bomba and plena
Abel
tried to answer. Since a lot of times questions don't get answered in the
group, I figured I'd post it up higher so Fab could see it. I'm not a
musicologist, but this should at least give her and others a starting point
if they're interested in this two genres. Perhaps some of the musicians
could comment on the role of clave in this genres and clear this up since I
have a poor understanding of it. Also, if anyone has information on how the
dances of this music are, this would be a big help.
Here goes:
I'm no expert, but I'll give this a shot. Bomba I believe is from Loíza
Aldea, a town in Puerto Rico with a lot of Afro-Ricans. I don't think it has
clave as overtly as say, guaguancó, but has a similar underlying concept
going. But I'm not a musician so on this I'm not sure. It typically uses
drums called barriles, barrels. The drummers play interlocking patterns and
one solos like in guaguancó. There are many variants, including sicá, yubá
and holandés. The tempos vary, sometimes slow and rocking, other times fast.
Examples of bomba include Bomba Ae by Ismael Rivera and Cortijo (forget the
name of the original album this appears on, but it is on Llaves de la
tradición, a compilation of older tunes by the dynamic duo), A bailar mi
bomba by Roberto Roena and Apollo Sound (Apollo Sound 7) and Domitila by
Cheo Feliciano on the album The Singer.
Now these bombas are played by a salsa band and so use congas, not barriles.
Barriles are very expensive ($500 and up) and generally hand-made. Since
many Puerto Rican bands in the 50s like Cortijo played a lot of Cuban-style
tunes that used congas, instead of breaking out barriles they adapted the
tumbaos to conga drums. La familia Cepeda, which has several albums out, has
recordings that feature bomba with barriles. I'm not sure of the vocal style
except to say it's call and response traditionally. I don't believe they use
décima-style poetry like rumba does in bomba. A nice bomba-plena medley is
done by Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe on the album The Good, the Bad and the
Ugly. Also check out Ritmos y cantos callejeros by Kako and Cortijo.
Plena was traditionally played with pandeteras, which are like tambourines
but it doesn't sound like Josie and the Pussycats. They also used güiros but
not a big gourd like the Cubans, it's skinnier, and a guitar, perhaps a
cuatro but I'm not sure. Again, I believe clave is not as overt as in Cuban
music. But I don't understand the role of clave in PR typical music so I'm
not sure about this. It's up-tempo and lyrically offers sly social
commentary or funny songs or patriotic songs like Qué bonita bandera which
you will hear in every PR parade just about anywhere. Plena I believe is
from the barrio of San Antón in Ponce in southern Puerto Rico.
In the 1940s César Concepción began to record plenas in the style of a Cuban
big band with congas and no panderetas. He also added horns and bass and
other instrumentation not used with traditional plena. He was popular and
had some nice records with Joe Valle as his singer. Cortijo also recorded
many plenas and of course so has la Familia Cepeda. Mon Rivera was a famous
plena singer famous for his tongue twisters or trabalenguas. He also would
comment on social issues like strikes and labor disputes. I believe his Aló,
¿quién ñama? (the spelling reflects his deliberate pronunciation of this
phrase) was about a strike of phone workers in PR. But not 100 percent sure.
Mon y sus trombones, Se chavó el vecindario (There Goes the Neighborhood),
which Mon did with Willie Colón, are good examples of plena (and bomba)
adapted to a salsa band. El bombón de Elena is a Cortijo tune that I think
is a plena as well. I'd buy old Cortijo with Ismael Rivera albums, there's a
ton, to get more examples of plena. Also la familia Cepeda and Grupo ABC if
their albums are still available. Peter Manuel has some good stuff on this
music in his books if you want to do further reading.
I haven't yet read a good book just on bomba and plena but there may be one
out there. Plena and bomba are generally considered to be folkloric. I
seriously doubt people in PR would dance if you played them in a club. I
could be wrong, but I get the impression this music is considered folkloric
and not folkloric and popular as salsa is. In terms of how they dance it,
well, I'm not sure. I believe there was a plena and bomba de salón for
dancing but am not sure how it looks or differs from the folkloric versions.
No definitive answers here, I'm afraid, but at least you have some starting
points. Hope this helps.
Abel
Santa Salsera <sal...@picadillo.nospam.com> wrote in message
news:392D85...@picadillo.nospam.com...
> Edward-Yemíl Rosario wrote:
> >
> > >And while you're at it, what is the difference between bomba and plena?
> > >Wallice?
>
> Hey? What happened to my unfrequently asked Q? It was quite serious.
> More on why later, but I really was hoping you could butter my pecans.
>
> -Fab
Kvetcher2
enough about it to comment on the accuracy overall, but I do have one thing to
add.
You said you didn't think bomba used decima much, and while that may be true,
there is one exception that I heard on the radio and recorded years ago and
wish mightily to identify. The full text (40 lines) follows, with an English
translation, 'cause I think it is so interesting and relevant to questions of
language and identity.
Me refiero a los hispanos
que llegan de Nueva York
Y a bajarse del avión
Se les olvida el castellano
Ayer me encontré a Mariano
Un jíbaro de Hajuey (?)
Y al encontrarle en el subway
Le pregunté cómo estaba
y lo que me contestaba
era, "I don't know what you say".
Y como lo conocía
Desde que estaba en Jayuya
Seguí haciéndole preguntas
Para ver lo que decía
Y aunque esto no quería
Declararse que era hispano
Le pregunté por su hermano
Y me dijo, "I have no brother.
I have no father or mother."
Igual que un americano
Y así por última vez
Hasta le miraba la cara
Para ver que no tratara
De nada fuera de este mundo (?)
Y con esto le pregunto
Cuánto tiempo lleva aquí
Yo dije, "Aquí lo cojí"
Esperando su respuesta
Y el jíbaro me contesta,
"Never mind, don't bother me!"
Y así por última vez
Yo le seguí preguntando
Y el jíbaro contestando
En español y en inglés
Siguió diciéndome "yeah"
Siempre en el mismo vaivén
Pero al bajarse del tren
No es mentira lo que digo
Le dije, "Adiós mi amigo"
Me dijo, "Goodbye my friend"
Ave María que jíbaro comegofio es ese, ¿eh?
Translation:
I refer to those Hispanics
who arrive in New York
And as they get off the plane
they forget how to speak Spanish
Yesterday I met Mariano
a country boy from Hajuey
And when I saw him in the subway
I asked him how he was doing
and he answered,
"I don't know what you say."
And since I'd know him
since he was in Jayuya
I kept on asking him questions
to see what he'd say
and although he didn't want
to declare himself to be Hispanic
I asked after his brother
He said, "I have no brother.
I have no father or mother."
Just like an American
And then for the last time
I looked at his face
to see that this was
nothing from another world (?)
And then I ask him
how long he's been here
I said to myself, "Now I've got him."
I waited for his answer
and they guy responds
"Never mind, don't bother me!"
And so for the last time
I continued to ask him questions
and the guy answering
in Spanish and in English
he kept on saying, "Yeah."
Always the same back-and-forth
But as he got off the train
this is no lie, what I'm telling you
I said "Adiós mi amigo"
He said, "Goodbye my friend."
Jeeze, what a chump this country boy is!
Abel
en Nueva York, I believe written by C. Curet Alonso. This could have been a
cover of a tune done by another group, not sure. But if Tite wrote it, it
probably should be considered a more modern tune since he has been active
from the 60s on and therefore I'm not sure if this décima style is part of
the folklore or a later development, perhaps from the guaguancó influence.
Roena plays quinto and it's a great tune! So now Fab has another tune to
listen to.
Kvetcher2 <kvet...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000527151406...@ng-fv1.aol.com...
SoySalsero
The 1988 Sonora Ponceña version of this song lists D.R. on the album credits.I
don't think it was written by Curet Alonso.I can't find my Harlequin 22 cd-it's
here somewhere dammit man- but I suspect it might be the same as the Ramito
version.The Joe Quijano is a later version.
Cristobal Diaz Ayala or Frank Figueroa would know who composed this song I bet.
(Digression:The Ponceña does have a Curet Alonso tune"Franqueza Cruel" as well
as an Adalberto Alvarez number,a Marta Valdes !song "Tengo",a Pablo Milanes,and
a song to Toñito Ledee,father of the Yankees' Ricky Ledee who homered
today...go Knicks)
Kvetcher's transcription is pretty close to the Ponceña version.
From Descarga.com:
Search Results for jibaro en nueva york
4 matches found.
La Sonora Ponceña, On The Right Track
CD (Inca I 1084) Released 1988;
Category: Salsa/Son => Salsa
ORDER TL-7376.10 $16.98 Add to My Shopping Cart
Joe Quijano Y Su Conjunto, Vuelvo Otra Vez Con La Pachanga
CD (Cesta 22)
Category: Dance Traditions => Tropical Dance: Various
ORDER TL-13041.10 $16.98 Add to My Shopping Cart
Ramito, Tierra Adentro
CD (Ansonia 1537)
Category: Trova/Cancion/Jibaro => Jibaro => Puerto Rico
ORDER TL-9310.10 $14.98 Add to My Shopping Cart
Various Artists, Music Of Puerto Rico
CD (Harlequin 22) Released 1993;
Category: Bolero => Bolero => Puerto Rico
ORDER TL-12022.10 $17.98 Add to My Shopping Cart
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Abel writes:
David B. Cantrell
Kvetcher2
Santa Salsera
>
> Kind of buried in the FAQ debate was a question on bomba and plena which I
> tried to answer. Since a lot of times questions don't get answered in the
> group, I figured I'd post it up higher so Fab could see it. I'm not a
> musicologist, but this should at least give her and others a starting point
> if they're interested in this two genres. Perhaps some of the musicians
> could comment on the role of clave in this genres and clear this up since I
> have a poor understanding of it. Also, if anyone has information on how the
> dances of this music are, this would be a big help.
>
> Here goes:
*snippety do dah*
thanks, Abel, I got it. Appreciate it.
-Fab
Santa Salsera
>
> The 1988 Sonora Ponceña version of this song lists D.R. on the album credits.I
> don't think it was written by Curet Alonso.I can't find my Harlequin 22 cd-it's
> here somewhere dammit man- but I suspect it might be the same as the Ramito
> version.The Joe Quijano is a later version.
> Various Artists, Music Of Puerto Rico
> CD (Harlequin 22) Released 1993;
> Category: Bolero => Bolero => Puerto Rico
> ORDER TL-12022.10 $17.98 Add to My Shopping Cart
A friend lent me this CD, which I've been listening to, hence the
initial question.
There is a song on it entitled "Un Jibaro en Nueva York," but the lyrics
are not identical to those cited below. This song was written by Jesús
Sánchez-Ladislao Martinez, and recorded by Conjunto Tipico Ladi in 1947
in P.R.
The song is a his/her dialogue making funny jokes about the translations
for things between P.R. Spanish and U.S. English...
I'll make a point of playing this song next Wed. on the radio if
possible. This CD is really nice and has been exposing me to P.R.
'roots' music which I am definitely underexposed to, vis a vis Cuban
music of the same period. It's been quite a nice revelation for me.
-Fab
Rum...@salsaweb.com
I'd just like to add to your comments if you don't mind.....
"Abel" <adel...@fast.net> wrote:
> I'm no expert, but I'll give this a shot. Bomba I believe is from
>Loíza Aldea, a town in Puerto Rico with a lot of Afro-Ricans.
Bomba and Plena are both bred from the coastal plains. Loiza Aldea is
from whence Bomba was bred and introduced to the dance floor/nightclubs
by Rafael Cortijo. The Bomba has somewhat slightly unique patterns,
they're not always played at the same tempo, etc. The rural Bomba is
taking a backseat to Plena which is springing up like wildfire in PR and
NYC with Plena based groups/ensembles. However, Bomba is a permanent,
though very small, element in SALSA....
> I don't think it has clave as overtly as say, guaguancó, but has a
>similar underlying concept going. But I'm not a musician so on this I'm
>not sure.
Every form of music has it's own distinct type of clave going on. Even
Rock. Clave is not only 2/3 and 3/2. Bomba is normally (traditionally)
a three drum dance in it's original form whether it's with Congas or
Barriles. It has a structured rythm pattern/tumbao that can go slow or
fast just like you said. A good reference point to check out is Jerry
Gonzalez's Conga Drumming Video that features a few Bombas in it's
instruction presentation...
> Examples of bomba include Bomba Ae by Ismael Rivera and Cortijo
>(forget the name of the original album this appears on, but it is on
>Llaves de la tradición, a compilation of older tunes by the dynamic
duo), A bailar mi bomba by Roberto Roena and Apollo Sound (Apollo Sound
7) and Domitila by Cheo Feliciano on the album The Singer.
Some straight up SALSA/AFRO-CUBAN/LATIN Tunes that have a Bomba rythm
within the arrangement is EL GRAN VARON - Willie Colón, Pete Conde's
PUEBLO LATINO, TP and Celia Cruz's LA PLENA BOMBA ME LLAMA (Tico -
1966), and the intro to Gloria Estefan's crossing-back-over hit, MI
TIERRA.....
> Now these bombas are played by a salsa band and so use congas, not
>barriles. Barriles are very expensive ($500 and up) and generally
>hand-made. Since many Puerto Rican bands in the 50s like Cortijo played
>a lot of Cuban-style tunes that used congas, instead of breaking out
>barriles they adapted the tumbaos to conga drums.
Actually, Rafael Cortijo took a page out of what was going on in the
New York Dance Halls what with the Big Bands and all. A gentleman by the
name of Augusto Coen, back in 1934, at one point was playing Plenas as
well as a few Bombas using Congas. (Noro Morales came out of this band).
but the use of latin percussion did not last long as he went for the
more African American straight up jazz big band format. The closest Coen
came to using anything related to the original musical forms of PR and
combining it with the African American big bands were 'panderetas' in
his big band. Cortijo was playing more of a USA Big Band Latin Swing a
la Tito Puente music-style than playing Cuban music from the isle. I
think regardless from where the music they were playing came from, the
use of Congas was going to be utilized no matter what. Barriles don't
really make for good acoustics in the Palladium...
> A nice bomba-plena medley is done by Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe on
>the album The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Also check out Ritmos y
>cantos callejeros by Kako and Cortijo.
A La Berdeguez, Ahi Viene El Barco Saliendo En La Bahia, etc. I love
that...
> They also used güiros but not a big gourd like the Cubans, it's
>skinnier, and a guitar, perhaps a cuatro but I'm not sure.
Plena in it's original form as far as it was being interpreted was
merely percussion. As the years have passed everything from a guitar to
a Cuatro to a Tres and brass have been played along with it. Some people
say that as far back as the teens (1900s), some of Puerto Rico's
municipal bands who had instruments like Tubas and Trombones and Basoons
were playing plena derived tunes. Unfortunately, this is all hearsay and
as of yet not much documented evidence to corroborate it. That's one
thing PR's have to work on. Documenting our history......
>Again, I believe clave is not as overt as in Cuban music. But I don't
>understand the role of clave in PR typical music so I'm not sure about
>this. It's up-tempo and lyrically offers sly social commentary or funny
>songs or patriotic songs like Qué bonita bandera which you will hear in
>every PR parade just about anywhere. Plena I believe is from the barrio
>of San Antón in Ponce in southern Puerto Rico.
Pedro "Davilita" Davila and Manuel Canario Jimenez were big on
patriotic themed plenas. Although one has to define the term "patriotic"
from a point of view. From a United States/Capatalist point of view,
these cats were spitting venom at them and its lyrics were way above and
beyond the realm of treason. To these artists, such as Daniel Santos,
Davilita, Claudio Ferrer, etc, who interpreted these inciteful tunes,
were only professing their adoration for their country and from the
nation being independent from the imperialistic American super power. I
got a few songs from Daniel Santos on cassette during the period in
which he recorded those ''inciteful compositions''. They've never been
re-issued in any form be it LP, CD or otherwise. Daniel was basically
exiled or kicked out of PR during the aftermath of those recordings.
That's when he joined LSM de Cuba.
Alot of people are'nt aware of this, but Don Rafael Hernandez's
composition, PRECIOSA, was altered. Hernandez recorded the tune
originally in '35. Luis Muñoz Marin, once as fiercely inclined towards
independence as Albizu was, would years later eventually change his
entire poiltical mindset and in doing so, alter one specific lyric from
the song. If you get one of those Banco Popular Videos that feature Marc
Anthony singing PRECIOSA, you'll hear Marc sing a verse that goes,
"Preciosa te llaman los bardos que cantan tu historia. No importa el
'destino' te trate con negra maldad...".
The word Destino was implemented years later on orders of Muñoz Marin.
The original version in which Rafael Hernandez wrote it goes, "No
importa el 'TIRANO' te trate con negra maldad...".
Hernandez wrote this composition during the most intense nationalistic
era in Puerto Rico's History. The use of the word 'tirano' ("tyrant")
was clearly referring to the good ol' US of A. Just with that particular
word (Tirano) within the song changes the entire nature of it. It
becomes more directly political and demonstrates a clear discontent for
conditions on the island under the US regime than merely a song of
nostalgia of being in Puerto Rico, just like 'Lamento Boricano' is
perceived to be. In fact, Muñoz Marin tried unsuccessfully to re-write
LAMENTO BORINCANO. Unfortunately he succeeded with PRECIOSA. It's weird
because Rafael never protested publicly to the change and never
demonstrated any discontent for the alteration. People interpreted Don
Rafael's silence as if he had given his blessing to alter the tune.
Nobody knows what was going on in his mind. He gotta a lot of shit for
that afterwards....
> In the 1940s César Concepción began to record plenas in the style of a
>Cuban big band with congas and no panderetas. He also added horns and
>bass and other instrumentation not used with traditional plena. He was
>popular and had some nice records with Joe Valle as his singer.
You're right. But Augusto Coen was doing all this and more back in the
early 30s. During the early 20s, Latin Music was pretty much
non-existant, except for a few trios/cuartets here and there. Coen began
playing with some of the African American Orchestras of the day, such as
Duke Ellington, Eubie Blake and Fletcher Henderson and was involved as a
'pit' musician in some of the African American musical productions,
which at that time was all the rage. It was through his experiences with
the African American Jazz outfits that inspired him to take steps to
form his own group, utilizing his own compositions and musical forms. In
1934 he formed, "Augusto Coen y Sus Boricuas". He was among the first to
apply the big band concept to Latin Music and certainly succeeded in
applying Plena to his big band format a decade earlier before Cesar
Concepcion. Jose Madera, Jr.'s (as you know, currently the conguero for
Puente) father, Jose "Pin" Madera, Sr., was one of the arrangers in
Coen's recordings....
> Mon Rivera was a famous plena singer famous for his tongue twisters or
>trabalenguas. He also would comment on social issues like strikes and
>labor disputes.
It's interesting to note that Mon Rivera came out of the Moncho Usera
band. Moncho Usera was another one who came out of the aforementioned
"Coen y sus Boricuas" big band. Looks like the lineage point to
Plena/Night-Club style bands starts with Coen....
>Also la familia Cepeda and Grupo ABC if their albums are still
>available.
A definite must have is the current TRUCO Y ZAPEROKO CD. Forget about
Plena Libre, Plenealo, Los Pleneros de la 21 and others. Except for Dos
Alas (Cepedas/Ayalas) and William Cepeda's group, nobody touches Truco y
Zaperoko when it comes to Plena. This is the closest thing to 'Cortijo y
su Combo' as you will find anywhere. I don't know if it's the
engineering or if it was overly-brilliantly produced, but the sound
coming out of this CD will demonstrate how Modern Plena is played (a la
Cortijo).
As Max Salazar would say, "Shoulda been a grammy winner..."
> I haven't yet read a good book just on bomba and plena but there may
>be one out there. Plena and bomba are generally considered to be
>folkloric. I seriously doubt people in PR would dance if you played
>them in a club.
Au Contraire Mon Frer.... (<-Did I spell that correctly?)
> I could be wrong, but I get the impression this music is considered
> folkloric and not folkloric and popular as salsa is.
>
Talk to some of the old timers who were active during the Palladium era
like Ernie Ensley and Luis Maquina for instance (great dancers) and
they'll tell you they danced just as much to Cortijo y Su Combo as they
did to Charlie Palmieri, Tito Rodriguez, Machito and Noro Morales.
MAQUINO LANDERA and BOMBON DE ELENA was just as danceable to as
Puente's ASIA MOOD or PHILADELPHIA MAMBO was. It stopped being defined
as just a folkloric dance when these cats brought it to the nightclub
circuit and to a much higher level than Coen or Concepcion had ever done
previously.
It goes the same for Rumba. You've got SALSA songs that consist of
Guaguanco's, yet you don't see anyone doing a traditional rumba dance or
'vacunao's' to it at the Copacabana or a local latin nightclub.
Bomba/Plena is a minor element in the afro-latin dance music scene, but
it was and is definitely as danceable and enjoyable as dancing to a
Mambo tune or SALSA....
Richie
-- --
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Yambu
>...... Every form of music has it's own distinct type of clave going on. Even
>Rock. Clave is not only 2/3 and 3/2......
>
I have been enjoying this discussion immensely, because I know so
little about these two rhythms. I just picked up Ritmos y Cantos
Callejeros yesterday, so I'll be doing some deep listening over the
next week or so. And I'll have to look for my Jerry Gonzalez videos,
too.
But this remark of yours about clave has thrown me. Please explain
what you mean.
Also, would you please describe los barriles. And are there any
recordings of them?
-Mike Doran
César N. Díaz
>>
>I have been enjoying this discussion immensely, because I know so
>little about these two rhythms. I just picked up Ritmos y Cantos
>Callejeros yesterday, so I'll be doing some deep listening over the
>next week or so.
Mike, in order to get you started on "Ritmos Y Cantos Callejeros",
please, repeat after me:
"Juan José pasé por tu casa y te llamé,
Juan José, como no me oistes te pité"
This will get you ready for the June 11th Puerto Rican Parade.
PS.
An alternate refrain would be:
"Alegría bomba'é, alegría bomba'é,
alegría bomba'é, baila mi bomba
José Iné(z).
William Sakovich
> Every form of music has it's own distinct type of clave going
on. Even
> Rock. Clave is not only 2/3 and 3/2. Bomba is normally
(traditionally)
> a three drum dance in it's original form whether it's with
Congas or
> Barriles. It has a structured rythm pattern/tumbao that can go
slow or
> fast just like you said.
This was very interesting. I'm a big fan of bomba and plena. Can
you describe a typical bomba clave, if there is such a thing?
- Bill Sakovich
tang...@yahoo.com
Grupo AfroBoricua from Puerto Rico "Bombazo" (My favorite)
Los Pleneros de la 21 "Somos Boricuas We are Puerto Rican" (I like
Panamanian singer's Menique's vocals on a couple of bombas)
Paracumbe "Tambo" (Something of a disappointment--especially don't like
the vocals)
http://www.hotdrums.com/drums.html for a picture.
tangent90
Yambu wrote:
>
> On Mon, 29 May 2000 04:56:51 GMT, Rum...@Salsaweb.com wrote:
>
> >...... Every form of music has it's own distinct type of clave going on. Even
> >Rock. Clave is not only 2/3 and 3/2......
> >
> I have been enjoying this discussion immensely, because I know so
> little about these two rhythms. I just picked up Ritmos y Cantos
> Callejeros yesterday, so I'll be doing some deep listening over the
Ricardo Portal
The drums sound like any other!
"El toro mata compa're, el toro mata"
Edward-Yemíl Rosario
Afro Boricua's "Bombazo." Here, for the first time, musical director William
Cepeda manages to bring under one roof all the "schools" of PR folkloric song
form:
From the liner notes:
"... All the musicians and performers in the group not only bring their own
particular expertise to the ensemble, but also represent the different styles of
this tradition. among the singers, Matinson presents Bomba from Loíza; Roberto
Cepeda, descendant of the great Don Rafael Cepeda, carries in his voice... the
ehchoes of this music's African past; while Nellie [Lebron] represents the Bomba
from the south (Mayaguez) and Tito matos specializes in the Plena. The dancers
and percussionists, all of them masters of their art, represent the wealth and
variety of styles from Loíza, Santurce and Ponce."
The liner notes also offer detailed and useful explanations of the different
tracks. For example, here's a snippet for track one, "AfroBoricua":
"In the opening track... the musicians announce their arrival... the tune
incorporates two different rhythms, the 'seis corrido' from Loiza, and the
'sica' rhythm from Cangrejos (Santurce and Mayaguez). 'This song contains
different chants... unlike many tunes of this type that use portions of
traditional chants over which imporvisations are superimposed, I've composed
this song using the entire body of the chant... This is followed by a call and
response section that continues to build until the end.'"
Another example:
"the uuba rhythm is a form of Bomba rhythm. In this medley four different
variations are employed: yuba cuartiao, lero, yuba, corbe."
To my knowedge this bringing together this vast scope of bomba and plena (not
"Bomba vs Plena," BTW) has never been attempted before and the resulting scope
and beauty of the finished product is truly a treasure to listen and dance to.
Edward-Yemíl Rosario (Eddie)
http://www.acorn.org/
http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org
"To be truly radical, one must make hope
possible, rather than despair convincing."
- Raymond Williams
ze...@sonic.net
Yambu wrote:
> Also, would you please describe los barriles. And are there any
> recordings of them?
>
>
I am curious about the dimensions of these things. From what I understand and can
see from a few photographs on CD covers, they are short squat barrels that are
totally open on the bottom. I have converted many barrels into drums and they
usually do not sound very cool. The only ones that really work as hand drums are
the old soy sauce barrels which tend to be longer and smaller in diameter. Most
of the drums I have made from assorted wine barrels sound better sitting on the
floor with the bottom end closed and played with sticks in a more African style.
The taper is critical apparently. I imagine the Bomba drums are custom made
barrels with specific worked out dimensions. Who has seen or played these,
anyone here?
Zeno
Robert E Beatty Jr.
<ze...@sonic.net> wrote in message news:39356426...@sonic.net...
> I am curious about the dimensions of these things. From what I understand
and can
> see from a few photographs on CD covers, they are short squat barrels that
are
> totally open on the bottom. I have converted many barrels into drums and
they
> usually do not sound very cool. The only ones that really work as hand
drums are
> the old soy sauce barrels which tend to be longer and smaller in diameter.
Most
> of the drums I have made from assorted wine barrels sound better sitting
on the
> floor with the bottom end closed and played with sticks in a more African
style.
> The taper is critical apparently. I imagine the Bomba drums are custom
made
> barrels with specific worked out dimensions. Who has seen or played
these,
> anyone here?
> Zeno
>
The barilles that can be seen at http://www.hotdrums.com/drums.html look
close(as far as I can tell from the a picture) to the size of what Los
Hermanos Cepeda played in a workshop I attended, and they do list the
dimensions on that page. Los Hermanos Cepeda's barilles were obviously made
as drums and not converted barrels, and they didn't have any taper at all.
In conversation I got the impression that they made their own drums. I also
remember talking about skins (generally, not specific to barilles) and for
some reason I thought that they used goat hide. But all the pictures that
I've seen, including Rafael Cepeda's "El Roble Mayor," sure look a lot like
cow hide to me.
They sounded great, especially the larger drum used for soloing. It
completely took over the room.
And that's about all I can think of. Hope it helps a little at least.
--
******************************************
Bright Moments,
Robert E Beatty Jr.
Robert...@worldnet.att.net
******************************************
ze...@sonic.net
"Robert E Beatty Jr." wrote:
> The barilles that can be seen at http://www.hotdrums.com/drums.html look
> close(as far as I can tell from the a picture) to the size of what Los
> Hermanos Cepeda played in a workshop I attended, and they do list the
> dimensions on that page. Los Hermanos Cepeda's barilles were obviously made
> as drums and not converted barrels, and they didn't have any taper at all.
> In conversation I got the impression that they made their own drums. I also
> remember talking about skins (generally, not specific to barilles) and for
> some reason I thought that they used goat hide. But all the pictures that
> I've seen, including Rafael Cepeda's "El Roble Mayor," sure look a lot like
> cow hide to me.
>
> They sounded great, especially the larger drum used for soloing. It
> completely took over the room.
>
> And that's about all I can think of. Hope it helps a little at least.
I see from that website that the drums are 22" high. That tells me most of what
I wanted to know. It does look like their drums do have a slight taper to them.
Anyway thanks for the info.
Zeno