Bongo drum

The bongo is a membranophone instrument made up of a set of two small drums made of slightly truncated wood, one smaller than the other, joined by a piece of wood. Their upper mouths – those with the largest diameter – are covered by solid leather that is tightened with a black metal ring through the metal keys of the bongo. The musician who plays the bongo is called a bongosero. The bongo is played with the hands, for which it must be placed between the knees, sitting, placing the sharpest head (the smallest size) to the left at an angle of 45° to obtain its sound.

According to the decimal classification of musical instruments by Hornbostel and Sachs (Vega 1989), it is numbered 211.211.12-9221.

The bongo is, according to Fernando Ortiz – Cuban ethnographer and historian – “the most valuable synthesis in the evolution of the twin drums achieved by Afro-Cuban music.” Its origin dates back to the eastern part of Cuba where, together with the development of the son, it reached its definitive form and greatest splendor when it arrived in Havana in 1905.

Generally, it is placed between the knees of the seated performer, with an angle of inclination of approximately 45° away from the performer, although it is also widely used on a lectern. The performer usually alternates its use with the Cuban cowbell, using a rope, hanging them from one leg of the seated performer, with the drums on both sides of it.

Its evolution has been closely linked to the appearance and popularity of the Cuban son montuno. Through sound ensembles, they reached the ballrooms and from there to the large orchestras. Currently, it is mainly used in the salsa and bachata musical genres.

History

Origin

The origin of the bongo is unclear. Its use was first documented in the eastern region of Cuba, the Oriente Province, at the end of the 19th century, where it was used in popular musical styles such as nengón, changüí and its descendant, Cuban son. According to Fernando Ortiz, the word bongó derived from the Bantu words mgombo or ngoma, which means drum. It is hypothesized that the word evolved by metathesis and due to similarity with another Bantu word, mbongo. In Holguín, certain drums that are considered possible ancestors of the bongó are known as tahona, which could to have been a generic word for drum in Cuba and also refers to an unrelated musical genre.

Most sources on Afro-Cuban cultural history maintain that the bongo derives from the Bantu drum models of Central Africa, noticeable in the open bottoms. The strong historical presence of Africans from the Congo/Angola Region in eastern Cuba (where the bongo first appeared) makes such influence possible. Furthermore, Central African/Congolese influences are also documented in both Cuban son and changüí, and initially the development of the bongo drum paralleled these genres. From these conceptual models of the African drum, the bongo was further developed in Cuba itself, and some historians claim that the union of the two drums was a later invention that took place in Cuba. Therefore, the instrument has been described as African in concept, but Cuban in invention. This has been disputed, however, by several historians (most notably Haroldo Dilla Alfonso).

Evolution and popularization

The bongo entered Cuban popular music as a key instrument of the first son ensembles, quickly becoming—due to the growing popularity of the son—the first instrument with an undeniable African past. This is attested, for example, to the poems of Nicolás Guillén. As the son evolved and distanced itself from its precursor, the changüí, so did the bongos. The bongos used in changüí, known as bongó de monte, are larger and tuned lower than their modern counterparts, have studded heads instead of tunable hardware, and play similarly to the drum. of main conga (quinto) and other folkloric main drum parts. Unlike modern son, changüí never extended its popularity beyond eastern Cuba, and therefore its bongos remain a rarity. It is commonly accepted that son arrived in Havana partly as a result of the arrival of musicians who were members of Cuba's permanent army, who brought the music of eastern Cuba with them. Among the first known bongoseros to enlist in the permanent army of Santiago de Cuba was Mariano Mena.

During the sextet era, groups began performing and touring more than ever, and recordings were made for the first time. It was in this context that the first great bongo innovators left their mark, and unlike their predecessors, their names were not lost in time. Highlights include Óscar Sotolongo of Sexteto Habanero and José Manuel Carriera Incharte El Chino of the Sexteto Nacional, the two main groups of the 1920s and 1930s. Sotolongo himself would later leave Habanero and lead his own group, the Congreso Típica Cubano. His replacement was Agustín Gutiérrez < i>Manana, who is widely considered one of the most influential bongos players, in part due to his status as a member of the Abakuá, which allowed him to develop techniques based on the ekué drum (drum secret) of said company. In 1930, Sotolongo's son, Andrés Sotolongo replaced Gutiérrez in Habanero. Decades later, at the age of 82, Andrés Sotolongo was recorded for the documentary Rutas del Ritmo playing with Isaac Oviedo.

The 1930s saw an increase in the technical skill of bongoseros, as evidenced by Clemente Chicho Piquero, whose virtuoso performances inspired a young Mongo Santamaría to take up the instrument. Some musicians were able to effectively translate their technical skill into pure spectacle, as was the case with Lázaro Pla, known as Manteca, who toured with the Lecuona Cuban Boys in the 1940s and became an attraction. in Havana in the 1950s. He later moved to Miami and released two albums as a leader in the 1970s. By the early 1940s, Santamaría had become a master of the instrument, performing with the Lecuona Cuban Boys, La Sonora Matancera, Conjunto Matamoros and Conjunto Segundo of Arsenio Rodríguez, among others. Arsenio had been a pioneer in the ensemble format by incorporating a tumbadora (conga drum) to the rhythm section and have the bongosero double on the cowbell. Arsenio's bongos player for a long time was Antolín Papa Kila Suárez, who is often cited as one of the greatest of his time along with Pedro Mena of Conjunto Matamoros. The Arsenio's group also helped break down race barriers, which especially affected the bongoseros. For example, the Casino de la Playa Orchestra did not allow its black bongos player Ramón Castro to perform on stage, nor was Arsenio allowed to go up to the tres. The Casino de la Playa would also have the < i>bongosero Cándido Requena, who would later join Conjunto Kubavana and Conjunto Niágara, and would become one of the main manufacturers of bongos and tumbadoras in Cuba. Requena, as well Like the Vergara brothers, they were instrumental in the technological improvement of bongos and congas. Before the arrival of mechanically tunable bongos and congas in the 1940s, both instruments were typically tuned with oil or kerosene lamps. The heat of the flame was used to contract the drum head and achieve the desired sound.

After the popularization of the tumbadora, Santamaría switched to this instrument, while remaining a close friend of the bongosero Armando Peraza. Both moved to New York to 1950, taking his musical skills with him. Among the bongoseros who stayed in Cuba was the aforementioned Chicho Piquero, who had become a good friend of Benny Moré in Mexico and became the bongosero of his Banda Gigante. back to Cuba. Also important during the 1950s were Papa Gofio, from Conjunto Rumbavana, and Rogelio Yeyo Iglesias, the main bongos player of the Havana discharge scene. In the course of the 20th century, the bongo It spread throughout Latin America. In the Dominican Republic, bongo became an integral part of bachata, a genre related to bolero that emerged in the 1960s.

In the United States

Leaded by the iconic conguero Chano Pozo, in the late 1940s there was an exodus of Afro-Cuban percussionists from Cuba to the United States. Among the main bongo players of Cuban origin in the United States were Armando Peraza, Chino Pozo (no relation to Chano) and Rogelio Darias, who had a long career in Las Vegas and was known as the King of Bongo. Many others, however, would become mainly conguistas, such as Mongo Santamaría, Sabú Martínez and Cándido Camero.

The Latin music scene in New York, and the United States in general, was made up mainly of Puerto Ricans, and many influential bongoseros were Puerto Ricans who learned from Cubans. An early example is Rafael Congo Castro, who arrived in New York in 1924 and had a long career as a bongo player in Chicago until the 1980s. In New York, many Puerto Rican bongoseros would become part of the pioneering Afro-Cuban jazz groups of the time, such as Machito and his Afro-Cubans, whose singles "Tangá" and "Mango mangüé"—considered the first examples of the genre—featured José Mangual Sr. Buyú on the bongos. Mangual's prolific career was continued by his sons José Mangual Jr. and Luis Mangual, who played in a variety of salsa groups in the 1970s. The two most important Latin orchestras of the 1950s in New York, led by Tito Puente and Tito Rodríguez, were the home of two generations of bongoseros represented by Johnny La Vaca Rodríguez and his son Johnny Dandy Rodríguez, of Puerto Rican descent.

Other Puerto Rican musicians who made a name for themselves on bongos were Richie Bastar of El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Ralph Marzán of Johnny Pacheco's charanga, Little Ray Romero, Frank Colón and Roberto Roena. On the other hand, among the American bongos masters are Jack Costanzo and Willie Bobo, the latter more active on the timbales. Other bongoseros who had more impact as timbaleros were Manny Oquendo, Orestes Vilató and Nicky Marrero. American novel rock acts such as Preston Epps and Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band capitalized on the popularity of the instrument as well as its "exotic" and rhythmic qualities.

Technique

Bongo drums produce relatively high-pitched sounds compared to conga drums, and should be held behind the knees with the largest drum on the right when right-handed. It is most often played by hand and is especially associated in Cuban music with a constant pattern or ostinato of eighth notes known as martillo. They are traditionally played by striking the edge of the drum heads with fingers and palms. The glissando used with the bongó de monte is performed by rubbing the third finger, resting on the thumb, on the drum head. Sometimes you moisten your finger with saliva or sweat before rubbing it on the patch.

When the Cuban son and other popular genres are played, the male is on the left and the female is on the right. In changüí, the bongó de monte is placed upside down. The playing patterns are also different in changüí, where the bongó does not follow a constant rhythm. Instead, he usually marks offbeats and beat four while improvising. Thus, the playing technique on the changüí resembles that of congas (in addition, its pitch is usually lower than that of congas). bongos and congas). This reflects its origin, since the bongó del monte evolved from pairs of bokús, a larger drum from eastern Cuba similar to to the conga.

Bongos can also be played on a stand, as is the case with orchestras and concert bands. In classical music performances, bongos are often hit with mallets or sticks. Examples of pieces that include bongos include Ionization by Varèse (1931), Le Marteau sans maître by Boulez (1955) and In seinem Garten liebt Don Perlimplin Belisaby Fortner (1962).