Juan de la Cruz Echemendía, a prominent Cuban musical creator, was born in 1878 in the province of Sancti Spíritus. He traveled to Havana at the age of fourteen to fulfill his mother’s wish that he learn the trade of carpentry and cabinetmaking. Upon arriving in the capital, he found himself immersed in a city where the Clave Choirs were promoted, and little by little he became immersed in that world. At that time, in addition to having trained as an outstanding carpenter, he learned to play the guitar, thus enhancing his artistic talent.

After a while, he became a member of the El Prestigio Clave Choir in Havana’s Jesús María neighborhood, where he sang and played guitar. In the second half of the 1980s, he joined the Abakuá Secret Society, taking part in the Ekion Efór group, which was based in the San Lázaro neighborhood.

Juan de la Cruz returned from Havana in 1890 and settled permanently in his hometown. Thanks to the trade he learned as a carpenter and cabinetmaker, he opened the agency, Tren de Funeraria, on the corner of San Justo and Silva Streets.

In 1894, in June, she founded and presided over the club or society she called La Yaya. It was created with the goal of bringing together people who enjoyed entertaining and organizing comparsas and popular festivals, as well as performing boleros, songs, rumbitas, claves espirituanas, and sones yayaberos. On November 21, 1899, this association was officially legalized.

He observed the development of Spanish-origin string instruments in Sancti Spíritus, as well as the use of African wedge drums, and reinforced the rhythmic accompaniment with the clave, the maracas (jawbone), and, above all, the botija. Another major contribution of this gentleman was the creation of claves with lyrical texts and others that also spoke about society, politics, and so on.

Juan de la Cruz Echemendía left a precious contribution to the history of Cuban music: La Clave, La Rumba, and his Sancti Spiritus Choir. He strongly identified with the Sancti Spiritus musical tradition and his experience in the Coros de clave and tandas de guaracheros from Havana. He contributed to traditional Cuban music by creating a choir of Rumbas from Sancti Spiritus first, and later clave and rumba. These choirs possessed distinct characteristics as a genre and as a musical group.