Jean-Maurice Mourat

Habanera

The habanera is a musical genre and a dance, which emerged in the 1830s in Cuba. But the term can also designate a Latin American musical style, even Catalan. This musical genre is easily recognized, by the permanence of the rhythmic structure in the bass. The milonga, then the tango will derive from the habanera, as in the opera Carmen by G. Bizet: "Love is a rebellious bird". La Paloma d'Iradier acquired a great reputation, in Spain and in the Americas. Jules Massenet as well as Isaac Albeniz and Manuel de Falla, were also seduced by the habanera. The Andalusian singer, Carlos Cano, forged a huge success with his Habanera de Cadiz, at the end of the last century. As for the Catalan habaneras, they are accompanied only by certain string instruments, such as the guitar or even the lute.