Interview about the cajon made to Rafael Santa Cruz
- What is the cajon?
A wonderful percussion instrument made of a wooden box with an exit hole. As “simple” as that.
- Where was it born?
The oldest testimonies are in Lima, Peru.
- How old is it?
It is more than 150 years old
- What kind of music did it originally accompany?
The Zamacueca, ancient musical and dance genre, which later received the name of Marinera and today is Peru’s National Dance. The Zamacueca gave birth to the Cueca in Chile, and to the Zamba in Argentina. In Cuba, the cajon started accompanying the Rumba Yambú.
- Where is the cajon played?
Traditionally, it is played in Peru and Cuba; and since the seventies in Spain. Today it is played in many countries, but nowhere as in Peru. There is no music in the Peruvian coast if there isn’t a cajon, that’s why it is called Peruvian cajon.
- Is it still being important in Peru?
Of course, it is our main percussion instrument and it is used in many genres. The Peruvian rock has adopted it, and it is almost obligatory in the acoustic versions.
- How long have you been playing it?
I’ve been trying to play it for 30 years.
- Don’t you feel you dominate it?
I feel we understand each other but I don’t think I totally know it.
- Why have you written a book about the cajon?
There was too much lack of information, I thought and believed it was important for all of us to have a referential text about it. But I never even suspected I was the one who would write it.
- Peru’s main newspaper “El Comercio” has said that your book is the Bible of the Cajon, what do you think?
Can you imagine it! It’s an honour
- What was the major problem in the process?
To confirm that the research would be hard for there is no book about the cajon only.
- Why do you talk about the cajon in Spain and in Cuba in your book?
Because it is used a lot in both places.
- Do you feel someone “stole” the cajon from Peru?
No, but I think it would be fair to call it Peruvian cajon everywhere and not cajon flamenco.
- Which are the differences between one and the other?
There are no differences. It is the same cajon. The measurements are the same, the construction too. In Spain, the high pitches are a bit loosened, the clamps are not too tightened, the flamenco likes that sound. In Peru, high pitches are more “closed”, that’s the sound we like. With the clamps more tightened.
The birchwood is used in Spain, and the cedar and mahogany in Peru. The strings were not invented by the Spanish, in the north of Peru the strings have been used in the cajon for about 50 years now in order to find a more “harsh” sound, like the one of the “snare drum”. In Peru only the cajones for teaching, those used by beginners, have strings. We, professional musicians, never play cajones with strings. For a professional it is a disgrace for getting the sounds required is part of the challenge. The easier it is the lesser the challenge, and the strings definitely make easier to obtain some sounds.
- But from the acoustic and physical point of view are they the same?
They are exactly the same. The cajon is a Helmholtz’s resonator everywhere.
- Do you like the cajon in the flamenco?
Yes, it goes very well with it. The only thing that worries me is that the flamenco’s wonderful clapping could be in danger.
- Have you ever played a Spanish cajon?
Yes I have, there are good and bad ones. I once played a cajon from Cortez, it sounded fine.
- Have you ever played the Cuban’s?
Yes I have, the Cuban cajon concept is similar to the batá drum concept, the work is distributed between three cajones. It is very interesting.
- Wouldn’t you like to give cajon workshops in Spain?
Sure, once a year I travel abroad to give workshops and master classes. Last year I was in Rio de Janeiro. Years ago I lived in Spain, I don’t know if you know that my father was a torero. My mother is Spanish and my whole maternal family leaves there.
- What other country has a recent interest for the cajon?
Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
- Wouldn’t you organize an international workshop here in Peru?
(he smiles) It is not cheap to come to Peru from Spain and Mexico but I will think about it.
- What is the most important thing you need to play the cajon?
As for everything ……………… vocation.
- How do you do the microphony for a cajon?
For a live performance, the sound is caught through the exit hole, which means the rear face. If the work is done at a music studio, in addition to the first part, a microphone is added in the front face of the cajon to catch the high pitches.
- Who is the world best cajonero?
There are several extraordinary cajoneros, I don’t really like that kind of statistics.
- Are you dedicated to the cajon all the time?
Not all but a great part of it. I have a workshop for construction of cajones (Santa Cruz Percussion), I am a cajon teacher at the Centro Cultural of the Catolica University and I give private lessons.
- Is it true that you are also an actor?
Yes, is the other face of the art I perform. I am now at the Municipal Theater taking a leading part in a classic piece, “Otelo” of W. Shakespeare, in a local version in which we also use cajones.
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