Son de Oriente
mi son caliente
mi son de Oriente
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Son from the East
my son, hot as a beast, my son from the East
Manzanillo and Palma Soriano spoke the lyrics about the origin of son in the song.
Origin of Son
Son was originally from rural eastern Cuba. In the early twentieth century people from the east started moving to Havana and they brought their cultures with them. Son was one of them.
Oriente is currently represented by five provinces:
MORE ABOUT SON​
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The word son was derived from sonar, meaning to sound.
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The Oriente province where son was from, was known as the "Faja Negra"- the "Black Belt" of Cuba. In Oriente province, Bantu people was the major population which includes several hundred ethnic groups in sub-Saharan Africa. Son, developed from nengón and kiribá, the two ancient forms, adopted the traditional percussion instruments among Bantu people. These traditional percussion instruments, like bongo and claves, together with tre (the Spanish peasant's guitar), melodic rhythms , Spanish language and the call-and-response singing style became the original sones.
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Besides son, cuban danzón was also brought from the Oriente province. However, danzón was not popular among the Cuban elite in its early stages of development. It went through stages of whitening processes before arriving to Havana. Son did not follow the path of danzón. Instead, son kept its rural tradition and it was free from classical influence in Havana.
Bongos
Claves
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"Son de la Má Teodora," was composed in Santiago de Cuba province and it was the oldest known Cuban son.