<P> In Spanish, the word son, from Latin sonus, denotes a pleasant sound, particularly a musical one . In eastern Cuba, the term began to be used to refer to the music of the highlands towards the late 19th century . To distinguish it from similar genres from other countries (such as son mexicano and son guatemalteco), the term son cubano is most commonly used . In Cuba, various qualifiers are used to distinguish the regional variants of the genre . These include son montuno, son oriental, son santiaguero and son habanero . </P> <P> Son singers are generally known as soneros, and the verb sonear describes not only their singing but also their vocal improvisation . The adjective soneado refers to songs and styles which incorporate the tempo and syncopation of the son, or even its montunos . Generally, there is an explicit difference between styles that incorporate elements of the son partially or totally, as evidenced by the distinction between bolero soneado and bolero - son . The term sonora refers to conjuntos with smoother trumpet sections such as Sonora Matancera and Sonora Ponceña . </P> <P> Although the history of Cuban music dates back to the 16th century, the son is a relatively recent musical invention whose precursors emerged in the mid-to - late 19th century . Musicologists agree that the direct ancestors (or earliest forms) of the son appeared in Cuba's Oriente Province, particularly in mountainous regions such as Sierra Maestra . These early styles, which include changüí, nengón, kiribá and regina, were developed by peasants, many of which were of Bantu origin, in contrast to the Afro - Cubans of the western side of the island, which primarily descended from West African slaves (Yoruba, Ewe, etc .). These forms flourished in the context of rural parties such as guateques, where bungas were known to perform; these groups consisted of singers and guitarists (playing variants such as the tiple, bandurria and bandola). Such early guitars are thought to have given rise to the tres some time around 1890 in Baracoa . The addition of a rhythm section composed of percussion instruments such as the bongó and the botija / marímbula gave rise to the first son groups proper . Nonetheless, it has become increasingly clear for musicologists that different versions of the son, i.e. styles that fall within the so - called son complex, appeared throughout the rural parts island by the end of the 1890s . Musicologist Marta Esquenazi Pérez divides the son complex into three regional variants: changüí in Guantánamo, sucu - sucu in Isla de la Juventud, and an array of styles which fall under the denomination of son montuno and were developed in places such as Bayamo, Manzanillo, Majagua and Pinar del Río . For this reason, some academics such as Radamés Giro and Jesús Gómez Cairo indicate that awareness of the son was widespread in the whole island, including Havana, before the actual expansion of the genre in the 1910s . </P> <P> Musicologist Peter Manuel proposed an alternative hypothesis according to which a great deal of the son's structure originated from the contradanza in Havana around the second half of the 19th century . The contradanza included many of the traits that are shown in the son, such as melodies in parallel thirds "duet" form, the presence of a suggested clave rhythm, implicit short vocal refrains borrowed from popular songs, distinctive syncopations, as well as the "two part" song form with an ostinato section . </P>

Where did the son's quartets come from