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[[File:MuGlobe-97d65b4583714fd2.jpg|thumb|right|320px|alt=Celia Cruz with Sonora Matancera in the 1950s.|[[Celia Cruz]] with Sonora Matancera in the 1950s.<br />Image: Ibrahim Arce (Narcy Studios photographer), most likely. [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Public_domain Public domain]. [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Celia_Cruz_y_La_Sonora_Matancera.jpg Source].]]

== Summary ==
Sonora Matancera is a Cuban dance ensemble whose recordings helped circulate [[Son cubano|Cuban son]] and related popular song throughout Latin America. Its history is closely connected with the careers of successive featured singers, including [[Celia Cruz]].<ref name="sonora-am">[https://www.allmusic.com/artist/la-sonora-matancera-mn0000053434 AllMusic: La Sonora Matancera biography]. Accessed 23 October 2026.</ref>

== History ==
The group originated in Matanzas in 1924 and developed into an internationally recognized ensemble under the long musical direction of Rogelio Martínez. Recording, broadcasting and touring spread its sound well beyond Cuba. A later phase included recordings for the Fania-associated Bárbaro label.<ref name="sonora-century">[https://www.jornada.com.mx/noticia/2024/01/13/espectaculos/100-anos-de-la-sonora-matancera-6871 La Jornada: 100 años de la Sonora Matancera, 2024]. Accessed 23 October 2026.</ref>

== Music and repertoire ==
Trumpets, piano, bass, percussion and vocal responses frame the featured singer. The combination joins a recognizable ensemble identity with changes in repertoire and front-line voices. Its influence can be followed in the careers it supported and in the later salsa musicians who revisited its recordings; Johnny Pacheco's work with [[Celia Cruz|Cruz]] is one documented connection between that earlier sound and [[Salsa|salsa]].<ref name="sonora-fania">[https://es.fania.com/eras/celia-cruz-la-sonora-matancera-canta-celia-cruz/ Fania:] [[Celia Cruz]] and La Sonora Matancera, Canta [[Celia Cruz]]. Accessed 23 October 2026.</ref>

== Members and collaborators ==
Rogelio Martínez directed the ensemble for decades. Important singers include Bienvenido Granda, Daniel Santos, Myrta Silva and [[Celia Cruz]]. Those names represent different periods and collaborations; they should not be read as a simultaneous fixed lineup.<ref name="sonora-am" />

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