., the name has survived these decades, but the members have been revolving. I’m not saying that the current roster of musicians aren’t good or maybe even great, but even you put politics aside, which I won’t, ?they are Orquesta Aragon in name only. The Beatles without John, Paul, George, and Ringo are not the Beatles, and Aragon without Rafael Lay, Pepe Palma, Richard Egues, Jose Beltran, and the rest of the original lineup is not Aragon. American bands change members, but beyond a certain point, they change their name. Intrinsically they know that a name isn’t transferable in so personal a medium. A core fault of communism is that it doesn’t value the individual. Its adherents don’t understand that each individual’s unique talent is what creates value, whether if you’re running a government office, managing sugar fields, or creating music.

Orquesta Aragon started on September 30, 1939, when acoustic bass player Orestes Aragon Cantero brought his small band to Cienfuegos for their debut. One of the pioneer charangas, the band was comprised of violins, piano, flute, percussion and a singer.

They started out calling themselves Ritmica del 39, and then it was Ritmica Aragon before settling on the final name of Orquesta Aragon at the end of 1940. They also played waltzes and fashionable Spanish tunes locally at dances and parties. In 1948 a serious lung infection forced Aragon Cantero into retirement.

Twenty year old violinist Rafael Lay, who had been with the band for 7 years, took over the leadership. They started playing their first concerts in Havana in 1953, and when cha-cha became the rage Aragon seized its chance and landed a recording contract with America label RCA Victor.

In 1954, flautist Richard Egues joined Aragon. A stunning virtuoso, he brought an unequalled sense of improvisation to the band.? Orquesta Aragon brought cha-cha to the world. Everyone was dancing to the rhythm of the band from Cienfuegos.

The legendary lineup was now complete and included:

Rafael Lay – leader, arranger, violin;
Richard Egues – arranger, flute;
Pepe Olmo – vocals;
Fernando Alvarez – chorus;
Pepe Palma – piano;
Jose Beltran – bass;
Orestes Varona – timbales;
Guido Due?as – conga and vocals;
Filiberto de Pestre – violin;
Dagoberto Gonzalez – violin;
Panchito Arbolaez – guiro

1954 saw the massive hit Engañadora (Unfaithful woman) which firmly established the cha-cha as the new craze and with it, Aragon, they had arrived. Their lush music is all encompassing, pop in a CD and one minute you?re relaxing to an up-tempo ballad, then you are swept off your feet, dancing to the irresistible rhythm of cha-cha. Next thing you know, you’re listening to a delightful, highly- structured piece “Señor Juez”, which includes a pause for what has to be one of the earliest, as well as one of the sweetest raps in music history.

They rode the crest of the fabulous 50’s with the progress of science and talk of sputniks and flying saucers. Aragon sang “I’m Going to The Moon for my Honeymoon” and treated Cuba to its first “homemade” demonstration of stereophonic reproduction. Audiences were invited to tune in on their radios and televisions simultaneously, and heard the sound of Egues flute and Lays violin pass from one speaker to the other.

(Cuba B.C. ranked 1st in per capita for TV’s in Latin America, and they had plenty of uncensored stations to watch on them, ditto radios.)

Aragon made musical history by winning the prize in the Santiago Carnival for three years. They had so many hits that people joked that the number one spot in the charts was reserved for them. RCA Victor released their songs in the United States where they became famous overnight. They toured Panama, Venezuela, Guatemala and the United States to great success, playing in Tampa, Miami, Los Angeles and New York.

Orquesta Aragon has been dubbed “The Seminal Charanga Band” by The Rough Guide to World Music, and is known well for its unique and tasty renditions of the cha cha cha. Rafael Lay Sr. and the world-renowned flautist, Richard Egues, could both be considered responsible for the band’s unsurpassed reputation. Their hits include such classics as Sabrosona, Cachita, Bodeguero, Nosotros, Esperanza, Pare Cochero.

After castro’s takeover, they stayed in Cuba, but the touring ended until fidel figured out that the state had much to gain financially and otherwise by sending Cuban culture abroad to Communist friendly nations. I don’t know what the band member’s politics were. One thing for sure, great art is produced with a free spirit and the music from the golden years of Orquesta Aragon is infused with the unique inspiring soul of pre-castro Cuba.

My own personal favorite track so far is the traditional son, “Al Vaiven De Mi Carreta”. ?As a friend would say, it has great teeth.