Manolín, El Médico de la Salsa
"El Médico de la Salsa" — Manolín (Manuel González Hernández) was one of the most popular timba"> timba vocalists of the 1990s, known for high-energy performances and a direct, street-rooted vocal style.
About
Manolín trained as a physician before pursuing music — hence his nickname "El Médico de la Salsa." He became one of the biggest stars in Cuba during the timba"> timba boom of the mid-1990s, with his songs becoming ubiquitous at dances and in the streets of Havana.
His style was direct and energetic, appealing strongly to young Cuban audiences with content that addressed everyday life and the dance culture of 1990s Havana. He left Cuba in 2001 and continued recording in the United States, though with diminishing impact outside the Cuban expatriate community.
Timba is the music this site is dedicated to exploring. It emerged as a distinct genre in the late 1980s and crystallized in the early 1990s — born in a moment of social crisis, built on the full accumulated history of Cuban music, and still evolving today.
Lees meer >Rumba is the most African-rooted of all Cuban music and dance forms — born in the streets, courtyards, and docks of Havana and matanzas"> Matanzas in the late 19th century, with no European instruments, no salon setting, and no pretense of European propriety.
Lees meer >Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean and the birthplace of some of the world's most influential music and dance traditions. African, Spanish, and French cultural streams collided here over centuries of colonial history, producing an extraordinary creative culture that exported itself across the globe.
Lees meer >EGREM (Empresa de Grabaciones y Ediciones Musicales) is Cuba's state recording company, founded in 1964 after the Revolution nationalized all private recording labels. Its main facility, Estudios Areíto in Havana, is where virtually every important Cuban recording from the Revolution era was made.
Lees meer >A Cuban popular dance music genre that emerged in the 1980s–90s
- emerged in the 1980s–90s
- influenced by songo, rumba, funk, blues, jazz, pop, rock and Afro-Cuban rhythms.
- Known for complex rhythm shifts, aggressive bass lines, and high energy that push dancers to improvise.
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