Puerto Rican Cuatro Antiguo

May 9 The cuatro is a traditional Puerto Rican string instrument. Until the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, the cuatro had four gut strings (hence the name) and a characteristic inverted key-hole shape. This instrument collected in Ponce in 1899 following the Spanish-American War is a rare and well-preserved example. In the late 1800s, people started using double courses of metal strings, first four and then five. A new style of cuatro, characterized by a violin-shaped body, ten strings, and a brighter sound became the new norm, and has remained so ever since. The four-string version is now known as the "cuatro antiguo" or old-style cuatro.

Cuatro

Description: Smithsonian curator Paul Beckwith acquired this cuatro in 1898-99 in Ponce, Puerto Rico, shortly after the Spanish-American War. This instrument is an example of the “old style” (“antiguo”) cuatro with four strings and a keyhole shape. This type of cuatro was popular until the early 20th century when it was gradually replaced by the violin-shaped 10-string cuatro still common today. This example appears to have originally been fitted with eight strings (four courses of double strings), a common style in the south of the island. Three tiples at the National Museum of Natural History (E201482B, E201482C, E201482D) were collected at the same time.
Description (Spanish): El curador del Smithsonian Paul Beckwith adquirió este cuatro entre el 1898 y 1899 en Ponce, Puerto Rico, poco después de la guerra hispano-cubana-estadounidense. Este instrumento es un ejemplo del cuatro antiguo de cuatro cuerdas y con forma de ojo de cerradura. Este estilo de cuatro fue popular hasta inicios del siglo XX, pero fue reemplazado gradualmente por el cuatro aviolinado de cinco órdenes de cuerdas dobles (10 cuerdas) que continúa siendo el más común hoy. Este ejemplar parece haber tenido ocho cuerdas originalmente (cuatro órdenes de cuerdas dobles), un estilo común en la región sur de la isla. Tres tiples en el Museo Nacional de Historia Natural (E201482B, E201482C, E201482D) fueron recolectados en la misma expedición.
Location: Currently not on view

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Date made: 1898-1899
Associated Date: 1898-11-03-1899-01-23

Physical Description: cotton (part: decorative ribbon material); metal (part: strings material); wood (overall material); gut (part: strings and frets material)
Measurements: overall: 79 cm x 23.5 cm x 7.5 cm; 31 3/32 in x 9 1/4 in x 2 15/16 in; part: scale length: 51 cm; 20 3/32 in

Object Name: cuatro

tiple, guitar

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