Many of the small Cuban musical groups born in this period of the 20th century have left a vestige of sones, boleros, guarachas and other musical manifestations of our Cuban popular music that neither distance nor time can erase, because they were one of the most indigenous manifestations of our musical idiosyncrasy.

During these years of the 20th Century of Cuban music, a great variety of trios emerged, among which we can mention the Trio “Luisíto Pla and his guaracheros, made up of Luisíto, Gerardo Navarro and Senén Suárez; The Trio Hermanos Nodarse; The Trio Matancero; Trio Camaguey; Trio Pinareño; Trio Los Rodrigos; Trio Tico Álvarez; Trio Hermanos Torres and Monterrey; Trio Hermanos Montalvo, one of the longest-standing groups in Cuba and the Trio “Los Embajadores”, which has turned out to be a small group with perfectly matched voices, who have also stood out magnificently in the execution of their guitars.

We can also find some Cuban trios during this period that broke with the formal structure of Los Matamoros and began harmonizing their voices, often even omitting maracas to perform works with three guitars. The little-known Trio Habana, whose members were Arca, García, and Urquiza, had harmonized voices. This group was short-lived. Los Hermanos Rigual, made up of Pituko, Carlos, and Mario, were a revelation for lovers of Cuban trios, and Trio Los Príncipes, from Sancti Spiritus, performed wonders with a single guitar and three voices.

Among the most important trios of this era, we cannot fail to mention the Trio Las Hermanas Lago, Trio Taicuba, and Los Guaracheros de Oriente. Significant duos were also created, such as the Duo Las Hermanas Martí and the Duo Los Compadres.

Los Guaracheros de Oriente, led by the renowned Cuban musician Ñico Saquito, was founded in 1948 and comprised of Félix Escobar (El Gallego), drummer and lead vocalist; Gerardo Macías (El Chino), guitar and vocalist; and Florencio Santana (Picolo), guitar and vocalist. This group toured extensively in Venezuela, Tampa, Key West, Mexico, and New York. With these young musicians, Saquito recorded countless of his beloved works. They appeared in the 1951 Cuban film Rincón criollo, alongside star Blanquita Amaro, singer Celia Cruz, and the duo Celina y Reutilio.

The Taicuba Trio debuted on August 15, 1947, on the Bacardi program. The first song was “Cuban Night” by César Portillo de la Luz. The press of the time commented: “Taicuba is making a complete change in the style used until now by all Cuban trios. Just listen to any performance by Cataneo, Baz, and Leiva to realize that a trio with such rhythm, quality, harmony, and refinement has never existed in our country.” It is currently one of the longest-running trios in the world.

In the second decade of the 1940s, a musical movement originating from American song began to spread in the capital, quickly finding traction with singers, composers, and vocal groups: the Feeling movement.

Parallel to the emergence of this new song, known as Feeling, vocal ensembles, duos, trios, and quartets began to appear, joining the new modality of what was called “singing with feeling.”

By organizing vocal groups that explored the feeling movement, they gave this foreign rhythm the Cuban touch that allowed them to occupy an important place in the national and international scene. Among the quartets that emerged in the 1950s, Las D’Aida stood out. They were one of the quartets that most successfully combined their voices with the new sounds of international music, combining them with the richness of our most authentic rhythms.