A cajón (Spanish: [kaˈxon] ka-KHON; "box, crate, drawer") is a box-shaped drum from Peru. It is played by hitting the front or back sides (usually made of thin wood) with hands, fingers, or tools like 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 similar box-shaped drums in other Latin American music traditions, such as the Cuban cajón de rumba and the Mexican cajón de tapeo.

Description

Wood pieces that are 13 to 19 millimeters (1⁄2 to 3⁄4 inch) thick are used for five sides of the box. A thinner sheet of plywood is attached as the sixth side and serves as the part that is struck, called the tapa. A hole is cut on the back of the box. Some cajóns have rubber feet, and screws on top are used to adjust the sound produced when the tapa is struck.

Origins and evolution

The cajón is the most commonly used Afro-Peruvian musical instrument since the late 1800s. It originated from enslaved people in the Americas who were from West and Central Africa. Today, the cajón is widely used in musical performances across parts of the Americas and Spain. The instrument was created during the time of slavery in coastal Peru. By 1850, the cajón became very popular. By the end of the 1800s, musicians began changing the cajón's design by bending some of the wooden panels to change how the instrument made sound. After slavery ended, the cajón was shared with more people, including Criollos, who are people of mixed European and Indigenous heritage in Peru.

The cajón comes from musicians who were enslaved in the Spanish colonies of the Americas. There are two main theories about its origin. One idea is that the cajón is based on box-like musical instruments from West and Central Africa, especially Angola and the Antilles. Enslaved people may have made these instruments using wooden shipping crates from Spain. In places like Matanzas, Cuba, crates used for transporting fish and small drawers were turned into similar drums. Peruvian musician and music researcher 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 during breaks. Another theory suggests that enslaved people used boxes as musical instruments to secretly play music, avoiding Spanish rules that banned African music in certain areas.

In the early 1900s, some performances of festejo, a traditional Peruvian music style, did not include the cajón. However, a group called Perú Negro, formed in 1969, helped make the cajón more important than the guitar in this music. The cajón became a symbol of Peruvian Black culture.

In 1977, Spanish flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía brought a cajón to Spain after seeing it used during a party in Lima and a TV show with Peruvian drummer Caitro Soto. He was impressed by the cajón's rhythmic possibilities. Spanish percussionist Pepe Ébano later introduced the cajón into flamenco music, using it with Paco de Lucía in a famous piece called "Entre dos aguas." In 2001, the cajón was named a National Heritage item by Peru’s National Institute of Culture. In 2014, the Organization of American States declared the cajón an "Instrument of Peru for the Americas."

Contemporary music

During the 2000s, the cajón was commonly used in musical styles from coastal Peru, including Tondero, Zamacueca, and Peruvian Waltz, as well as in modern Spanish Flamenco and certain types of Cuban Rumba. The modern cajón is often played alongside a solo acoustic guitar or piano. It has become increasingly popular in genres such as blues, pop, rock, funk, world music, and jazz. The cajón is frequently used as a bass drum by bands in place of a full drum kit during simple performances because it can act as both a bass drum and a seat for the drummer. While some bands use the cajón instead of the bodhrán, a traditional Irish frame drum, the bodhrán remains popular in Irish folk music. The bodhrán is quieter and has a higher pitch, and it is played in a unique way.

Playing styles

The player sits on top of the box, tilting it slightly and hitting the top part between their knees. The musician can strike the sides using the palms and fingers of their hands for extra 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 can be played with hands, or with tools like plastic and metal brushes, similar to those used with drum kits. One method, called the Pen Technique, was created by Patrizio Migliarini. This method lets musicians create jazz and funky rhythms with sounds that are rich and detailed, much like a drum kit, by using metal brushes. Another way to play the cajón is by using a bass drum pedal, which turns it into a foot-operated instrument. This allows the player to hit the cajón with their foot, like a bass drum, freeing their hands and another foot to play other instruments. However, this method limits the usual way of playing the cajón with hands, especially when the instrument is placed on the ground in the position of a bass drum.