Names for Congas

[JohnnyConga]

Yo I NEVER said i was an expert you did...I will answer your 'test' question..ok

the abakua drum battery is called 'Biankomeko" the tall drum is called "bonko enchemiya" now in "descending" order they are called..."biapa" "arobapa" and 'kuchiyerema".....did I pass "your test"?....."JC" Johnny Conga.....



Edited By JohnnyConga on 1188603482

[JohnnyConga]

ps ...r u making history up or something? rich white people and the mambo?..where do u get this stuff?....I'd like to know.....your turn...."JC" Johnny Conga....

[bongosnotbombs]

Afro-Cuban Folkloric Rhythms

by Curtis Lanoue

Afro-Cuban music, although commonly thought of by most Americans as the rhumbas and mambos of Desi Arnaz and Xavier Cugat or by musicians as the Latin Jazz of Tito Puente, is as varied as America’s jazz music

and concerning drum names

The salidor and tres golpes drums, lowest and middle respectively, play prescribed patterns in rumba while the quinto, highest drum, solos. Usually, the quinto interacts with the singers and dancers and not the other two drums.

basic information I know...



Edited By bongosnotbombs on 1188604355

[bongosnotbombs]

and a little more, this one supports the Carnaval "conga line" origin, and describes the practice of playing the conga on a strap.

The Conga Drum or Cuban Tumbadora

The tumbadora, also known as the conga drum, is made from a shell of elongated wood. The instrument is held between the knees of the musician or hung from the shoulders with a strong leather belt. The musician strikes the drum with the palms of his hands. To extract a short, muted sound the edge of the drum is struck with the left palm. To produce a deeper sound, the center of the drum is struck with the right hand. The tumbadora is essential to all Latin rhythms, particularly Afro-Cuban rhythms to which it adds a major rhythmic force approaching that of the double bass within an orchestra. This typically African instrument is an indispensable part of conga rhythms which is why the tumbadora is also known as the conga drum.

Translated by Maureen Turner from Historia de la Música Cubana by Elena Perez Sanjurjo



Edited By bongosnotbombs on 1188604742

[JohnnyConga]

BTW here is a small list of "fAMOUS LATINOS" that made being "Latino" cool

Federico Pagani
Machito & his Afro Cubans
Rene Touzet
Soccaras
Dolores del Rio
Rita Hayworth
Anthony Quinn
Ricardo Montalban
Jose Ferrer
Ceasar Romero
Pedro Armandariz and this is all during the "desi" era.... so he wasnt the only one with Carmen Miranda that made being Latin cool...."JC" Johnny Conga....



Edited By JohnnyConga on 1188605180

[JohnnyConga]

I was talking to Blanqo but thank u for the information anyway...."JC" Johnny Conga.....

[bongosnotbombs]

we should all be as cool...



Edited By bongosnotbombs on 1188668570

Attachment: http://mycongaplace.com/forum/eng/uploa ... 042195.jpg

[Diceman]

Pilgrims,

Off topic!!---time to hit the PM button methinks

[blango]

JC,

yes, you passed.

Yes, Machito had more to do with it than Desi, etc.

Im not interested in this converation, you know what i meant.

Tony

[RitmoBoricua]

And by being on TV, they led to the acceptance of Mambo by white people with money. That was the key to the whole 'craze'.

Hola. I guess you have never heard of Damaso Perez Prado to make such a claim.

[blango]

Desi's popular "babalu", a tune by Margarita Lecuona, was in 1946.

Peres Prados's "cherry pink and apple blossom white" by Frenchman Louiguy, was in 1955, although he had popular recordings in the early 50's.

I didnt make this stuff up.

Listen guys, i dont care about Desi, i think he is embarrassing to percussionists, but give the clown his due.

[bongosnotbombs]

I have recently heard the name "Caja" used for the tumba/ salidor.
The Caja is the name for the largest drum in a different form of music,
but since it is the largest drum, perhaps the word can be used to describe the largest drum in a conga ensemble as well?

On a different note, Wikipedia has an excellent List of Caribbean drums
it really is cool, with each name having a footnote reference for credibility.

Here is the link,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Caribbean_drums

I recommend a visit, it really is well done.

Caja Drum



Edited By bongosnotbombs on 1188958366

Attachment: http://mycongaplace.com/forum/eng/uploa ... 2-caja.jpg

[bongosnotbombs]

Some supporting evidence for the Caja/Tumba

again from Wikipedia

The Kongo cabildo is known for its use of yuka drums, as well as gallos (a form of song contest), makuta and mani dances, the latter being closely related to the Brazilian martial dance capoeira. Yuka drum music eventually evolved into what is known as rumba, which has become internationally popular. Rumba bands traditionally use several drums, palitos, claves and call and response vocals.

So if the Caja drum was the largest drum in Yuka music, which is suggested to have evolved into Rumba, then it seems likely that the largest rumba drum (typ. Tumba) could be referred to as a Caja if we are to use the approach that drums also receive their name from their position/role in an ensemble.



Edited By bongosnotbombs on 1189014697

[ralph]

So if the Caja drum was the largest drum in Yuka music, which is suggested to have evolved into Rumba, then it seems likely that the largest rumba drum (typ. Tumba) could be referred to as a Caja if we are to use the approach that drums also receive their name from their position/role in an ensemble.

This is not necessarilly true....while it is true that rumba probably did evolve from yuka drumming (most evident in the "Mani" dance), that doesn't mean that rumba is a "direct" descendant of Yuka, rumba does borrow elements from abakua, and most likely palo/ congo drumming...the term Caja is used in various forms of afro cuban music from bembe (yoruba), to congo/palo forms, sometimes even bataleros call the "iya'. caja. If your playing yambu w/ cajones, some refer to the bottom part as the caja, and the top cajoncito...so while one could call the lowest drum caja, it wouldn't necessarily make sense since caja denotes a drum that improvises in certain afrocuban musical contexts. Rumba is not one of them...the term "quinto" takes the place/role of the caja as an improvising drum, and the quinto itself is usually the highest pitch drum...and the lowest drum, would probably just be called tumba or tumbador....etc...etc...etc...

[bongosnotbombs]

Ok,

no wonder...

It seems that the llamador is the lead drum, or the one that "calls"

'The biggest drum bears the name caja, although is it also called llamador ("caller"). The mid-sized drum is called mula but also segundo and dos y dos. The smallest is called the cachimbo or sometimes quinto' - A History of the Congas, by Dr. Olavo Alén Rodriguez, 11/02

so, in Bembe it is the largest drum and Rumba it is the smallest, for example.

Thanks for making me lookinto it!

Tony

Ralph,

The quinto is not always the improvising drum in rumba settings, sometimes it is the tumba.

Dr. Olavo Alén Rodriguez, also made mention of the caja, which I had overlooked until now, thanks for causing me to look it up.

but it sounds from your post as if caja describes a role in the music versus others using it to describe a drums size?

It seems some names are actually terms describing a role in the music, some names are according to size or kind of drum with applications spanning from different percussion traditions.



Edited By bongosnotbombs on 1191014323