"It's such a joy to be here in New York City," says Ricardo Oropesa-Fernandez, manager for the Cuban folkloric band Septeto Nacional de Ignacio Piñeiro. "I feel that we are walking the same steps that the original Septeto Nacional did when it first came to this city."

Oropesa-Fernandez is speaking by phone after the group's sold-out show - Septeto's first in the United States after being denied entry during the Bush administration - at the Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture in the Bronx. They are here for a scheduled 25 engagements, which includes four nights at Yoshi's San Francisco this week. Oropesa-Fernandez, also a respected Cuban music historian, tells the story of the original Septeto Nacional's first visit to New York.

"The Septeto Nacional came to New York in June 1929 on a ship bound for Spain," he says. "The group was scheduled to perform at the Iberio-American World Exposition in Seville and were to stop over in New York for a few days. But upon entering New York Harbor, the ship got stuck in the mud and could not land."

Septeto Nacional had been asked to record for Columbia Records and had hoped to do so during a brief visit.

"Unable to visit the city, the group rehearsed and jammed," Oropesa-Fernandez says. "A young girl named Carola was on board and would dance with glee when the Septeto played its sones. Lazaro Herrera remembered that she said to Ignacio Piñeiro, 'Your sones are so good and of the highest caliber; they are suavecito (so nice).' It planted the seed for a song. Piñeiro composed "Suavecito" and performed it for the first time in Seville, where it was an instant hit. The group was awarded a gold medal and gave birth to one of Cuba's most beloved songs.

On the way back from Spain, Septeto was finally able to get to New York and record the tune for Columbia Records.

Piñeiro was born May 21, 1888, in Havana and began his musical journey learning the drum-and-dance rhythms of rumba. He was a brilliant "rumbero" who worked with musical groups from 1903 on. In 1906, he became a member of the Timbre de Oro clave y guaguancó vocal group.

But at the end of the 19th century in the sugarcane and coffee plantations of eastern Cuba, the rhythms of Africa and the songs of Spanish heritage began to combine. It created a new music called the son oriental. Limited to rural areas, it was classified as indecent, but its popularity spread quickly. Among the first son bands to achieve fame were the Cuarteto Oriental and Trio Matamoros.

At the beginning of the 1920s, Havana experienced a major migration of orientales (people from Oriente) and, because of their cultural influence, son became more accepted in the capital. Havana fell in love with the new rhythm and sound and put its own stamp on it by speeding up the tempo and playing it with six musicians rather than three. New groups arose such as the Sexteto Bolona, Sexteto Occidente and Sexteto Habanero. Ignacio learned to play double bass from María Teresa Vera, an icon of the early son movement. In 1926, he joined her band, Sexteto Occidente, on bass. He left in 1927 and founded El Sexteto Nacional de Ignacio Piñeiro, but soon added a trumpet and made it Septeto Nacional.


In the early 1930s, Septeto Nacional blossomed with the addition of singer Marcelino Guerra. Piñeiro's songs showed a poetic depth and a swinging style that musically appealed to dancers. In 1933, the band performed at the Chicago World's Fair.

Around 1932, Piñeiro composed a song to a street sandwich vendor. "Echale Salsita" (Put a little sauce on it) had a catchy melody that impressed George Gershwin, who heard it on the radio on a trip to Cuba, tracked down Piñeiro and used the opening motif of the son in his "Cuban Overture." Piñeiro quit the group in 1935.

Septeto Nacional was then led by trumpeter Herrera until it disbanded in 1937. Piñeiro, who had gone to work as a brick layer and marble cutter, revived Septeto Nacional in 1954, and it has continued ever since.

It's songs such as "Suavecito" and "Echale Salsita" that the 2009 edition of Septeto Nacional de Ignacio Piñeiro will be performing at Yoshi's. The tribute band was nominated for a Latin Grammy for the album "Poetas del Son" a few years ago and has performed around the world. Since 1988, the group has been led by raspy but rich vocalist Eugenio R. Rodriguez, known as "El Raspa."

"I was just a little boy when I first heard 'Echale Salsita.' Since then, Piñeiro's music has guided me and this band," Rodriguez says. "We are all in this together, and our unity is strengthened by the admiration and respect we have for the music of Ignacio Piñeiro."

Along with Rodriguez, the group is made up of Francisco D. Oropesa-Fernandez (bongo), Enrique Collazo (Cuban tres guitar), Dagoberto Sacerio Oliva (guitar/vocals), Augustin Someillan Garcia (trumpet), Raul Acea Rivera (string bass) and Julio Martinez Hernandez (maracas/vocals).

"For us, the music of Ignacio Piñeiro is sacred," Francisco says, "but we also have our own compositions that we do in the style of the Septeto Nacional. This manifestation of the group is the fourth generation, and we have quite a few years playing together. During this time, we have achieved a certain feeling for this music and work to keep the tradition and music of Piñeiro alive." {sbox}

Septeto Nacional de Ignacio Piñeiro: 8 p.m. Mon.-Thurs. $26. Yoshi's, 1330 Fillmore St., San Francisco. (415) 655-5600, www.yoshis.com.