The Sexteto Habanero was the first sextet founded in the Cuban capital in 1920. It constituted an indisputable musical revolution and the first boom in Cuban music.
Its origins lie in the Cuarteto Oriental, which became the nucleus of the Sexteto Habanero. Organized by Ricardo Martínez, from the province of Santiago de Cuba, the quartet’s members were: Ricardo Martínez (tres player and conductor); Gerardo Martínez (keyboard and vocals); Guillermo Castillo (botija); and Felipe Neri Cabrera (maraca and vocals).
As time passed, the quartet began to face difficulties; Ricardo Martínez left the group and was replaced by tres player Carlos Godínez. In a short period, the group became a sextet with some changes. Guillermo Castillo took over as guitarist, and Antonio Bacallao joined the botija (a botija drum player); Oscar Sotolongo took over as bongo player. Thus, its original members were Felipe Neri (vocals and maracas); Gerardo Martínez (vocals and calves); Carlos Godínez (tres); Guillermo Castillo (guitar); Antonio Bacallao (guitar); and Oscar Sotolongo (bongo). Thus, the Sexteto Típico Oriental (Typical Oriental Sextet) was formed, which was called the Sexteto Habanero (Havana Sextet) because all its members were from the capital.
After a period of making music for the humble crowds of Havana, the prosperous American recording industry brought them to their home country in 1925. There, they recorded their sones, boleros, and guarachas, which soon began to be heard in the living rooms of wealthy homes in Cuba and around the world.
In 1927, the sextet expanded to become a septet with the addition of the trumpet. Trumpeter Enrique Hernández was introduced, playing it briefly before being replaced and blown by the legendary Félix Chapotín.
This group featured distinguished figures, making it the most famous of its time. Felipe Neri Cabrera was a composer of enormous importance, pioneer of the soneado (nasal) style of singing (with an old-woman’s voice), which would later be followed by important voices in Cuban music such as Carlos Díaz (Caíto), Florencio Hernández (Carusito), Bienvenido León, and Siro Rodríguez, to name a few. Gerardo Martínez (El Príncipe) was considered a well-dressed musician with excellent rapport with the public. Carlos Godínez was the composer of classic pieces such as Tribilín cantore (Tribilín cantore), Yerbero buen (Good Yerbero), and Debajo de la mata (Under the Mata). Cheo Jiménez, a Cienfuegos native with an attractive voice, joined the sextet in 1927 and popularized the song “Como está Miguel, pa’ cantar” (How is Miguel, pa’ cantar). He was later recruited by Ignacio Piñeiro. Abelardo Barroso Dargelez was the musicians’ driver, and on one of their trips, they discovered him as a singer. He joined the group in 1925 and eventually became one of the great giants of Son music; he recorded “Maldita timidez” and “No me desprecies nunca” with El Habanero. Miguel García worked with El Habanero and sang duets with María Teresa Vera for many years. He also sang with Arcaño y sus Maravillas and with Alfredo Brito’s Orchestra. Félix Chapotín proved to be a star on the instrument, which he made sing in a unique style, imitating birds and laughing mockingly. Chapotín was also a trumpet player in Arsenio Rodríguez’s group in 1948. Voices that passed through El Habanero include Gerardo Martínez, Abelardo Barroso, Rafael Hernández, “el Piche,” Miguel García, and Felipe Neri.
Some of the anthological songs recorded were: Mama Inés (Eliseo Grenet), Africana (Felipe Neri), The Mango Is From My Cube (Rosendo Ruiz), That Mouth (Eusebio Delfín), Aurora (Manuel Corona), It’s Two O’Clock… China, How Is Miguel (Felipe Neri), Three Beautiful Cubans, Tribilín Cantore (Carlos Godínez), You Are My Marvelous Lyre (Guillermo Castillo) and The Four Cornfields (Elizondo and García).
Despite the shortcomings experienced over many decades, the remaining members always clung to their Son, and maintained the same frenzy of the first opportunity they were able to enjoy a cumbancha.
This group is an institution of the utmost importance in the history of Cuban music, not only because it is the first of its kind, but also because it was the first to verify the fusion between the original Son from the eastern part of the country and Rumba, now in a more urban setting.