The Matamoros Son International Festival, or the International Son Festival, as it is also known, was first held in 1995. It is sponsored by the Cuban Institute of Music, the Provincial Music Center, the Provincial Directorate of Culture of Santiago de Cuba, and the National Center for Popular Music. Its name pays tribute to Cuban musician Miguel Matamoros, a symbol of this musical genre in Cuba.

It takes place in the eastern Cuban province of Santiago de Cuba and spans four days and four nights, making this city the birthplace of Son. The president of the Organizing Committee is the prestigious Cuban musician Adalberto Álvarez.

This event provides a space within the Cuban musical scene to enjoy the genre, as numerous traditional musical groups gather during its events, performing Son majestically in different venues throughout the city.

The most recent edition featured performances by popular groups that are highly regarded both in Cuba and abroad, including Pupy y los que Son Son, Cándido Fabré, Manolito Simonét, and Adalberto Álvarez y su Son, among others.

At the 2006 event, tribute was paid to Cuban soneros Arsenio Rodríguez, Francisco Repilado (Compay Segundo), Ibrahim Ferrer, Pacho Alonso, Ciro Rodríguez and Roberto Faz.

On this occasion, an event was held under the theme “Al tumbao del Son” (To the Tumbao of Son). It included performances by orchestras, trios, duos, and soloists, as well as lectures on the genre. The theoretical event, which addressed the tradition and roots of Son in music, featured twenty presentations and lectures by prominent Cuban and international researchers and musicologists. It also included three competitions exclusively for professionals: Casino Dance, Searching for the Sonero, and the Best Tresero.

Foreign musical figures participated, such as Japanese singer Makoto Sasaki, the groups Sanmera from Vienna and Australia, and Somos Caimán from the Netherlands. Among the Cuban artists who showcased their art were Pancho Amat and his Cabildo del Son, the Orquesta Original de Manzanillo, the Grupo de Compay Segundo, Eliades Ochoa and his group Patria, and Los Rítmicos from Palma and Karachi.

The Matamoros Son International Festival’s fundamental purpose is to foster the development of popular dance music through its Cuban expression in the Son genre and to promote couples’ dancing. It brings together practitioners and researchers of the genre and pays tribute to one of the symbols of Cuban music.