Originating in Santiago de Cuba during the second half of the 19th century, it spread rapidly throughout the Caribbean and, later, to various Latin American countries. It was a descendant of the song of Hispanic origin, strongly influenced by elements of operatic arias, French romances, and Neapolitan songs, but it had already undergone a process of Cubanization, and in its rhythmic aspect, it has a clear connection with the Danza and the Habanera.

The bolero emerged in the 19th century as a new style with guitar accompaniment, a mixture of strumming and fingering, which reached us through renewed contact with Mexican sones. A rhythmic, highly segmented and constant strumming was introduced on the lead guitar; tonally accentuated on the second guitar, thus creating a new style of musical accompaniment.

In Cuba, the Spanish bolero was known and played, but the new Creole genre only incorporated its name, since its structure, in 2/4 time, differed, apart from the other constituent aspects, from the three by four of the Spanish genre.

The first bolero songs composed were related to the Danzón. And so the troubadours of Santiago de Cuba, with their voices, sometimes in duets, and guitars, began to cultivate it from the 1880s.

The bolero has no recognized origin, as apparently no mention was made of it when it was being created, as it was a genre heavily criticized by costumbristas. Among its earliest cultivators was Pepe Sánchez from Santiago, who some writers say created the first bolero, titled Tristezas, in 1885.

This Cuban musical genre resurfaced when Cuba became a republic in 1902, adding more than 10 styles performed by great arrangers and composers.

In short, the bolero was a musical form taught to us by our Spanish colonizers in 3/4 time, and it was certainly heard in Havana as early as 1792. The transition to 2/4 time was observed as early as 1840, the Hispanic seguidilla disappeared in 1860, and the Cuban cinquillo was introduced in 1870. This rhythmic figure would always be present in all Cuban compositions. After 1890, it became common to find bolero artists in the eastern Cuban provinces cultivating it with passion, a musical genre that no one has been able to stop to this day; even in its new forms, it has been blessed by the Cuban public.