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. According to one writer, to qualify as a trovador in Cuba, a person should a) sing songs of his own composition, or of others of the same kind; b) accompany himself on the guitar; and c) deal poetically with the song. This definition fits best the singers of
boleros, and less well the Afrocubans singing funky
sones (
El Guayabero) or even
guaguancós and
abakuá (
Chicho Ibáñez). It rules out, perhaps unfairly, singers who accompanied themselves on the piano.