Patricio Ballagas
Encyclopedia
Camagüey
Camagüey is a city and municipality in central Cuba and is the nation's third largest city. It is the capital of the Camagüey Province.After almost continuous attacks from pirates the original city was moved inland in 1528.The new city was built with a confusing lay-out of winding alleys that made...
, 17 March 1879 – Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, 15 February 1920) was an important innovator in trova
Trova
Trova is one of the great roots of the Cuban music tree. In the 19th century a group of itinerant musicians known as trovadores moved around Oriente, especially Santiago de Cuba, earning their living by singing and playing the guitar...
music. His compositions were written in 4/4 time when most others were composing in 2/4 time; and more important, he invented 'double text', where the melody is superimposed over the lead vocal, which then becomes the second voice. He introduced contracanto into the trova form, so that the second voice changes from being intimately connected to the first voice to becoming a melodic and harmonic expression with its own identity.
The historian of trova, Dulcilla Canizares, asks the question "Por qué no, Patricio Ballagas? She thinks he should rank as one of the top five of trova. His short life probably militated against greater recognition of his talent. Timidez, written in 1914, is his most famous number.