Yo tengo sentido, tengo rima : Cano Estremera and the Art of the Soneo

Calling himself El due o del soneo, the boss of vocal improvisation, the Puerto Rican singer, Carlos Cano Estremera, is at the forefront of many innovations in soneos. For the uninitiated, a soneo is a vocal improvisation sung by a lead singer during the montuno, or call-and-response section in Afro-Cuban son-based musics, commercially referred to as salsa. As he is always up for a good duel, planned or unforseen, the results of Cano s duelos have been recorded both legally and illegally and spread throughout the world by salsa fans. Through conversations with Cano and a look at several techniques he uses when improvising, this article shows Cano Esteremera s improvisational framework to be a synthesis of previous soneros as well as singers and musicians from beyond the realm of salsa. His style can be summed up as unique and creative while remaining in the tradition.