Fefita La Grande, who often goes by "la Mayimba," was born Manuela Josefa Cabrera, but almost nobody knows that; even her best friends call her Fefa. This woman of many names has risen to become one of the giants of traditional merengue, a genre that has developed alongside but independently of the pop merengue that dominates Latin radio waves. Merengue típico ("typical merengue"), also known as perico ripiao, is roots music that has survived into to the commercial age. It is played in groups of accordion, saxophone, bass, guira (scraper) and tambor (a double-headed drum) at breakneck speeds and is the live music of choice for a dance party in the Dominican Republic.

Growing up in the rural northwest of the country in a region called the Cibao, the heartland of merengue típico, Fefa's hands have danced across the accordion keyboard since she was a little girl, when she started to teach herself by ear on her father's accordion. She played her first concerts at the age of 7, always astounding audiences with her talent. As one story goes, Petán, dictator Rafael Trujillo's brother, who controlled music in the country during the regime, heard about a young girl from the countryside who played accordion and sought her out. At the age of 9, she played a concert for him, impressing him so much that he gave her a 100-peso bill, the equivalent of 5 thousand dollars today.

In 1965, she donned the name Fefita la Grande and began her professional career. She is one of the exponents of the modern tipico style that has revitalized the genre, adding bass to the group and increasing the tempos even further. The smaller groups and informal settings of típico music allows for more improvisation in the group. Saxophone and accordion play riffs together or weave in and out of each other as the percussion drives forward, responding instantly to Fefita when she decides to switch the melody or groove. According to Fefita, she never encountered any sexism along her path to fame - people have always accepted her for her talent even though women do not traditionally play típico. Since Fefita started, other women have joined the scene. And now, after over 40 years of professional life, she's going strong, and playing as fast as ever!

Contributed by: Jake Gold