Classical guitar in Cuba Classical guitar in Cuba The guitar (in the form of its direct ancestor, the “vihuela”) was the first instrument that was heard in Cuba after the conch horns, flutes and drums that the original aborigines used to play; as it was documented by Spanish chroniclers such as Bernal Díaz del Castillo. . Through the centuries, the guitar has continued to be one of the most important and cherished instruments in Cuba, both in the practice of popular music as well as in the classical music tradition. Founded by renowned professors such as Clara Romero, Isaac Nicola, Clara (Cuqui) Nicola, Carlos
Classical guitar in Cuba Manuel Espinás, Alfredo Panebianco, Carlos Alberto Lloró, Jorge Luis Garcell, Alexis Méndez, Rubén González, Freddy Pérez, Rosa Matos, Iliana Matos, Rafael Padrón, Amed Dickinson, Marco Tamayo, Ernesto Tamayo, Rene Izquierdo, Miguel Bonachea, Edel Muñoz, Gerardo Perez Capdevila, Joaquín Clerch Yalil Guerra and Alí Arango. Numerous Cuban composers, many of them guitarists themselves, have contributed to create a body of work that may support the didactic and aesthetic efforts of the Cuban Guitar School. Before 1959, some composers such as Amadeo Roldán, José Ardévol, Joaquín Nin Culmell, Natalio Galán and Harold Gramatges began composing music for the classical guitar. Apart from