Rafael Martinez, Ricardo Moreno, Pedro Abreu (Son)

Cuban folk music is known throughout the world. It spread from Cuba, with variations, to Mexico City, New Orleans, Miami, New York and to all the major European cities. The fusion of Afro-Caribbean rhythms, guitar, bass and vocals (usually several voices, often in third intervals) suddenly gained prominence when, in 1999, the Wim Wenders' film Buena Vista Social Club was released.

The band play old Cuban standards from the 1920s and 1930s, songs plucked from their childhood which would have been sung with parents, grandparents and the like. They mostly play 'Son', a late 19th Century style of music from the east of Cuba ('Oriente'), which later spawned other styles such as Rumba, Mambo and Salsa, dance music that became especially popular in the U.S. and from thereon spread to Europe. 

Y Tú Qué Has Hecho?'

On the trunk of a tree, a young girl 
Filled with joy, carved out her name 
The tree, touched to the core 
Let a flower float down to the girl. 

I am the tree, sad and moved 
For you are the girl who wounded my bark 
I have always held your beloved name 
And you, what have you done with my poor flower? 

'Y Tú Qué Has Hecho?' is a declaration of love from an old man to a young girl - an impossible, but great love. The poetic text, like the music, pairs happiness with melancholia. The song was written in the 1920s by Eusebio Delfin. A characteristic of Delfin's compositions was the use of an arpeggio guitar part to introduce the main melodic theme of a song. To that end it is Cuban Bolero, a musical style influenced by Son, with harmonic and rhythmic variations happening over time . The band's version is influenced by Manuel Corona's interpretation of the song.  Originally written as little more than a one minute 'ditty', when performed on stage it can last up to 15-20 minutes!