Cuban rumba
Rumba is a secular genre of Cuban music involving dance, percussion, and song. It originated in the northern regions of Cuba, mainly in urban Havana and Matanzas, during the late 19th century. It is based on African music and dance traditions, namely Abakuá and yuka, as well as the Spanish-based coros de clave. According to Argeliers León, rumba is one of the major "genre complexes" of Cuban music,[1] and the term rumba complex is now commonly used by musicologists.[2][3] This complex encompasses the three traditional forms of rumba (yambú, guaguancó and columbia), as well as their contemporary derivatives and other minor styles.
"Rumbón" redirects here. For the radio station, see Rumbón (Sirius XM).Rumba
Abakuá and yuka dance and drumming, Spanish-based coros de clave
Late 19th century in northern Cuba
Traditionally performed by poor workers of African descent in streets and solares (courtyards), rumba remains one of Cuba's most characteristic forms of music and dance. Vocal improvisation, elaborate dancing and polyrhythmic drumming are the key components of all rumba styles. Cajones (wooden boxes) were used as drums until the early 20th century, when they were replaced by tumbadoras (conga drums). During the genre's recorded history, which began in the 1940s, there have been numerous successful rumba bands such as Los Papines, Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, Clave y Guaguancó, AfroCuba de Matanzas and Yoruba Andabo.
Since its early days, the genre's popularity has been largely confined to Cuba, although its legacy has reached well beyond the island. In the United States, it gave its name to the so-called "ballroom rumba", or rhumba, and in Africa, soukous is commonly referred to as "Congolese rumba" (despite being actually based on son cubano). Its influence in Spain is testified by rumba flamenca and derivatives such as Catalan rumba.
Etymology[edit]
The origin of the term rumba remains unknown and no etymological information is provided by the Diccionario de la lengua española.[4] According to Joan Corominas, the word derives from "rumbo", meaning "uproar" (and previously "pomp") and also "the course of a ship", which itself may derive from the word "rombo" ("rhombus"), a symbol used in compasses.[5] In the 1978 documentary La rumba, directed by Óscar Valdés, it is stated that the term rumba originated in Spain to denote "all that is held as frivolous", deriving from the term "mujeres de rumbo".[6] Alternatively, in Cuba the term might have originated from a West African or Bantu language, due to its similarity to other Afro-Caribbean words such as tumba, macumba, mambo and tambó.[2] During the 19th century in Cuba, specifically in urban Havana and Matanzas, people of African descent originally used the word rumba as a synonym for party. According to Olavo Alén, in these areas "[over time] rumba ceased to be simply another word for party and took on the meaning both of a defined Cuban musical genre and also of a very specific form of dance."[7] The terms rumbón and rumbantela (the latter of Galician or Portuguese origin[5]) are frequently used to denote rumba performances in the streets.[8][9] Many other terms have been used in Cuba to refer to parties, such as changüí (in Oriente), guateque (in rural regions), tumba (by Afro-Cubans), bembé (associated with Santería), macumba and mambo.
Due to its broad etymology, the term rumba historically retained a certain degree of polysemy. By the end of the 19th century, Cuban peasants (guajiros) began to perform rumbitas during their parties (guateques, changüís, parrandas and fiestas patronales). These songs were actually in the form of urban guarachas (not proper rumbas), which had a binary meter in contrast to the ternary meter of traditional rural genres such as tonada and zapateo.[10][11] Similarly, in Cuban bufo theatre at the beginning of the 20th century, the guarachas that were sung at the end of the show were referred to as rumba final despite not sharing any musical similarities with actual rumba.[12][13]
Characteristics[edit]
Instrumentation[edit]
Rumba instrumentation has varied historically depending on the style and the availability of the instruments. The core instruments of any rumba ensemble are the claves, two hard wooden sticks that are struck against each other, and the conga drums: quinto (lead drum, highest-pitched), tres dos (middle-pitched), and tumba or salidor (lowest-pitched). Other common instruments include the catá or guagua, a wooden cylinder; the palitos, wooden sticks to strike the catá; shakers such as the chekeré and the maracas; scraper percussion instruments such as the güiro; bells, and cajones, wooden boxes that preceded the congas.[2][14][15][16] During the 1940s, the genre experienced a mutual influence with son cubano, especially by Ignacio Piñeiro's Septeto Nacional and Arsenio Rodríguez's conjunto, which led to the incorporation of instruments such as the tres, the double bass, the trumpet and the piano, and the removal of idiophone instruments.[17] At the same time, Cuban big bands, in collaboration with musical artists such as Chano Pozo, began to include authentic rumbas among their dance pieces. The group AfroCuba de Matanzas, founded in 1957, added batá drums to the traditional rumba ensemble in their style, known as batá-rumba. More recently, a cappella (vocals-only, without instruments) rumba has been performed by the Cuban ensemble Vocal Sampling, as heard in their song "Conga Yambumba".