José Luis Quintana Fuentes (Enero 18, 1948 - Junio 6, 2025) 
Hablar sobre vivir en Cuba es un tema tan controversial que muchos lo evitan. Todo está tan políticamente cargado dentro del país que funciona con paquetes de ayuda del extranjero, donde la supervivencia básica y el proceso de navegar tu vida ante la falta de recursos es algo inevitable. Sin embargo, existe una conexión entre la escasez material y la expresión artística, una que sin excepción ha dado origen y continúa manteniendo las aportaciones musicales más intensas. Entre la mayoría de los músicos de la isla y del extranjero, hubo un fuerte hilo conductor, y ese es la enseñanza, las actuaciones y la visión del percusionista José Luis Quintana, alias Changuito. Si alguna vez has tocado congas, o conoces a alguien que lo haga, has escuchado su nombre. Lo mismo ocurre con aquellos que se aventuraron a tocar música latina en timbales o batería. Con él, todo es un "movimiento". Había una manera óptima de mover las manos en cada instrumento. Cuando participaba en un nuevo proyecto o banda, creaba su propio sello que luego otros copiaban, a la vez que convertía el sonido de la banda en una marca registrada y única. Técnicas como "La Mano Secreta" y sus movimientos característicos en la batería o timbales, donde acentuaba ingeniosamente diferentes puntos de la clave para marcar su sonido, eran intensamente pegadizas y se adoptaban con un fervor casi religioso. Entre los cubanos, se dice que toda la prolífica producción musical y artística de la isla está inevitablemente ligada a su confusa y siempre cambiante situación pública, y si bien lo mismo puede decirse de cualquier país, simplemente no hay otro lugar en la Tierra que haya influenciado a tantos músicos como la isla de Cuba.

Sin incluir ningún comentario y/o opinión de nadie de TIMBA.com, aquí hay una rápida recopilación de videos de presentaciones selectas junto con algunas reacciones a su fallecimiento. La huella permanente de Changuito en la música cubana es innegable, y si comienzas a adentrarte en el mundo de sus enseñanzas, te sorprenderá lo profunda que es. Q.E.P.D. José Luis.

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José Luis Quintana Fuentes (January 18, 1948 - June 6, 2025)
To speak about living in Cuba is such a controversial subject that many shy away from it. Everything is so politically charged inside the country running on care packages from abroad, where basic survival and navigating the lack of resources is always the elephant in the room. Yet there is a connection between material scarcity and artistic expression, one that has given birth and continues to maintain the most intense of musical expressions bar none. Among most of the musicians on the island and also internationally, there was a strong common thread, and that is the teaching, performances and insight of percussionist José Luis Quintana, alias Changuito. If you've ever played congas, or know of someone who does, you've heard his name. The same thing goes for those who ventured into playing Latin music on timbales or drumset. Everything with him was "movements". There was an optimal way to move your hands on each instrument. When he participated in a new project or new band, he came up with his own "thing" that others then copied, while simultaneously trademarking the sound of that (musical) group. Techniques like "The Secret Hand" and his signature rides on drums or timbales, where he cleverly accentuated different spots of the clave to mark his sound, were intensely catchy and adopted in almost a religious fashion. Among Cubans, it is said that all of the island's prolific musical and artistic output is inevitably linked to its confusing and ever changing state of public affairs, and while the same can be said of any country, there just isn't any other place on Earth like Cuba that has influenced so many musicians.  

Without including any commentary from anyone within TIMBA.com, here is a quick compilation of selected performance videos paired with some reactions to his death. Changuito's permanent mark on Cuban music is undeniable, and if you start going down the rabbit hole of his teachings, you will be shocked at how deep it goes. R.I.P. José Luis.  

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This was from the classic DCI series VHS tapes. There are many, many scenes from it on youtube. One youtube viewer @montybone9827 1 month ago: Este máster class debería ser obligatorio en todas las cátedras de percusión latina del mundo ( This is an obligatory master class in all Latin percussion departments around the World.). Más comentarios aquí = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVM7nv4AtLA
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Youtibe viewer @elinaragon5051 3 years ago posted: @drummerboy2521  You might condescend to him, but Gonzáles is correct. Weckl can't hold a candle to the Cuban drummers in their style and he knows it too (I regularly play with a percussionist who toured with him). Everything he does in the Latin style, Changuito did first. Changuito is one of reasons anyone plays Latin music on the drum set. Weckl doesn't have to be perfect for you to like him.
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Disclaimer: the following video contains graphic images
Aviso: el siguiente vídeo contiene imágenes fuertes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRHIHlyzhUs - Comentarios de Panamá Entertainment, Junio 7, 2025 - José Luis Quintana, mejor conocido como "Changuito", el legendario percusionista cubano, uno de los pilares del desarrollo de la timba y el songo, y una figura instrumental en la música popular cubana, falleció en condiciones de extrema pobreza y olvido, una realidad dolorosa para un artista de su calibre. A pesar de sus inmensas contribuciones al panorama musical de Cuba y del mundo, sus últimos años estuvieron marcados por la miseria y la indiferencia, un contraste cruel con el legado que dejó. El olvido de #Changuito por parte del gobierno cubano y de gran parte de la escena musical que él ayudó a crear es una mancha lamentable. Aquellos que deberían haberlo respaldado, ya sea por gratitud, respeto o simple humanidad, lo dejaron solo frente a la adversidad. Su historia es un recordatorio sombrío de la vulnerabilidad de los artistas en sistemas donde el reconocimiento y el apoyo no siempre se traducen en seguridad económica o bienestar en la vejez. La muerte de "Changuito" en la pobreza no solo es una tragedia personal, sino un llamado de atención sobre la necesidad. 

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José Luis "Changuito" Quintana passed yesterday at the age of 76 after a long illness.

Changuito reached "living legend" status decades ago for his work with Van Van, as a solo artist, as an author, and as possibly the greatest music teacher of in the entire history of the post-Revolutionary period. Tomasito Cruz and hundreds of other stars had Changuito as their primary instructor throughout their formative years and much of the educational material available to us is just one generation removed from his teachings, but perhaps the best way to learn about Changuito is through two videos he made in the VHS era, one with Giovanni Hidalgo ("Evolution of the Tumbadoras") where the two masters sit at opposite ends of a sea of congas and discuss the history of music as they jam, and the definitive "History of Songo", in which Rebeca Mauleón brilliantly guides him through mountains of well-organized information about songo. Each of these can be found on YouTube and are mandatory study material for anyone interested in Cuban music.

Rest in peace, maestro.

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I discussed the history and legacy of the late, great Paulito FG with Rebecca Bodenheimer in the latest episode of The Clave Chronicles.

While you're there, be sure to catch up. There's a new reparto episode with Mike Levine, two on Bad Bunny and one on Chucho Valdés with one of my favorite gurus, Rebeca Mauleón. Also Pérez Prado and Celia Cruz, among many others. Here's the full list.

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In 2011, Emiliano Echeverria interviewed Paulito FG just before his final Bay Area performance at Yoshi's. It will be broadcast live on KPOO on Friday morning at 10:00 and will be archived for two weeks thereafter. 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR LIVE BROADCAST - FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 2025: 10:00 A.M.

Paste the following into your browser, then click Listen Now.

https://kpoo.com/

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