Orquesta Aragón

Orquesta Aragón
OriginCuba
GenresSon cubano
Danzón
Chachachá
Years active1939 (1939)–present
Members
  • Rafael Antonio Lay Sánchez
  • Rafael Lay Bravo
Past members
  • Rafael Felipe Lay
  • Orestes Aragón
  • Filiberto Depestre
  • Hilario René González
  • Rufino Roque
  • Efraín Loyola
  • Orestes Varona
  • Noelio Morejón
  • Pablo Romay
  • Richard Egües
  • René Lorente

Orquesta Aragón is a Cuban musical band formed on 30 September 1939, by Orestes Aragón Cantero in Cienfuegos, Cuba. The band originally had the name Ritmica 39, then Ritmica Aragón before settling on its final form. Though they did not create the Cha-cha-cha, they were arguably the best charanga in Cuba during the 1950s and 1960s. Their trade-marks included high-class instrumentalists playing in tight ensemble style, and rhythmical innovations which kept their sound up to date. Over the years they progressed from their start as a danzoneria to play a wider variety of styles, danzón, then cha-cha-cha, then onda-cha, pachanga and son fusions. They still perform today, based in Havana.