Güiro Percussion – Music
The güiro is a notched gourd scraped with a stick or fork to produce a rasping, rhythmic sound. It is a standard feature of charanga orchestras and is central to danzón, cha-cha-chá, son, and salsa.
Origins
Sources disagree about its origin. According to Wikipedia, the Taíno of the Caribbean are credited with it: they made the güajey, a long gourd or animal bone with notches. The word güiro comes from Arawak. EcuRed, on the other hand, calls the güiro African in origin, and Wikipedia also points to scraped instruments from West and Central Africa.
Construction
A dried, hollowed gourd with notches cut into its surface. Played by dragging a thin wooden or metal stick across the notches in long (slow) or short (quick) strokes. The combination of long and short scrapes creates the characteristic syncopated rhythm.
Role in Charanga
According to EcuRed, in Cuba the güiro is indispensable to the rhythm of danzón and cha-cha-chá, giving them a true criollo flavour. Those are the styles of the charanga, alongside flute, violins, piano, bass and timbales.
Like the maracas, the güiro is often played by a singer, according to Wikipedia. It is also used in son and trova. According to EcuRed, the Cuban güiro is fatter than the Puerto Rican one and is the standard in salsa.