Bomba (Puerto Rico)

Bomba
Dancing bomba and plena
Stylistic origins	West African music
Cultural origins	17th century, Puerto Rico
Typical instruments	Barril de bomba subidor cuá maracas
Other topics
Music of Puerto Rico

Bomba is an umbrella term that refers to a variety of musical styles and associated dances originating in Puerto Rico.^[1] It was developed by enslaved Africans and their descendants in sugar plantations along coastal towns, most notably Loiza, Mayagüez, Ponce, and San Juan, during the 17th century. It is the island's oldest musical tradition.^[2][3][4][5]

Bomba reflects a syncretism of Puerto Rico’s many cultural groups. It incorporates Taíno instruments such as the maraca; characteristics from traditional European dances like rigadoons, quadrilles and mazurkas; and drum ensembles and drummer/dancer interactions that bear close resemblance to a number of West African musical styles.^[6][2][7] The music also evolved through contact between enslaved populations from different Caribbean colonies and regions, including the Dutch colonies, Cuba, Santo Domingo, and Haiti,^[8][9] and it has notable roots in Congolose and Afro-French cultural expressions.^[10]

After slavery was abolished, Bomba was commercialized in the mid-20th century and incorporated into the island’s folklore. In the 90’s, the Bomba & Plena group Hermanos Emmanueli Náter brought the genre to the streets for public consumption in the form of “Bombazos” that were designed for communal participation. ^[10]

Bomba was developed in Puerto Rico during the early European colonial period. The first documentation of bomba dates back to 1797: botanist André Pierre Ledru described his impressions of local inhabitants dancing and singing popular bombas in Voyage aux îles de Ténériffe, la Trinité, Saint-Thomas, Sainte-Croix et Porto Ricco.^[2][11]

These dances were developed by West African slaves and their descendants in sugar plantations. Cane workers used them to release feelings of sadness, anger, and resistance; they were also used to communicate and plan rebellions, and integrated into baptism and marriage celebrations. The roots of the bomba tradition can be traced back to the Ashanti people of Ghana. The etymology of the word “bomba” comes from the Akan and Bantu languages in Africa.^[12]

These slaves came from different regions of Africa so they could not easily communicate with each other, but they found common ground in music. With the migration of these slaves to different regions of the island bomba was practiced in different regions of the island, each giving their personal twist to bomba music, for example in the region of Ponce they play with larger drums than other regions that are played by placing the drum completely horizontal.

Bomba was also significantly shaped by the dissemination of Haitian culture. French, Corsican, and Spanish landowners brought slaves to Puerto Rico while fleeing the Haitian Revolution in 1791. Specifically, this influence contributed to the yubá rhythm of Bomba in Mayaguez.^[13]

Up until the 1940s and 1950s, bomba was heavily racialized and associated as premodern and Black. bomba had been a marginalized music genre until musical artists like Rafael Cortijo and Ismael Rivera from the group Cortijo y su Combo, popularized bomba by taking it to various parts of the Americas and the world.^[14] On an international level bomba was fused with various national and regional musical genres creating a hybridization of bomba. On the Island of Puerto Rico however, bomba did not unfold in the same manner, it remained true to its folk tradition and geographically confined to parts of the island where there was a majority of Black Puerto Ricans in towns such as, Loiza, Ponce, Mayagüez, and Guayama.^[14]

Bomba is described as a secular, recreational style of music, characterized by a challenge/connection between the drummer and the dancer, a call and response.^[2] The dancer produces a series of gestures to which the primo o subidor drummer provides a rhythmic pattern, while the buleador (second) maintains the rhythm. Therefore, it is the drummer who attempts to follow the dancer, and not the more traditional form of the dancer following the drummer. When there is nobody dancing, the primo improvises.^[15]

Bomba also is composed by three or more singers and a solo singer, the singing has a dynamic similar to those of "Son" where the lead singer sings a chorus and the other responds and in between choruses the lead singer will improvise a verse. Most bomba songs are sung in Spanish and deal with topics of immediate community, everyday life and activity. Older bombas include words and expressions from former colonial African languages and older Caribbean dialects. ^[2]The theme of most bomba songs is everyday life and activity. In the case of a certain song called "Palo e Bandera", the lyrics discuss a love triangle between a female dancer, a female singer and the singer's husband, the primo player. The wife realizes her husband is cheating on her with the dancer and decides to teach her a lesson on the dance floor.

In the northern part of the island, the melody can be interpreted by both men and women. In the south, only women sing. To reinforce regional distinctions, bomba is divided into two main rhythms: sones (south) and seises (north). Sub variations are characterized by hand position on the drum and what part of the drum is played.^[16]

Bomba dancers and musicians typically appropriate small spaces in popular areas to “make culture” (“hacer cultura”). This phrase is repeated by musicians when they’re asked about their motivation to play bomba.^[16]

In the Batey (sugar workers' town) or a Sobera'o (circle or dance area), the Subidor will score sounds for the steps that the dancer makes, and the Buleador or Follower, follows the rhythm that is constantly played until the “Cantador/a” (singer) says so. The dancer enters the Batey to stroll around, showing off, marking their territory and space. The dancer greets the Primo Barrel and begins its “Piquetes” (improvised bomba steps). The dancer, with their “Piquetes” would be creating their own music and history, inspired by the song. Also, the dancer challenges the Primo Barrel Player (“Tocador/a”) by doing a rhythmic dialogue and making it difficult to follow them. Finally, when the dancer finishes providing the “Piquetes”, bows again to the Primo Barrel and the next dancer does exactly the same protocol. The “Piquetes” must have "elegance, firmness and shape. Depending on the rhythm, the dancer then has to raise the intensity of the music by increasingly complicating their steps to gradually escalate the challenge directed to the lead drummer. Experienced dancers finish the challenge at the highest peak of intensity they can achieve before getting tired or losing rhythm.^[15]

During the dance, sometimes the audience shouts "Speak!" This is because the dancer is having a musical conversation with the bomba drum (Primo) through their “Piquetes”. In this conversation, any dance must be markable by the Primo, and anything the Primo plays must be danceable. ^[15]

Traditionally, “Bailadores” (male dancers) perform their “Piquetes” with their body and the “Bailadoras” (female dancers) perform with the body and / or skirt with the petticoat. The bomba traditional dress for men is white hat, white shirt and black or white pants. The women used to wear turbans, white shirt and skirts with petticoats. Petticoats were handmade to show them off in a flirtatious way for men and to create envy among other female dancers. The way skirts are used and held in bomba dancing is unique. ^{[17][18][19][20]}

The main instruments of bomba are barriles de bombas (drums), maracas (shaken, sigle body gourds with handles), and cuás (solid idiophones made of bamboo).  Maracas contain internal strikers rather than seeds or small stones. The güiro was, at one time, used in Loiza in place of maracas, but that is no longer common.^[2]

The traditional barriles de bombas are built from rum barrels and goatskin. Bomba ensembles must have at least two barriles of slightly different diameters. The smaller, higher, drum will typically be a solo drum, playing the subidor/primo part. The larger, lower, drum(s) will typically support the basic rhythm by playing the accompanying buleador/segundo part.^[2]

The drum called "Primo" replicates every single move of the dancer, this is called "Repique."^[21]

There are 10 rhythmic styles or seises of bomba, some with their own sub-styles. ^[2]

1.     Sicá: the most common and widespread style; based on 3-3-2 rhythm pattern found throughout Latin American music. It’s sub-style, Danué, is believed to be the transliteration of the French term ‘Danois’ or Danish, possibly relating to Denmark’s control over the French Caribbean Island colony of St. Croix from 1733-1917.

2.     Cunyá: played in a moderately slow tempo, this rhythm’s name is similar to the name of the wooden peg used to fasten drumheads (cunya).

3.     Belén: this southern style is the slowest and sparsest of all bomba styles. Its name may be a transformation of the French Caribbean term “belé”.

4.     Calindá: The name of this style is connected to rhythmic patterns found in the Spanish, English, and French Caribbean. Its sub-style, Hoyo Mula, is associated with Santurce performer and teacher, Jesús Cepeda. Hoyo Mula was an old neighborhood east of Santurce that was later incorporated into the municipality of Carolina. This sub-style is characterized by a high/low pulsation similar to Brazilian Samba.

5.     Cuembé/Güembé: The most common style after Sicá. This rhythm has two sub-styles: Balancé and Gracimá. Balancé is a moderate tempo sub-style that closely resembles the cuembé, but its first low stroke is played closer to the center of the drum. Gracimá is played in a moderate to fast tempo, and its name is allegedly a colloquial derivative of the French word “gracieusment”.

6.     Seis Corrido: The rapid-fire style of the Loíza tradition. Corrido signifies fast-paced playing. Drummers often vary the first pattern of this style by adding subtle “ghost” notes that are played more quietly, giving the impression that the pattern has continuous sixteenth notes. Its sub-style, Bambulé, commonly spelled bamboula or bamboulaé, was found in New Orleans, Haiti, Cuba, and other Caribbean French and Spanish colonies. Bambulé was one of the main sub-styles adapted by Rafael Cortijo.

7.     Yubá: the most common 6/8 rhythm of bomba, played at a moderately fast tempo. Its compound meter makes it more challenging for musicians and dancers. It has three main sub-styles: Yubá corrido, which is played at a faster tempo, Yubá cuembé, a variant of Yubá Corrido, and Leró del sur, a slow style common in Ponce and surrounding areas. The word ‘Leró’ in the name is believed to be a contraction of the French “le rose”, a circle dance formation. In Santurce, there is a variant known as Leró Cangrejero, referring to the town’s former name, San Mateo de Cangrejos. In Loíza, the yubá is called corvé and its played consistently at a fast tempo. Also associated with Loíza is the Roulé, a variant that gets its name from the popular song “Roulé Sondá”.

8.     Holandés: The name Holandés means “from Holland”, suggesting a connection to Dutch slave cultures in the southern sugar cane plantations. This sole 4/4 style is characterized by syncopation and persistent off-beat accents. There is an holandés rhythm in 6/8 that barely resembles the original style and is more akin to a yubá sub-style.

9.     Clave Tres: Devised by percussionist Raúl Berríos Sánchez, this is the most recent rhythm to be adopted into the bomba repertoire. Berríos Sánchez has adapted the main concept of this rhythm for other forms of music such as salsa and Latin jazz.

10. Mariandá: a 6/8 pattern associated with an inland mountain style known as “jíbaro” music. It is argued that this style is related to the seemingly distant Aguinaldo, a style of Christmas jíbaro music.

Today there are many groups playing bomba both as a traditional style and as a fusion with some other style. The most well-known traditional players are the Cepeda Family who have been playing bomba for generations and the Ayala family, who are a family with a tradition of arts and crafts as well as bomba music.^[22] Rafael Cepeda, the Cepeda family’s patriarch, is known for creating an ensemble in the 1940’s to perform Bomba on the radio. He later developed a stage version of bomba and presented it in San Juan’s major hotels.^[23]

Rafael Cortijo took bomba to the mainstream with his Combo in the 1950s and 1960s. Puerto Rican composer Roberto Angleró wrote and sang "Si Dios fuera negro" ("If God Was Black"). Rubén Blades made a cover version of it once; the song was even translated to French and became a minor hit in Martinique. Some of the local musicians who also play this style are Yuba Iré, Paracumbé, Bomba Siglo XXI, among others.

Los Pleneros de la 21 are bomba / plena musicians who travelled to Hawaii to perform for the Puerto Rican diaspora in Hawaii.^[1] Founded in South Bronx, this group of musicians and dancers have produced five albums, and they are also known to provide workshops for all ages in the community of El Barrio in Manhattan.^[24]

Willie Colón adds occasional bomba breaks to his songs, most particularly in sections of his biggest solo hit, "El gran varón". Ricky Martin also mixes a bit of authentic bomba rhythm with other Latino influences in his aptly named song La Bomba. In California, it has been popularized by Maestros de Bomba en la Bahía at La Peña Cultural Center.^[21]

In 1998, Son del Batey was founded in San Juan, Puerto Rico, by a group of college students at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez. 1998 marked the 100-year anniversary of the United States invasion of Puerto Rico, and a time when popular discourse focused around national identity and colonialism throughout the island.^[25]

In Puerto Rico, knowledge about bomba is present in the oral cultures of protected family spaces, mainly the Cepedas (Santurce) and the Ayalas (Loiza). These families are largely responsible for bomba’s institutional recognition on a national and international level. Other families include the Alduén (Mayagüez), Negrón and Pizarro (Cataño), Mangual and Nadal (Mayagüez), Archeval (Ponce), and Brothers Emmanuelli Náter (José, Jorge and Victor, students and friends of the Cepeda). ^[26]  They created the center for Cultural Research of Eternal Roots (Centro de Investigación Cultural Raíces Eternas) (CICRE in Spanish) in Puerto Rico during the 90s’ so-called "Bombazos". They were devoted to “get down” the bomba from the high stage, so that the Puerto Ricans and everybody else had more participation and learning in this folklore music. Thanks to this, today there are “Bombazos” in many parts of Puerto Rico and the United States. ^[10]

• List of Puerto Ricans
• Music of Puerto Rico

• Aparicio, Frances R., "Listening to salsa: gender, Latin popular music, and Puerto Rican cultures", Wesleyan University Press, 1998. ISBN 978-0-8195-6308-8. Cf. p. 12 and book index.
• Barton, Halbert Everett. The drum-dance challenge: an anthropological study of gender, race and class marginalization of Bomba in Puerto Rico (Cornell University, 1995).
• Barton, Halbert. "A challenge for Puerto Rican music: How to build a soberao for Bomba." Centro Journal 16.1 (2004): 68–89. Online
• Cartagena, Juan. "When Bomba Becomes The National Music of the Puerto Rico Nation..." Centro Journal 16.1 (2004): 14–35. Online
• Dudley, Shannon. "Bomba goes to College--How is that Working Out?." Centro Journal 31.2 (2019) pp 198–222.
• Román, Reinaldo L. "Scandalous Race: Garveyism, the Bomba, and the Discourse of Blackness in 1920s Puerto Rico." Caribbean Studies (2003): 213–259. Online

• Puerto Rican Music. Magaly Rivera. 2020. Welcome to Puerto Rico: Music. See Bomba y Plena section. Accessed 19 June 2020.
• Bomba en Loiza, Puerto Rico. Rick Santiago. 31 March 2007. Accessed 19 June 2020.
• Repica la Bomba entre los viejos hierros de la Central Mercedita.
• Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños - Bomba events
• Center for Puerto Rican Studies-Centro - Book Reading - When Julia Danced Bomba