Whether they are called carnavales, charangas or parrandas, large public celebrations dating at least (in Santiago de Cuba) as far back as the 17th century are common throughout Cuba. However, among Cubans, the Carnaval of Santiago de Cuba enjoys a special status (Pérez I 1988:20).
The history of Carnival in Cuba has been nuanced by a wide variety of interests and influences. Based on a Herskovitsian retention model, a cursory analysis might stress a continuous historical connection with Africa. But carnival cannot be explained only in terms of its African roots. Many of the practices and events within carnival culture are deliberately and consciously framed to connect to a construct of African’s that has resulted from over one hundred years of multicultural Cuban history.Judith, Bettelheim. “African Arts.” Negotiations of Power in Carnaval Culture in Santiago de Cuba. UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center: April 1991. 68. Print. Carnival has always been an expression of shifting power negotiations among various aspects of Cuban society.
Origin of the Carnaval: Mamarrachos
Carnival (Spanish “carnaval”), a pre-Lenten festival commonly held in Roman Catholic countries, became popular in Spain from the middle of the 1,000th century, was presumably brought to Cuba by Hispanic colonists (Pérez I 1988:15) and has been the basis for traditional celebrations in Cuba ever since (for example, Carnaval habanero). However, what is today called the Carnaval of Santiago de Cuba is not a manifestation of pre-Lenten carnival, which would be celebrated in February or March, but evolved out of the summer festivals formerly referred to as the (Fiestyou gayas de) mamarrachos (Brea and Millet 1993:193).Sg. and pl.; from Arabic muharrig “clown.” Various meanings in modern Castilian. “Historically, a group of masked or costumed persons who danced rhythmically in the streets following the parrandas or comparsas during the major festivals in July. These characters originally gained such importance in the Santiago carnival that carnival itself became identified as the Fiesta de mamarrachos, and was thus called until the present century.” (Brea and Millet 1993:193) Mamarrachos were held on June 24 (St. John’s [Midsummer] Day), June 29 (St. Peter’s Day), July 24 (St. Christine’s Day), July 25 (St. James the Apostle’s Day) and July 26 (St. Anne’s Day).
“Celebrations based on a religious pretext were always, at least in the case of the larger festivals, lacking in the liturgical character they were originally intended to have. From the written and oral sources, it seems that the so-called Days of St. John, St. Peter, St. Christine, St. Anne and St. James the Apostle were merely generic names which stood for days of public jubilation and diversion, totally lacking in the theological or liturgical meaning which it was convenient to feign, above all, during the days of the colonial government.” (Pérez I 1988:22)
The main activities were music, dancing and consumption of large quantities of alcoholic beverages. (Pérez I 1988:24, note 1)
The precise age and origins of the mamarrachos are unknown. The word "mamarrachos" itself does not appear in records until 1757 (Pérez I 1988:28). The festivals themselves are recorded as early as 1679, but certainly date from earlier on (Pérez I 1988:24). There are two theories about the origin of the summer festivals of Santiago. One is that they resulted from a gradual extension of more traditional European festivals, including carnaval (Pérez I 1988:21)Fernando Ortíz, in "Las comparsas populares del Carnaval habanero" in Estudios Afrocubanos, vol, V, La Habana, 1954-6, p.132, observed that there is a chain of festivals that extends from Christmas Eve to the Spring Equinox, probably having their ancient origins in agricultural rites. Ortíz was referring specifically to the city of Havana, but these festivals are common to all Spanish-speaking cultures. Another theory is that the mamarrachos of July 24-6 had their genesis in the procession of St. James the Apostle, who is the patron saint of Santiago de Cuba (del Carmen et al. 2005) . The two theories are not mutually exclusive (see also below "Winter Carnival vs. Summer Carnival").
A typical 19th-century Mamarrachos
A 19th century of animal-drawn carriages (whose occupants were not masked), the building of bonfires, pilgrimage to sanctuaries while carrying torches, the consumption of beverages such as aguardiente, “Yara” rum, natural fruit juices, chocolate, soup, beer, coffee, etc., the wearing of costumes and masks,Costumes were imported or made locally and worn by well-to-do attenders of masked balls. Parodies of famous people, living or dead, dominos, harlequins, etc. were popular. Poor people wore normal clothes and smeared their faces with colored greases or pastes, or wore inexpensive masks (Pérez I 1988:133-4). masked balls (where music was performed by the orquesta típica and the repertoire consisted of contradanzas, danzas, danzones, rigadoons and walzes), the erection of mesitas (tables covered with awnings where beverages and refreshments were sold), versification in the form of cantos de pullas (mocking songs, often truly insulting and mostly improvised by comparsas or small groups of festival-goers), the spontaneous parading of the comparsas, and montompolo, a grand parade on the last day of mamarrachos, with all the comparsas participating in a farewell performance (Pérez I 1988:132-5, etc.). By the end of the 19th century, the building of bonfires, visiting sanctuaries while carrying torches and horse-racing had died out (Pérez I 1988:132-5).
Comparsa
The most important manifestations of the mamarrachos and the present-day carnaval of Santiago are the parades or street performances of comparsas. The Castilian word comparsa comes from the Italian comparire – “to appear briefly” – as in a walk-on appearance in a theatre. It can also mean a group of musicians and dancers who perform in the streets during (pre-Lenten) carnival or other festivals.
Comparsas are mentioned in connection with the mamarrachos of St. John and St. Peter in Santiago as early as 1679 (Pérez I 1988:24). The first comparsa recorded was called “Los Alegrones” and was active in 1757 (Pérez I 1988:28). The names of 46 comparsas that were active in the 19th century along with some details about their costumes, themes, etc. are mentioned by Nancy Pérez (I 1988:137-9), the Cuban historian of the Santiagueran carnaval.
Pérez divides 19th century Santiagueran comparsas into two categories: paseos and congas (Pérez I 1988:136)A third type, the comparsa carabalí, was not mentioned in documents until 1902 (Pérez I 1988:166), but "according to the testimony of some descendants of the founders of the Cabildo [Carabalí Isuama], it existed before the later stages of the colonial era." (Pérez II 1988:174, note 2).In both written sources and spoken language, the terms “comparsa,” “conga” and “paseo” may be used in an inconsistent way (Pérez I 1988:136). The paseo was distinguished "by its accompanying music, the scenography and the choreographed dance steps that it performed (Pérez I 1988:136)." Ramón Martínez defined a paseo as a "type of comparsa but instead of Tajona,The tajona was a type of parade music and dance of the Haitianos or Haitian-Cubans (Brea and Millet 1993:200). the accompaniment was orchestral music, pasodobles and light marches." (Brea and Millet 1993:196). The musical ensembles that accompanied the paseos were usually mobile versions of the danzoneras or orquestas típicas that played in the dance halls or, sometimes, Spanish military bands (Pérez I 1988:106-7). Speaking of the 20th century, Brea and Millet (1993:196) add that "The paseos used [North American-style] Jazz Band orchestras, even though they have more drums and interpret popular current musical pieces." This usage of the word paseo to mean a type of comparsa should not be confused with the usage that signifies a parade of animal-drawn carriages or wagons (see above: "A typical 19th century Mamarrachos").
The second type was the conga, which was a “large conglomeration of dancers who, in an orderly, uniform manner, and dressed in accord with a selected theme, dance a rhythmic step in time with the accompanying instruments, which are almost always mainly percussion (drums: tumbas, quintos, and metal pans)" (Pérez I 1988:136). The congas were composed mainly of humble folk of scanty means; the paseos tended to be more lavish and required more capital. What the conguerosA conguero is someone who participates in a conga as a musician or dancer. lacked in material goods, they had to make up for in inventiveness. It was in the conga that the unique, characteristic music and dance of the Carnaval of Santiago de Cuba originated and evolved (see Conga).
Attitude of the colonial authorities to the Mamarracho tradition
The colonial authorities usually tolerated the mamarrachos. Mamarrachos were forbidden at some times for these reasons: in 1788, because of “abuses,”(Pérez I 1988:30); in 1794, because of "...moral and physical damage that they produce..." (Pérez I 1988:30) in 1815, because of drunken coach-drivers and the mixing of classes where "...license is taken to insult any person whatsoever with indecent songs and sarcastic speech which cause fights...," (Pérez I 1988:34); in 1816, "...with the object of preventing the disorders and excesses that have been committed in previous years, eliminating forever horse races and so forth..." (Pérez I 1988:34); in 1820, for "fear of disorder" (Pérez I 1988:34); in 1823, (reason not given, Pérez I 1988:34) and in 1869, "...so that the tranquility that the city enjoys may not be disturbed." (Pérez I 1988:110-1)Pérez says: "The prohibitions of fiestas in 1869 reflect the prevailing state of [The Ten Years’] war which, though not stated explicitly, can be seen in the interest of the authorities in maintaining the ‘tranquility’ of the population." Pérez I 1988:125, note 50.
Although tolerated, the mamarrachos were regulated (at least, on paper). In 1679, black slaves were not allowed to take part in comparsas whose members wore masks. Furthermore, black freedmen were the only ones who were not allowed to hide their faces with paint or masks. The reason given was that in preceding years, the opportunity of wearing a mask had given rise to violent settling of personal vendettas (Pérez I 1988:24). In a proclamation of 1841, the Spanish Governor forbade riding on horses or other animals in the paseo, driving vehicles fast during the paseo, the ridiculing of any person by means of speech, song or verse and the wearing of indecent costumes that could either offend public morality or make fun of other people. He also required the directors of comparsas to ask permission of the owners of homes before entering.It was the custom for comparsas and relaciones to enter the houses of the well-to-do and perform in hopes of getting a tip. Some people took advantage of the custom by forming groups who rehearsed very little, forced their way into people’s houses, gave a perfunctory performance and then urged the hosts to give them as large a tip as possible (Pérez I 1988:95) Finally, law officers were admonished to arrest violators of the above regulations “without exception as to person” and also, to arrest any persons caught bearing offensive arms under their costumes (Pérez I 1988:36). The proclamation of 1846 (Pérez I 1988:36) essentially repeats the contents of that of 1841, as do also those of 1851 (Pérez I 1988:67-8), 1854 (Pérez I 1988:71-2), 1859 (Pérez I 1988:85-6), etc., until the end of the colonial period.
Opposition to the Mamarrachos