The arrival of the 1930s represented a major boom for 20th-century Cuban music. This marked the period of expansion of Son music both nationally and internationally. Son music had acquired a new structure in Havana, consisting of a sung part at the beginning and later the alternating part, known as montuno, which featured a faster tempo. With the creation of various Son sextets, the son repertoire expanded with different song genres; and with the addition of a montuno, many songs (with a defined rhythm, such as Bolero, Criolla, and Guaracha) were transformed into Bolero-Son, Criolla-Son, and Guaracha-Son.

Also during this decade, the instrumental jazz band format was introduced in the country, with the purpose of interpreting the North American music that was in vogue at the time. Within a short time, this format began to perform Cuban music, and its repertoire included guarachas, boleros, rumbas, and salon congas. They were comprised of well-trained musicians and orchestrators who made arrangements for the musical genres heard and danced to in Cuban society at that time.

There was a strong and rapid penetration of American music in Cuba, so the orchestras that performed Cuban popular music and our dance music genres struggled with this expansion.

In 1940, another instrumental format emerged on the island: the Conjuntos. Arsenio Rodríguez added two trumpets, a tumbadora, and a piano to the septet format. The guitar was discontinued in Conjuntos, and the tres became the emblematic instrument. In Arsenio’s Conjunto, the tres was played differently than in other Son musical formats; the piano created vibrant tumbaos, and the trumpet developed distinctly Cuban improvisations based on American swing. With this musical perspective, Arsenio’s Conjunto and the other groups that followed its lead created a new sound for Son.

In this stage of the 20th century in Cuba (1930-1959), new genres emerged in Cuban music that possessed strong elements of our culture, among which were the Mambo, the Chachachá and the song movement called Feeling.

During these years, a large export of Cuban popular music took place, mainly to Europe, in genres such as Rumba, Son, and later Mambo and Cha-Cha-Cha. In the 1940s and 1950s, Bolero became the counterpart to foreign genres such as Twist.

Mass media in Cuba reached a significant level of development, reflected in the high level of radio. There were radio stations with studios where national and international artists recorded, and a symphony orchestra was created to accompany the singers. These mass media reached a much greater peak in the 1950s with the emergence of television in our country. Programs such as “Fiesta en el Aire” on radio and “Show del Mediodía” on TV contributed to popularizing orchestras throughout the country.

Our renowned Benny Moré, in the 1950s, created a unique school of Son interpretation. He, accompanied by his Banda Gigante, established an unrivaled style in popular music throughout the Caribbean. Benny Moré, with his Banda Gigante, Enrique Jorrín’s orchestra, and singers such as Roberto Faz and Miguelito Valdés, among others, formed the pinnacle of 20th-century Cuban popular music in the 1950s.