The Revé orchestra, founded in 1956 by Elio Revé Matos (born in Guantánamo and known as the father of changüí), has become a musical phenomenon both in Cuba and abroad by contemporaryizing and disseminating the traditional changüí music inside and outside the island. Revé, with his remarkable compositions and rhythmic mastery of his paila, created a distinctive and triumphant style that, in collaboration with Juan Formell, led to his revolutionary musical breakthrough in 1967. Once again, during the 1980s, in collaboration with pianist Juan Carlos Alfonso, Revé achieved another notable feat: the monumental “explosión del charangón,” which served as a precedent for the salsa and timba explosion of the 1990s.
After Elio Revé’s death in 1997, his son Elito Revé, who became known as the Prince of Changüí, took over the orchestra, infusing it with a youthful and modern renaissance. He toured the world, forging connections with numerous salsa luminaries and Cuban timba masters. Throughout its illustrious career spanning 65 years, the orchestra has produced 11 albums, including multi-award-winning CD-DVD sets. His music has resonated in the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia.
The orchestra, brimming with the essence of tropical freshness, ignites incomparable enthusiasm and creates an immersive sonic atmosphere, imbued with emotional depth and collective frenzy.
