Editing Sonora Matancera (section)

===The 1940s===
[[Bienvenido Granda]] sang [[Lead vocalist|lead vocals]] from 1940 to 1954, the first truly important sonero to perform and record with the conjunto. Another source says that he joined La Sonora Matancera in 1942 while a third source says it was in 1944. Whatever the case may be, his association with Sonora Matancera made it famous throughout the Spanish-speaking [[Caribbean]]. No one recorded more tunes with the ensemble than Bienvenido Granda, as he made over 200 recordings during his time with the ensemble.<ref name="ReferenceC" /><ref name="sonoramatancera.com"/>

In 1942, La Sonora Matancera left CMQ. It would now broadcast — with Bienvenido Granda as lead singer — over the airwaves of [[RHC-Cadena Azul|RHC Radio]].<ref name="Traigo"/>

[[Pedro Knight]] and ''Ezequiel "Lino" Frías'' left [[Arsenio Rodríguez]]'s conjunto to join Sonora Matancera on the same day in 1944.<ref name="autogenerated1994"/> These two steered the collective towards a more modern sound. The one gave the brass section more heft while the other enhanced the rhythm section. Pianist Lino Frías anchored La Sonora's [[rhythm section]] until 1976.<ref name="fiul" /> He was also a superb composer and arranger.<ref name="autogenerated4"/>

In 1944, the conjunto made its next-to-last recordings for RCA-Victor. It also was signed to a recording contract by the newly established [[Panart Records]].

Original director Valentín Cané led the group till an asthmatic condition forced him to retire in 1946.<ref name="fiul" /> He continued to receive pay as if he were an active member of La Sonora Matancera till he died two years later.<ref name="fiul" /> In 1946, in place of Valentín Cané, [[Tata Güines]], who was a member of the groundbreaking ensemble led by [[Israel "Cachao" López]] in the late 1950s and the early 1960s, became the conguero for a short time.<ref name="fiul" /> ''Carlos "Patato" Valdés'' also held this position for a few months.<ref name="fiul" />

Ángel "Yiyo" Alfonso Furias took over the tumbadora chair in 1948<ref name="marina" /> and thus completed the quintessential lineup. From 1948 to 1954, it consisted of:

* Calixto Leicea: first trumpet chair;
* Pedro Knight: second trumpet chair;
* Pablo "Bubú" Vázquez Gobín: contrabass;
* Ezequiel "Lino" Frías: piano;
* José "Manteca" Rosario Chávez: timbalitos, [[bongó]] and ''cencerro'' (also known as ''campana'');
* Ángel "Yiyo" Alfonso Furias: tumbadora;
* Rogelio Martínez: Director, guitar and coro ([[Backing vocalist|background vocals]]);
* Carlos Manuel "Caíto" Díaz Alonso: maracas and coro;
* Bienvenido Granda: lead vocals, coro (whether he or some other sonero sang lead with the band) and [[claves]].

Sonora Matancera honed its skills over a generation — from the late 1920s to the late 1940s — in the ''academias de baile'' (a special type of dance hall), such as the famous ''Marte y Belona'',<ref name="1952-1958"/><ref name="autogenerated2000">Liner notes to ''Sonora Matancera: Sus Grandes Éxitos (para coleccionistas).'' Recorded in Cuba from 1945 to 1947. Panart Records, LP-2061, Serie 2000.</ref> where nightly La Sonora drew record crowds of the best dancers.<ref name="autogenerated2000"/> Apart from this prestigious ''academia'', other nightspots where La Sonora Matancera entertained the dancing public in the early 1940s were El Habana Sport, another academia de baile, Centro Castellano, La Tropical<ref name="autogenerated1975"/> (one source lists a dance hall called ''La Cervecería Tropical'';<ref name="1952-1958"/> it is not at all clear if these two are one and the same) and Las Playitas.<ref name="autogenerated1975"/><ref name="1952-1958"/> The collective during this time also made live broadcasts on Radio Progreso.<ref name="autogenerated1975"/> Later that same decade Sonora Matancera frequently played in such top dance venues as El Club Atlético Santiago de Las Vegas, Quibikán, Centro Gallego,<ref name="autogenerated1975"/> El Edén Concert, Sans Souci, [[Tropicana Club|El Tropicana]]<ref name="autogenerated1975"/><ref name="1952-1958"/> and Centro Asturiano.<ref name="autogenerated1975"/> At this time La Sonora always performed on the feast day of August 15, known as La Tutelar, at El Liceo Guanabacoa<ref name="autogenerated1975"/> while Arsenio Rodríguez y Su Conjunto Orquestal Todos Estrellas and [[Arcaño y sus Maravillas|Antonio Arcaño y sus Maravillas]] ([[Cachao]] and his brother [[Orestes López]] were members of this orchestra at the time) engaged in a musical ''mano a mano'' on the same day at ''El Manantial de la Cotorra''.<ref name="autogenerated1975"/> Its long tenure in the ''academias'' served La Sonora Matancera well as it transformed the ensemble into an excellent dance band.

In the 1940s, the conjunto more than held its own against such important groups as Orquesta Casino de La Playa, Arsenio Rodríguez, Orquesta Ideal, Cheo Belén Puig, [[Arcaño y sus Maravillas|Antonio Arcaño y sus Maravillas]], Conjunto Jóvenes del Cayo, and Orquesta Almendra.<ref name="autogenerated1975"/> Together with this cooperative these bands made Cuba "El Paraíso Musical de las Américas" ("The Musical Paradise of [[the Americas]]").<ref name="autogenerated1975"/>

From the mid-1940s till the end of the 1950s, the collective had a program as "artistas exclusivos" ("exclusive artists") on Radio CMQ called ''"Cascabeles Candado"''.<ref name="Traigo"/>

In the period 1947–1948, the group made a number of recordings (Bienvenido Granda as lead singer on the majority of these numbers) as Conjunto Tropicavana<ref name="fiul" /> or Conjunto Tropicabana.<ref name="marina" /> The name change was to avoid legal problems, since the band was still under contract to Panart Records.

As this decade drew to a close, Sonora Matancera decided on a course of action that would become standard practice: the incorporation of non-Cuban lead singers into its ranks (without excluding the use of Cuban artists). The first non-Cuban singers were [[Puerto Ricans]], singer/composer [[Daniel Santos (singer)|Daniel Santos]] and guarachera/songwriter [[Myrta Silva]]. Some of these vocalists were featured lead singers. Others were invited to record a limited number of songs during a brief period of time.<ref name="fiul" />

Daniel Santos performed and recorded with the collective beginning in 1948.<ref name="fiul" /><ref name="ReferenceC" /><ref name="sonoramatancera.com"/> His five-year stay<ref name="ReferenceC" /><ref name="sonoramatancera.com"/> with La Sonora helped it achieve world-wide fame. The cooperative returned to airing live broadcasts at Radio Progreso in 1948 with Daniel Santos as the featured lead vocalist.<ref name="Traigo"/>

Myrta Silva was the first woman to join the musical collective. Over a short time in 1949, she recorded four studio sessions with the conjunto.<ref name="fiul" /><ref name="ReferenceC" /> She left by 1950. Myrta returned in 1952 and made a number of live recordings.<ref name="1952-1958"/><ref name="Cubanacán">''La Sonora Matancera ¡En Vivo!'' Inéditas. Live radio broadcasts from the late 1940s to the end of the 1950s. Compiled with the assistance of Jaime Jaramillo and Osvaldo Oganes. Various lead singers. Cubanacán Records, Compact Disc CUCD 1707.</ref><ref name="Algo Nuevo">Ramírez Bedoya, Dr. Héctor and Rafael Viera. Notes to ''Algo Nuevo de lo Añejo de la Sonora Matancera''. Para coleccionistas. Live recordings derived from radio station tapes, music videos and amateur recordings. Various lead singers. Yumurí Records, Compact Disc 1032.</ref>

In 1949, the ensemble recorded twenty-two songs for Ansonia Records. The conjunto made said recordings using its real name.<ref name="fiul" /> That same year, moreover, it signed with Seeco Records,<ref name="fiul" /> which was owned by New York City-based Sidney Siegel.<ref name="Sublette">{{cite book|last=Sublette|first=Ned|title=Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fZZ4QKZEumIC&pg=PA575|year=2007|publisher=Chicago Review Press|isbn=9781569764206|pages=575–}}</ref> The first recording for this label was made on November 25, 1949, the guaracha "Tocando madera", with Bienvenido Granda as sonero.<ref name="autogenerated1975"/> The association with Seeco Records lasted until 1966, with the last recordings having been made in the prior year.<ref name="fiul" /> The source does not indicate if the group was still contractually obligated to Panart Records when it recorded for Ansonia and when it signed, as well as recorded, with Seeco.<ref name="fiul" />