Cesar Bauvallet’s childhood memories of Cuba are all soaked in the music of the time. His father Daniel performed in the clubs, and his parents were always dancing and filling the house with song. He remembers the passion of the Cha Cha Chas that wafted through the streets, and the songs of his grandparents generation like “Longina” and “Dos Gardenias.”

Bauvallet is the bandleader of Son Como Son, a big band act that plays contemporary Cuban and Latin music. But about four years ago, Bauvallet and a couple of his musical cohorts decided that it was time to go back into Cuba’s rich musical history and honor La Epoca de Oro de la Música Tradicional de Cuba (the golden age of traditional Cuban music) that he is so fond of.

“We needed to go back to the roots, to play it and not let it die,” Bauvallet said.

Thus was born Tradiciones, a Bauvallet’s six-piece band from Albuquerque, which is devoted to keeping traditional Cuban music alive.

Tradiciones is in town for a stint of shows at Las Montañas. They will play Friday and Saturday, starting at 10 p.m., Tickets are $12 in advance, and $15 at the door.

Tradiciones’ music represents the roots of what has become salsa music, the original style made most famous by the Buena Vista Social Club. (Think “Chan Chan.”)
“It’s good for dancing, it’s loving, caring kind of music,” said Bauvallet. “It has a lot of energy, and a lot of flavor. It’s perfect to have fun and to have a party.”

Bauvallet is a big guy with big charisma, a strong Cuban accent and a palpable passion for music. When Tradiciones was here for the Jazz Celebration, their shows were packed with dancers who didn’t want them to stop playing, he said. It is just intoxicating stuff, he said.

“After the first chord we played, the people were already dancing … we finished and they didn’t want us to stop,” Bauvallet said.

The six-person band features piano, bass, congas, trombone, trumpet and percussion instruments like guiro and maracas. Bauvallet’s wife, Janet, who plays the bass, is responsible for making the band look good, he said.

The music is big and textured and rich, and Bauvallet said that most importantly, it has the power of transporting the listener to a golden time in history.

“Every time we start playing it’s like going back in time to an era of magic,” Bauvallet said.