El Bodeguero
Orquesta Aragón · 1956 · from the album That Cuban Cha-Cha-Cha · written by Richard Egües
Cha-cha-chá by the great Cuban charanga, written by its flutist: the flute and violins at their best.
- flute and violins
- cha-cha-chá
Why it matters
Orquesta Aragón, founded in Cienfuegos in 1939, became arguably the best charanga in Cuba in the 1950s and 60s: flute, violins, piano, bass, timbales, güiro and conga, played in a tight ensemble style. It didn't invent the cha-cha-chá, but it helped make it a worldwide craze.
Flutist Richard Egües joined in 1955 and wrote El Bodeguero, which the band recorded for RCA Victor late that year. It opened their album That Cuban Cha-Cha-Cha (1956) and became one of their biggest hits.
What to listen for
- The flute: Richard Egües played a five-key wooden flute, and it cuts through the band with bright, fast lines.
- The violins playing together as one section, and the güiro scraping its steady pattern under everything.
- The cha-cha-chá beat: slower and steadier than salsa. The dance has its own basic, with the triple step that gave it its name (“cha-cha-chá”) on 4-and-1.