Yoruba Andabo

Yoruba Andabo
Origin	Havana, Cuba
Genres	Rumba
Years active	1981–present
Past members	Pancho Quinto

Yoruba Andabo is a Cuban rumba ensemble founded in 1981 by conga drummer Pancho Quinto. It evolved from an amateur group known as Guaguancó Marítimo Portuario, established in 1961 in the docks of Havana. Together with Los Chinitos, Yoruba Andabo is one of the leading exponents of the guarapachangueo style of Cuban rumba, which incorporated Quinto's rhythmic ideas for batá and cajón (wooden box).

Yoruba Andabo's popularity increased throughout the 1980s, gaining exposure with the 1986 documentary El país de los oricha. The band gained international attention after their involvement in Jane Bunnett's album Spirits of Havana (recorded in 1991 and released in 1993), which was followed by the release of their 1993 album El callejón de los rumberos in North America in 1996. In 1995 they recorded Aché IV with Merceditas Valdés.

Around 1997 Quinto left Yoruba Andabo to record his first solo album En el solar la cueva del humo and continued collaborating with Jane Bunnett and other artists until his death in 2005. Meanwhile, Yoruba Andabo continued performing and making recordings. In 2005, they released Rumba en la Habana. Their latest albums are El espíritu de la rumba (2013), Soy de la tierra brava (2016) and Seguimos sonando (2021).

Members

Period	Members	Performances
1960s – 70s	Juan Campos "Chan" – singer Calixto Callava – singer Miguel Chappottín – singer Pancho Quinto – drummer Jacinto Scull "Chori" – drummer	amateur gigs as Grupo Marítimo Portuario Zona 5
1981	Juan Campos "Chan" – singer Calixto Callava – singer Guillermo Triana "El Negro" – singer Pedro Fariñas – singer Pancho Quinto – drummer Jacinto Scull "Chori" – drummer Justo Marino García – drummer Julio César Lemoine "El Gordo" – drummer "El Quimbo" – drummer	first professional gig, unnamed group
1982 – 1989	Geovani del Pino – director, singer, percussionist Juan Campos "Chan" – singer Calixto Callava – singer Guillermo Triana "El Negro" – singer Pedro Fariñas – singer Rolando Rodríguez "Malanga" – arranger, singer, percussionist Pancho Quinto – drummer Jacinto Scull "Chori" – drummer Justo Marino García – drummer Orlando Lage "Palito" – drummer Ricardo Campos "Siqui" – drummer	residence at Peña del Ambia in Havana gigs as Yoruba Andabo from 1985 Cajones bullangueros album recorded at EICTV in summer 1989 (unpublished)
1990 – 1996	Geovani del Pino – director, singer, percussionist Juan Campos "Chan" – singer Miguel Chappottín – singer Rolando Rodríguez "Malanga" – arranger, singer, percussionist Pancho Quinto – drummer Jacinto Scull "Chori" – drummer Justo Marino García – drummer Orlando Lage "Palito" – drummer Ricardo Campos "Siqui" – drummer Román Díaz – drummer	Spirits of Havana album recorded with Jane Bunnett in Havana in 1991 El callejón de los rumberos album recorded in Havana in August 1993 Aché IV album recorded with Merceditas Valdés in Havana in 1995
1997	Geovani del Pino – director, singer, percussionist Juan Campos "Chan" – singer Miguel Chappottín – singer Jesús Peñalver "Cusito" – singer Rolando Rodríguez "Malanga" – arranger, singer, percussionist Justo Marino García – drummer Orlando Lage "Palito" – drummer Román Díaz – drummer Agustín Banguela "Chinchilla" – drummer	Del Yoruba al son album recorded in Havana in 1997
2004	Geovani del Pino – director, singer, percussionist Juan Campos "Chan" – singer Miguel Chappottín – singer Regla Monet – singer Felipe Abreu – singer Orlando Lage "Palito" – drummer Julio César Lemoine "El Gordo" – drummer Juan Carlos Sierra – drummer Pedro Isidro Medina – drummer Francisco Queralta – drummer	Rumba en La Habana CD/DVD recorded in Havana in 2004
2008	Geovani del Pino – director, singer, percussionist Juan Campos "Chan" – singer Regla Monet – singer Jorge Armando de Armas – singer Ronald González – singer Demián Díaz – singer Julio César Lemoine "El Gordo" – drummer Adonis Panter – drummer Héctor Oviedo – drummer Michel Herrera – drummer Gilberto Wiliam Ramos – drummer	European tour
2011	Geovani del Pino – director, singer, percussionist Juan Campos "Chan" – singer Regla Monet – singer Ronald González – singer Orlando Lage "Palito" – drummer Julio César Lemoine "El Gordo" – drummer Adonis Panter – drummer Michel Herrera – drummer Francisco Queralta – drummer	European tour
2012	Geovani del Pino – director, singer, percussionist Juan Campos "Chan" – singer Regla Monet – singer Ronald González – singer Demián Díaz – singer Felipe Abreu – singer Orlando Lage "Palito" – drummer Julio César Lemoine "El Gordo" – drummer Adonis Panter – drummer Michel Herrera – drummer Didiel Acosta – drummer Lesmay Quintero – drummer	Europe & America tour
2012	Geovani del Pino – director, singer, percussionist Juan Campos "Chan" – singer Regla Monet – singer Ronald González – singer Demián Díaz – singer Felipe Abreu – singer Orlando Lage "Palito" – drummer Julio César Lemoine "El Gordo" – drummer Michel Herrera – drummer Didiel Acosta – drummer Lesmay Quintero – drummer Derlis Zulueta – drummer	El espíritu de la rumba album recorded in Havana in 2012
2013 – 2015	Geovani del Pino – director, singer, percussionist Juan Campos "Chan" – singer Regla Monet – singer Ronald González – singer Jorge Luis Hernández – singer Yerilú Lugo – singer Orlando Lage "Palito" – drummer Julio César Lemoine "El Gordo" – drummer Didiel Acosta – drummer Eliécer Vilches – drummer Lekiam Aguilar – drummer	Europe & America tour Soy de la tierra brava album recorded in Havana in 2015
2016	Didiel Acosta – director, singer, percussionist Juan Campos "Chan" – singer Regla Monet – singer Ángel Yanier Roque Hernández – singer Sergio Eladio Martínez – singer Orlando Lage "Palito" – drummer Julio César Lemoine "El Gordo" – drummer Eliécer Vilches – drummer Lekiam Aguilar – drummer Lázaro Acosta – drummer Kadir Yaquinay Acuña – drummer	Europe & America tour