Una negra, esclava liberada, Micaela Ginés, vihuelista a fines del siglo XVI. Evidencia del ámbito social de la vihuela. corona1993, p. 1369, citando a salazar1948. salazar1948, p. 222: “La vandola se extendió por algunos puntos de la América espannola desde fines del siglo XVI, al parecer, si como dice Luciano Fuentes y Matons en su libro Las artes en Cuba, se hicieron famosas por esa época la negras dominicanas Teodora y Micaela Ginés (la primera fue la famosa ‘Ma Teodora, / con su palo y su vandola’). Otro documento de la época menciona a Micaela como “vigüelista” (cit. por Joaquín José García, Protocolo de antigüedades; La Habana, 1845).
coopersmith1945, p. 79) gives the source of the c.1580 information concerning this musician as a record-book kept by José de la Cruz Fuentes Pérez (b. Santiago, Cuba, 1764), first published in 1893. Coopersmith (p.79) states: “The Cuban scholar Laureano Fuentes Matons, describing the musical scene at Santaigo, Cuba, states that, among others, the following musicians were prominent there: Pascual de Ochoa, violinist, and two liberated Negresses, Teodora and Micaela Ginés, players on the bandola and vihuela. The vihuela was the drawing-roominstrument popular in Spain at that time. It was a guitar-like instrument tuned like a lute. [new para] José María de la Torre, quoting from Hernando de la Parra’s description of Havana between 1562 and 1598, [f.n. In Joaquín José García’s Protocolos de antigüedades… Vol. 1 (1845) and quoted by Eduardo Sánchez de Fuentes in Influencas de los ritmos africanos en nuestro cancionero, in Anales de la academia nacional de artes y letras, Vol. II, pp. 121-122 (1927).] states that there [page 80] were in that city in 1598 four well-known musicians: Pedro Almanza, a violinist from Málaga, Jácome Viceira, a wind-instrument player from Lisbon, Pascual de Ochoa, a violinist from Seville, and Micaela Ginés, a “vigüelista” from Santiago de los Caballeros, Santo Domingo. To this group were generally added, to form a little orchestra, players on the güiro and castañuelas. The services of the orchestra were in such demand that patrons had not only to resort to competitive bidding to engage them, but also to provide them and their familites with food and transportation; in addition, the musicianss inststed on a plentiful dinner at the place of entertainment, which they later took home in lieu of a gratuity. They also played for Church festivals and on certain holy days. [new para] From these two accounts it is established that Micaela Ginés wento to Havana from Santiago, Cuba, probably accompanied by the violinist Pascual de Ochoa. Teodora remained for many years in Santiago where she achieved a considerable reputation for her performance of popular music.” She is remembered in a song quoted by Coopersmith as a musical example, a song some claim to be the precursor of the son: “¿Dónde está la Ma Teodora? Rajando la leña está, con su palo y su bandola. Rajando la leña está. ¿Dónde está? This is evidently the source from which the “bandola” comes into the account.