Danzón was derived from Danza and Contradanza when these Cuban musical genres received the mestizo influences of the rhythmic criollo son. Its name is the augmentative of Danza.

The Danzón as a musical genre was first heard on January 1, 1879, at the Matanzas Lyceum, performed by a Typical or Wind Orchestra (cornet, valve trombone, fiddle, two clarinets, two violins, double bass, timpani, and güiro), conducted by cornet player Miguel Faílde. The new rhythm that Faílde created had a surprising impact on the dancers. Everyone praised his unique creation, entitled “Las alturas de Simpson,” and that night he was forced to repeat it at the dancers’ request.

The structure of the Danzón consists of an introduction, a clarinet part, a repeated introduction, and a brass trio. This format corresponds to the aforementioned wind orchestra. It begins with an Introduction (4 bars) and a Paseo (4 bars), which are repeated and then followed by a 16-bar melody. The Introduction and Paseo are repeated again before a second melody is played. Its rhythmic core is the Cuban cinquillo, its tempo is slower than the Danza, and its time signature is in 2/4 time.

In the first two decades of the 20th century, the danzón was proclaimed Cuba’s national dance. In later years, other creators emerged, such as Raimundo Valenzuela, a distinguished composer and trombonist, who, along with Enrique Guerrero and cornet player Félix Cruz, modified the performance, adding a final section sung by the orchestra to their respective danzones.

The musicologist Helio Orovio in one of his texts tells us that “In 1910, José Urfé, composer, conductor and clarinetist, revolutionized the Cuban Danzón by inserting, in its final part, a montuno de son in the style of the figurados of the oriental treseros.” Urfé’s composition, dedicated to his violinist Julián Barreto, El Bombín de Barreto established for the rest of the century the tone of the style that would forever distinguish the Danzón.

In 1924, Antonio María Romeu composed his Danzón Marcheta, in which he used an off-beat rhythm driven by the timpani, while the rest of the orchestra played in time. In 1926, Romeu wrote Tres Lindas Cubanas, which featured a piano solo for the first time. In 1937, Abelardito Valdés premiered a landmark danzón, Almendra.

That same year, the Arcaño y sus Maravillas orchestra was created, giving rise to the so-called Danzón de Nuevo Ritmo (New Rhythm Danzón). In this type of Danzón, the three parts of the genre remain unchanged; it continues with one part for flute and another for violins, but in the third, the montuno achieves a counterpoint between the flute and violins. The flute requires great virtuosity, the rhythm changes in the timbale, the güiro becomes more pronounced, and the tumbadora is introduced into the charanga, strengthening the percussion set. The strings are also expanded, and the harmony and melody become more complex. With all of this, the piano ceases to predominate as the sole solo instrument.

Danzón is a genre of Cuban music that has been cultivated in countries like Mexico. It has been influenced by other genres and has been brought to the realm of symphonic music. Musicians like Chucho Valdés have recreated and created the danzón with contemporary harmony and sound for different instrumental formats.