A cajón (Spanish: [kaˈxon] ka-KHON; "box, crate, drawer") is a box-shaped percussion instrument from Peru. It is played by striking the front or back sides (usually made of thin wood) with hands, fingers, or tools such as brushes, mallets, or sticks.

Cajóns are mainly used in Afro-Peruvian music, especially in a style called música criolla. They are also used in flamenco music. The word "cajón" is sometimes used to describe other box-shaped drums in Latin American music, such as the Cuban cajón de rumba and the Mexican cajón de tapeo.

Description

Sheets of wood that are 13 to 19 mm (1⁄2 to 3⁄4 inch) thick are usually used for five sides of the box. A thinner sheet of plywood is nailed on as the sixth side and serves as the striking surface, also called the head. The striking surface of the cajón drum is often called the tapa. A sound hole is cut into the back side. The modern cajón can have rubber feet and has several screws on top that are used to adjust the percussive timbre.

Origins and evolution

The cajón is the most commonly used Afro-Peruvian musical instrument since the late 1800s. People from West and Central Africa who were enslaved in the Americas are believed to have created the cajón. Today, the instrument is widely used in music performances across parts of the Americas and Spain. The cajón was developed during the time of slavery along Peru’s coast. It became very popular by 1850, and by the end of the 1800s, musicians began changing the cajón’s design by bending some of its wooden panels to create different sounds. After slavery ended, the cajón was shared with more people, including Criollos, who are people of mixed European and Indigenous heritage in Peru.

Because the cajón originated from enslaved musicians in Spanish-controlled parts of the Americas, there are two main theories about its creation. One idea is that the cajón is based on box-shaped drums from West and Central Africa, especially from Angola and the Antilles. Enslaved people may have used wooden shipping crates and small drawers from ships as the basis for the instrument. In cities like Matanzas, Cuba, codfish crates and dresser drawers were turned into similar drums. Peruvian musician Susana Baca shared a story from her mother that the cajón began as "the box of the people who carried fruit and worked in the ports," which they used to play music during breaks. Another theory suggests enslaved people used boxes as instruments to secretly play music, avoiding Spanish laws that banned African music in certain areas.

In the early 1900s, some performances of festejo, a type of music, did not include the cajón. However, the Perú Negro music group, formed in 1969, helped the cajón become more important than the guitar, making it a symbol of Peruvian Black culture.

In 1977, Spanish flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía brought a cajón to Spain after hearing it during a party in Lima and a TV appearance with musician Caitro Soto. He was impressed by the cajón’s rhythm and used it in his music. Historians say Pepe Ébano introduced the cajón to Spanish flamenco, later playing it with Paco de Lucía in the song Entre dos aguas. In 2001, Peru’s National Institute of Culture declared the cajón a National Heritage. In 2014, the Organization of American States named the cajón an "Instrument of Peru for the Americas."

Contemporary music

In the 2000s, the cajón was often used in Coastal Peruvian musical styles such as Tondero, Zamacueca, and Peruvian Waltz, as well as in Spanish modern Flamenco and certain styles of modern Cuban Rumba. The modern cajón is frequently used to accompany a solo acoustic guitar or piano. The cajón is becoming very popular quickly in genres like blues, pop, rock, funk, world music, and jazz. The cajón is often used as a bass drum by bands instead of a full drum kit during performances in simple setups, because the cajón can act as both a bass drum and a seat for the drummer. Though some bands occasionally use the cajón instead of the bodhrán, the cajón has become a popular instrument in Irish folk music, where the quieter and higher-pitched bodhrán, a traditional frame drum, does the same job and has a unique playing style.

Playing styles

The player sits on top of the box, tilting it to one side while hitting the top between their knees. The musician can strike the sides of the box with the palms of their hands and fingers to create more sounds. Some players who hit harder use special gloves to protect their hands from bruises and blisters. Some musicians attach a bass drum pedal to the instrument, allowing them to play it with one foot. There are also smaller, portable versions called lap cajons that rest on the musician’s lap.

The instrument is played using hands, but some musicians use plastic or metal brushes, similar to those used on drum kits. One method, called the Pen Technique, was developed by Patrizio Migliarini. This technique lets musicians play complex and lively rhythms similar to those on a drum kit by using metal brushes. Another way to play the cajón is by attaching a bass drum pedal, turning it into a type of percussion instrument that can be played with the feet. This allows the musician to hit the cajón like a bass drum, freeing their hands and one foot to play other instruments. However, using a pedal makes it harder to play the cajón in the usual way, especially when the cajón is placed on the floor where a bass drum would typically be.