Changüí: The Sound of Guantánamo
Objective
Changüí: The Sound of Guantánamo was an ambitious archival box set documenting one of the foundational styles of Cuban music, capturing decades of recordings tied to the changüí tradition and the musicians of eastern Cuba.
The challenge was to introduce a historically significant but relatively unfamiliar genre to contemporary audiences, positioning the release not only as a historical document but as a vibrant cultural story worth engaging with across music journalism, public radio, and world music communities.
The campaign emphasized storytelling around musical heritage, preservation, and discovery, positioning the box set as both a scholarly and emotional exploration of Cuban musical roots.
Key strategic elements included:
Targeting public radio, cultural journalism, and global music outlets that regularly cover archival and ethnographic releases
Pitching interviews and feature segments with project participants to bring personal context to the recordings
Prioritizing specialist music publications and world-music platforms capable of explaining changüí’s historical significance to their audiences
Strategy
The campaign involved an intensive outreach effort across music journalism, cultural media, and public radio.
Key activities included:
Developing a targeted media list spanning world-music specialists, jazz outlets, and national cultural journalism
Pitching the box set to editors, critics, and radio producers with tailored messaging highlighting its historical and cultural significance
Coordinating interviews and broadcast segments with project participants for radio and podcast features
Distributing physical box sets and digital listening assets to critics and producers for review consideration
Supporting editorial coverage with audio assets, background materials, and contextual information about the changüí tradition
execution
The campaign secured a diverse mix of radio, editorial, and review coverage, and successfully positioned Changüí: The Sound of Guantánamo as a major archival release within the global music community, reaching both specialist audiences and broader cultural media. Results included:
National public radio exposure introducing changüí to new listeners on NPR’s “The World” and SiriusXM
Multiple critical reviews across world-music and jazz media
Long-form radio storytelling and interviews contextualizing the project’s cultural significance
Sustained interest from major music and cultural publications