Within the history of Cuban music, the period between the 1980s and 1990s is characterized by the introduction of the Cuban salsa boom. The Charangón de Revé was revived; and the collaboration of pianist Juan Carlos Alfonso, with new orchestrations and creations, led to the Charangón explosion. In 1988, Juan Carlos Alfonso formed his group Dan Den, a sublimely youthful modernity.

Sergio David Calzado created Charanga Habanera, a group of talented musicians who graduated from Cuban art schools. The band was created to fulfill a work commitment at the Sporting Club of Monte Carlo, constituting a project that performed popular Cuban music from the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1990s, Charanga Habanera included daring choreographies in its performances featuring all its members. Calzado incorporated new musical instruments into the Charanga’s format, establishing the instrumental format it currently displays. This led to modifications in terms of timbre. In 1998, the band became the most popular band of the year and won the award. They reached the top spots on Cuban radio and television with four hits during the years 1998 and 1999, results that were repeated in 1999, 2000, and 2001.

Also in 1988, José Luís Cortés founded his own orchestra, NG La Banda. Its name means “new generation,” and it was a project that realized the hopes of a new generation of Cuban musicians. Among the many contributions José Luis Cortés has made to Cuban music is the creation of the popular Cuban musical genre, Timba. His group is considered by many to be the inventor and pioneer of this Cuban musical style. Timba is currently the foundation of contemporary Cuban dance music.

This musical form is characterized by the predominance of aggressive sounds, in addition to the exaggerated fragmentation of the classic tumbao, the counter-accentuation, and the combination of fragmentary elements and planes. The lyrics of the songs constitute social chronicles, addressing the aspects of everyday life and social events.

In the 1990s, the explosion of bands was unprecedented. Dozens of popular dance music groups began to appear: Paulo FG, Manolito Simonet, the revamped Charanga Habanera, Bamboleo, Yumurí y sus Hermanos, Ángel Bonne, and many female orchestras such as Canela and Caribe Girls. Every day, a new band appears, along with numerous musicians from music schools, as well as some trained as professionals.

The Novísima Trova is a movement in Cuban song that emerged in the 1980s. It is considered the Cuban artistic and musical movement born as a direct manifestation of the Revolution, whose exponents are the successor generation that continued the Nueva Trova, also known as the Second Generation of Nueva Trova.

The Novísima Trova, a term that names the phenomenon that constituted the Contemporary Cuban Song, emerged as a result of the new sociocultural thinking that emerged in Cuba during this period.

Among its exponents, known as the second wave of singer-songwriters, we find Carlos Varela, Gerardo Alfonso, Frank Delgado, Santiago Feliú, Donato Poveda, Gunilla, Pável Urquiza, Roberto Poveda, Julio Fowler, Amaury Gutiérrez, Gema Corredera, and José Luis Barba, among many others. The lyrics of the songs are compelling and thought-provoking, imbued with the everyday transformation of Cuban national reality. Instead of relying on poetry, the element that characterized the Nueva Trova, the exponents of the Novísima delved into the reality of the moment, the contradictions of everyday life, the chronicle, and the storytelling.

Also in the 1990s, inspired by the title Buena Vista Social Club, Juan de Marcos organized a new orchestra in Havana, the Afrocuban All Stars. Among its most notable figures were Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer, Manuel Licea (Puntillita), José Antonio (Maceo), Pío Leyva, Raúl Planas, and Omara Portuondo; musicians such as Guajiro Mirabal, Javier Zalba, Orlando López (Cachaíto), Rubén González, and Miguel Angá.

They recorded three albums in 1996, two of which were Buena Vista Social Club and A toda Cuba le gusta (A Toda Cuba Le Gusta), both of which were nominated for a Latin Grammy. Finally, the album Buena Vista Social Club won the 1998 Grammy in the traditional music category. This triumph helped spread the success and fuel the revival of traditional son and trova at the end of the millennium, as one of the most notable phenomena of 20th-century Cuban music.

Although rap music reached our country in the 1970s and 1980s through shortwave radio broadcasts, it wasn’t until the 1990s, when it began to develop with youth groups, primarily made up of Black people, that it began to manifest itself in parks and on street corners in working-class neighborhoods. It blended with rock, trova, and the recent salsa boom. Initially, Cuban rap groups used North American backgrounds; later, they attempted to materialize their exponents’ search for musical authenticity. Cuban rappers began to blend it with other Cuban genres such as son and salsa.

Other performers, such as Orishas, ​​fused rap with Cuban musical genres. This project emerged in France with the idea of ​​blending traditional Cuban music with hip-hop being created outside of Cuba. Their revolutionary fusion is considered one of the greatest artistic contributions of recent years. In their ten years of existence, this group has become an emblem of new music in the 21st century. They have earned respect in Europe, the United States, and Latin America thanks to their powerful, imaginative, and deeply rooted music; they still have millions of fans around the world.

In 1979, singer and multi-instrumentalist Bobby Carcasés organized a series of concerts at the Casa de la Cultura in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución (Calzada No. 909, Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución, Havana). These concerts would become the precursors to the renowned Jazz Plaza Festival, which first took place in 1980. Notable national and international musical figures, as well as musicians from various countries, have performed there. Another event that features this genre during this era is the Jojazz International Young Jazz Competition.

Various musical events, such as festivals and competitions were created during this time, with the main purpose of showcasing new performers in different musical genres and styles as well as raising the musical level in the country, such as: Leo Brouwer International Guitar Festival-Competition, Havana Contemporary Music Festival, Boleros de Oro International Festival, PERCUBA International Festival, Cantándole al Sol Children’s Song Festival, Cubadisco International Fair of the Cuban Recording Industry, and Benny Moré International Popular Music Festival.

During this period, concert music in Cuban Music in the 20th Century (1980-1999) was represented by the Promúsica Duo, composed of pianist Maria Victoria del Collado and violinist Alfredo Muñoz. During this period, the Camerata Romeu was also formed in 1993, officially debuting in September 1994. Under the baton of Maestro Zenaida Castro Romeu, the group is composed exclusively of women, becoming the first of its kind in Cuban musical history. Its image is a just tribute to the beauty of Cuban women. The Música Eterna Chamber Orchestra, created in 1995 by Maestro Guido López-Gavilán, was created to bring together students from musical institutions with the goal of forming a group that would contribute to their artistic training. López-Gavilán describes this as a beautiful experiment.

It can be said that vocal ensembles of various formats—duos, trios, quartets, and others—that perform Cuban popular music are part of a tradition. They began to emerge in the mid-20th century and have remained present in Cuban music, cultivating diverse musical genres such as Son, Feeling, Bolero, and others. As successors to one of the most famous vocal groups in the history of Cuban music, Los Nuevos Zafiros, Vocal Sampling, and Sexto Sentido emerged during this period. The latter showcases a broad repertoire that covers a wide spectrum of musical genres such as Trova, Rhythm & Blues, Danzón, Bolero, Nueva Canción, and Jazz. They have received several awards, including the 2007 Cubadisco Prize.

In this stage of Cuban music of the 20th century (1980-1999), several instrumentalists stand out among whom should be mentioned: Francisco Fernández Tamayo (Frank Fernández), Sergio Vitier García-Marruz, Andrés Alén Rodríguez, José María Vitier García-Marruz, Jorge Luis Prats Soca, Ernán López-Nussa Lekszycki, Eduardo Córdova Reyes, César López Corzo, Descemer Well, Ilmar López- Gavilán Junco and Aldo López- Gavilán Junco.

Cuba has been home to renowned singers of the song throughout history. Several singers mark this era in the history of Cuban music, including Alfredo Rodríguez, Beatriz Márquez Castro, Sergio Farías, and Bárbara Llanes. Popular orchestra conductors, such as David Álvarez, Cándido Fabré, and Pablo Fernández Gallo, are also leading singers in their groups.

The Yoruba Andabo folklore troupe blends Afro-Cuban music and dance in its performances. Its origins lie in a group of young workers at the Port of Havana. This group called itself Guaguancó Marítimo Portuario (Maritime Port Guaguancó) and developed its art through a strong amateur movement. In 1985, they began their professional careers under the pseudonym Yoruba Andabo. The group’s fundamental purpose is to promote and disseminate the purest and most indigenous rhythms of Cuba’s easternmost region, as well as musical expressions originating from other regions of Cuba.

They bring to the stage diverse musical genres that shape the African roots of Cuban culture, including the Congo, Yoruba, Abakuá, and Rumba complex cycles, with their traditional rhythms, especially Yambú, Guaguancó, and Columbia. They also work with the fusion of other musical genres, creating contemporary voices and sounds through harmonious choruses layered with unique choreography. Yoruba Andabo enjoys a large following, as through the sonic combination of percussion instruments, voices, and dance, they create a spectacle and captivate audiences brimming with the essence of the nation and Cuban culture.

The rise of the group Habana Abierta, led by Kelvis Ochoa, blended Trova with Salsa-Timbeada and more modern themes. Founded in the early 1990s in Havana, the project dates back to the conception of the compilation album Habana Oculta (Nube Negra, 1995), produced by Gema Corredera and Pavel Urkiza, with the firm aim of promoting the voices and music of young Cuban musicians abroad. The album featured Pepe del Valle, Luis Barbería, Andy Villalón, José Luis Medina, Kelvis Ochoa, Alejandro Frómeta (Superavit), Carlos Santos, and Boris Larramendi.

Habana Abierta has performed in diverse venues around the world, in numerous European countries such as Spain; in major cities such as New York, at the SOBs Plaza, and in Miami. In the latter, on the stage of the América Arlines Arenas in Miami and the Miami-Dade County Auditorium. In Cuba, they have performed at La Tropical (41st and 46th Avenues, Playa, Havana) and at the National Theater of Havana (Promenade and 39th Street, Vedado, and Plaza de la Revolución, Havana). At festivals such as the first edition of Rock’n Rio in Lisbon and the Dr. Music Festival, among others. They are a true exponent of Cuban music, representing youth and good music.