trumpets, forming the sextets and the septets of the 1920s. Later these conjuntos added piano, other percussion instruments, more trumpets, and even dance orchestra instruments in the style of jazz big bands. Trío Matamoros The presence of the Trío Matamoros in the history of Cuban son is so important that it deserves a separate section. Its development constitutes an example of the process that the trovadores usually followed until they became soneros. The Trío was founded by Miguel Matamoros (vocals and first guitar), who was born in Santiago de Cuba (Oriente) in 1894. There, he became involved with the traditional trova movement and in 1925 joined Siro Rodríguez (vocals and maracas) and Rafael Cueto (vocals and second guitar) to create the famous group. They synthesized the style of the sextets and septets, adapting it to their ensemble. The different rhythmic layers of the son style were distributed between their three voices, guitars and maracas. Cueto plucked the strings of his guitar instead of strumming them as it was usual, providing the patterns of the guajeo in the treble range, and the syncopated rhythms of the tumbao on the bass strings. The counterpoint was completed by the first guitar, played by Matamoros. They also occasionally included other instruments such as the bongo, and later they decided to expand the trio format to create a son conjunto by adding a piano, more guitars, tres and other voices. This project was joined by such important figures as Lorenzo Hierrezuelo, Francisco Repilado (Compay Segundo) and Beny Moré. In 1928, they travelled to New York with a recording contract by RCA Victor, and their first album caused such a great impact in the public that they soon became very famous at a national as well as an international level. The Trío Matamoros maintained great prominence until their official retirement in 1960. 1930s By the late 1930s, the heyday of "Classic son" had largely ended. The sextetos and septetos that had enjoyed wide commercial popularity increasingly lost ground to jazz bands and amplified conjuntos. The very music that son had helped to create was now replacing son as the more popular and most requested music in Cuba. Original son conjuntos were faced with the options of either to disband and refocus on newer styles of Cuban music, or go back to their roots. 1940s In the 1940s, Arsenio Rodríguez became the most influential player of son.