The Clave Chronicles

Rebecca Bodenheimer

A journey through the history and global influence of Cuban music, hosted by ethnomusicologist Rebecca Bodenheimer.

  • 4 minutes 59 seconds
    Send me your questions for a mailbag episode!

    Send us a text

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    You can support this independently produced podcast by becoming a monthly subscriber - even $3/month helps!

    If you like this podcast, please hit "Follow" and give us a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts

    Find The Clave Chronicles on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @clavechronicles
    https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

    11 November 2024, 11:00 pm
  • 1 hour 6 minutes
    A conversation with Cuban journalist Jesús Jank Curbelo

    Cuban journalist Jesús Jank Curbelo joins Rebecca to speak about a range of topics, including the legacy of El Taiger, one of Cuba's most popular artists who was killed recently in Miami. We also talk about Curbelo's career in Cuba reporting on the reparto movement, as well as the pain of leaving Cuba and challenges of building a new life in Texas.
    Curbelo has published several pieces at the Texas Observer and Palabra.

    Conversation in Spanish. Follow along with an English-language transcript here:
    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1El7dqfI2n-eTFs--dNryJI8OBsqXRhePszFu6I1PCzg/edit?usp=sharing


    Songs played:

    Coronamos (Remix), Taiger & J. Balvin (feat. Cosculluela, Bad Bunny & Bryant Myers) 
    Hilito Rojo, El Taiger & DJ Conds

    Send us a text

    Support the show

    You can support this independently produced podcast by becoming a monthly subscriber - even $3/month helps!

    If you like this podcast, please hit "Follow" and give us a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts

    Find The Clave Chronicles on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @clavechronicles
    https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

    1 November 2024, 11:00 pm
  • 43 minutes 51 seconds
    Rosa Marquetti part 2: Celia in Cuba

    Part 2 of Rebecca's conversation with Cuban music historian Rosa Marquetti. The second edition of her book Celia en Cuba (1925-1962) was recently published in Spanish, and will be translated into English next year.

    Conversation in Spanish. Follow along with an English-language transcript here:
    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W8qgbzs7DHwP2JlTl3FDZfbCc2aLSFovv2SVxZSw3Xc/edit?usp=sharing


    Songs played:
    Quédate Negra, Celia con La Orquesta Leonard Melody
    La Sopa en Botella, Celia con La Sonora Matancera
    Sueños de Luna, Celia con La Sonora Matancera

    Send us a text

    Support the show

    You can support this independently produced podcast by becoming a monthly subscriber - even $3/month helps!

    If you like this podcast, please hit "Follow" and give us a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts

    Find The Clave Chronicles on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @clavechronicles
    https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

    18 October 2024, 1:00 pm
  • 56 minutes 23 seconds
    Cuban music historian Rosa Marquetti (part 1)

    Rebecca speaks with Cuban music historian Rosa Marquetti Torres, author of several books, including one on Chano Pozo and another one on Celia Cruz's career in Cuba—the Celia book has just been released in a new edition! 
    Part 1 of our conversation covers the challenges of conducting research in Cuba and her work on Chano Pozo

    Conversation in Spanish. Follow along with an English-language transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WKJZoLnQJHo3t85_AMxsZ08p_nwPNZ_rZTBDTKmgoSQ/edit?usp=sharing

    Songs played:
    El pin pin, Chano Pozo
    Tin Tin Deo, Chano Pozo & Dizzy Gillespie

    Send us a text

    Support the show

    You can support this independently produced podcast by becoming a monthly subscriber - even $3/month helps!

    If you like this podcast, please hit "Follow" and give us a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts

    Find The Clave Chronicles on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @clavechronicles
    https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

    4 October 2024, 5:00 am
  • 1 hour 5 minutes
    Corneta china & Cantonese opera: The Chinese musical legacy

    Ethnomusicologist Edwin Porras joins Rebecca to speak about Chinese musical influences in Cuba, which date back to the mid-19th century. The double-reeded suona was adopted by Santiago conga groups around 1915, becoming an unmistakable musical signifier for conga santiaguera.

    **Fun fact: Cuba was the first destination for Chinese laborers in the Americas, before even the U.S.**

    Songs played:
    Example of Cantonese opera
    Lion dancing musical accompaniment (field recording)
    Caridad Amaran and Georgina Wong performing excerpt of Cantonese opera in Havana (field recording)
    De Oriente a Occidente, Diana Fuentes
    Paso Franco en la loma de Tivolí, Conga Paso Franco

    Send us a text

    Support the show

    You can support this independently produced podcast by becoming a monthly subscriber - even $3/month helps!

    If you like this podcast, please hit "Follow" and give us a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts

    Find The Clave Chronicles on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @clavechronicles
    https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

    19 September 2024, 7:00 am
  • 1 hour 1 minute
    Cuban fusion and transnational scenes

    Eva Silot Bravo joins Rebecca again to talk about her recently published book, Cuban Fusion: The Transnational Cuban Alternative Music Scene, which focuses on Cuban musicians who have migrated to New York, Madrid, and other major cities since the 1990s. They have created new transnational musical scenes, with some traveling back and forth between Cuba and abroad, fusing jazz, Afro-Cuban folkloric music, nueva trova and other genres.

    Songs played:
    Levitando, Ramon Valle
    Bolero Filin, Gema Y Pavel
    Café, Interactivo
    Se Feliz, Fernando Alvarez & Descemer Bueno
    The Magic Danzonete, Dafnis Prieto
    Baba Elegguá, Brenda Navarrete

    Send us a text

    Support the show

    You can support this independently produced podcast by becoming a monthly subscriber - even $3/month helps!

    If you like this podcast, please hit "Follow" and give us a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts

    Find The Clave Chronicles on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @clavechronicles
    https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

    27 August 2024, 7:00 am
  • 34 minutes 43 seconds
    From the Cuban Serenade podcast: Hilario Durán, The Genius

    This week The Clave Chronicles is sharing an episode of Cuban Serenade, a podcast exploring the history of Cuban music in Canada that's hosted by Freddy Monasterio and Karen Dubinsky. This episode focuses on the genius of Cuban-Canadian pianist/composer/arranger Hilario Durán. 
    Follow Cuban Serenade on your favorite podcast platform!

    Send us a text

    Support the show

    You can support this independently produced podcast by becoming a monthly subscriber - even $3/month helps!

    If you like this podcast, please hit "Follow" and give us a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts

    Find The Clave Chronicles on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @clavechronicles
    https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

    9 August 2024, 11:00 pm
  • 1 hour 49 seconds
    The Cuban-Canadian musical diaspora

    Freddy Monasterio, a Cuban-born researcher, educator and arts administrator based in Toronto, joins Rebecca to talk about the Cuban musical diaspora in Canada. He also co-hosts a podcast on the topic called Cuban Serenade.

    Songs played:
    La Reina del Norte, OKAN
    Cry Me a River, Hilario Duran and his Latin Jazz Big Band
    La Ceiba de Mayuya, Luis Deniz Group
    Rebirth, Dee Hernandez

    Send us a text

    Support the show

    You can support this independently produced podcast by becoming a monthly subscriber - even $3/month helps!

    If you like this podcast, please hit "Follow" and give us a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts

    Find The Clave Chronicles on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @clavechronicles
    https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

    19 July 2024, 1:00 pm
  • 1 hour 4 minutes
    Timba then and now

    Anthropologist and prolific scholar Umi Vaughan, author of Rebel Dance, Renegade Stance: Timba Music and Black Identity, joins Rebecca to speak about his 25 years of research on timba and how the genre has changed in the past three decades. Vaughan has been conducting research in Brazil more recently, and will soon be publishing a book on the repression of Afro-Brazilian religious practice and music.

    Songs played:
    La bola, Manolín El Médico de la Salsa
    De La Habana, Paulo FG
    No estamos locos, David Calzado y Charanga Habanera
    Mi medicamento, Havana D' Primera
    La chica del escenario, Havana D' Primera

    Send us a text

    Support the show

    You can support this independently produced podcast by becoming a monthly subscriber - even $3/month helps!

    If you like this podcast, please hit "Follow" and give us a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts

    Find The Clave Chronicles on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @clavechronicles
    https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

    5 July 2024, 8:00 pm
  • 1 hour 11 minutes
    Krudxs Cubensi: Giving voice to Afro-Cuban queer & non-binary identity

    Legendary Afro-Cuban hip hop group Krudxs Cubensi (Odaymar Cuesta and Oli Prendes) join Rebecca to speak about their career and the particular challenges they've faced as artists who are Afro-Cuban, queer, non-binary, and immigrants. Their latest album, They/Them Les Elles, features collaborations with Greg Landau and many other Bay Area-based musicians.

    Songs played:
    Mi cuerpo es mío
    You are not better than me
    They/them les elles
    Justicia y libertad

    Send us a text

    Support the show

    You can support this independently produced podcast by becoming a monthly subscriber - even $3/month helps!

    If you like this podcast, please hit "Follow" and give us a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts

    Find The Clave Chronicles on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @clavechronicles
    https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

    21 June 2024, 1:00 pm
  • 1 hour 6 minutes
    Going deep on the concept of clave

    Percussionist and educator David Peñalosa, author of the book The Clave Matrix, joins Rebecca for an in-depth discussion on the concept of clave, delving into its origins, variations and the way it works in various Afro-Cuban genres. If you've ever wondered what 3-2 or 2-3 clave means or what the difference is between "son clave," "rumba clave" and 6/8 clave, this episode is for you!

    Songs played:
    Eco (bembé-abakuá), Julito Collazo and Mongo Santamaria
    Los beodos, Los Muñequitos de Matanzas
    Era una gran señora, Alberto Zayas
    Wanileilo (makuta), Cabildo Kunalungo de Sagua La Grande
    Andule andule (makuta), Cabildo De Congos Reales
    Chinatown (Philadelphia Mambo), Tito Puente

    Send us a text

    Support the show

    You can support this independently produced podcast by becoming a monthly subscriber - even $3/month helps!

    If you like this podcast, please hit "Follow" and give us a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts

    Find The Clave Chronicles on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @clavechronicles
    https://theclavechronicles.buzzsprout.com

    Intro and outro music: "Bengo Latino," Jimmy Fontanez/Media Right Productions

    7 June 2024, 7:00 am
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