Bongo drum

"Bongos" redirects here. For the American pop band, see the Bongos. For other uses, see Bongo (disambiguation).

Bongos (Spanish: bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes.^[1] The pair consists of the larger hembra (lit. 'female') and the smaller macho (lit. 'male'), and they are often played held between the legs, although stands may be used in classical music and for larger multi-percussion set-ups.

Bongos

Percussion instrument
Other names	Bongos bongo drum
Classification	Percussion
Hornbostel–Sachs classification	211.251.2 (Sets of single-skin conical drums)
Developed	Late 19th century in Cuba
Related instruments
Ekué conga timbales

Bongos playing a cumbia beat

Alongside the larger congas and the stick-struck timbales, they are an integral part of the percussion section in Latin music genres such as salsa and son cubano. They often play a continuous eight-stroke pattern called martillo (lit. 'hammer'), but also have the most rhythmic freedom within the ensemble, providing improvisatory flourishes and rhythmic counterpoint.^[2]

The bongos entered the realm of Cuban popular music in the late 19th century as part of changüí and son cubano ensembles before reaching the United States in the 1930s as Latin music flourished. Today, it is used in all types of genres, including Latin rock, jazz fusion, and as a common member of the modern orchestral percussion section.

A person who plays the bongos is known as a bongosero or simply a bongo player.

Construction

Bongo drums are about 20 centimetres (8 in) high and have diameters of approximately 20 centimetres (8 in) and 25 centimetres (10 in).^[3][4][5] The shells of the drums and the bridge (the small block that joins them) are usually made of wood, although fiberglass is also common. The heads are typically made of calfskin and attached to the shells via steel hardware that enables their tuning. Originally, metal tacks were used, so tuning had to be done by heating the skins.^[3]

History

Origins

The origin of the bongo is largely unclear. Its use was first documented in the Eastern region of Cuba, the Oriente Province, during the late 19th century, where it was employed in popular music styles such as nengón, changüí, and their descendant, the son cubano.^[6] According to Fernando Ortiz, the word bongó derived from the Bantu words mgombo or ngoma, meaning drum.^[7] He hypothesizes that the word evolved through metathesis and by similarity with another Bantu word, mbongo.^[7] In Holguín, certain drums which are considered possible ancestors of the bongó are known as tahona, which might have a been a generic word for drum in Cuba and also refers to an unrelated music genre.^[8]

Most sources on Afro-Cuban cultural history argue that the bongo derives from Bantu drum models from 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 an influence possible. Moreover, Central African/Congo influences are also documented in both son cubano and changüí, and initially the development of the bongo drum was in parallel with these genres. From such conceptual African drum models, the bongo developed further in Cuba itself, and some historians state that the attaching 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".^[9] This has been disputed, however, by several historians (most notably Haroldo Dilla Alfonso).^{[citation needed]}

Evolution and popularization

 

Sexteto Habanero in 1925. First on the left is Agustín Gutiérrez, the bongosero. His tuning lamp is on the ground (circled).

The bongo entered Cuban popular music as a key instrument of early son ensembles, quickly becoming—due to the increasing popularity of the son—"the first instrument with an undeniable African past to be accepted in Cuban “society” circles".^[6] This is attested, for example, in poems by Nicolás Guillén.^[6] As 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 tack-heads instead of tunable hardware, and play in a manner similar to the lead conga drum (quinto) and other folkloric lead drum parts.^[10] Unlike modern son, changüí never extended its popularity beyond eastern Cuba, and hence its bongos remain a rare sight. It is commonly accepted that the son reached Havana partly as a result of the arrival of musicians members of Cuba's ejército permanente (permanent army), which brought music from eastern Cuba with them. Among the first known bongoseros to enlist in the ejército permanente in Santiago de Cuba was Mariano Mena.^[11]

During the sexteto era, son groups began performing and touring more than ever before, and for the first time, recordings were being made. It was in this context that the first great innovators of the bongo made their mark, and unlike their predecessors, their names were not lost in time.^[6] Of particular note were Óscar Sotolongo of the Sexteto Habanero and José Manuel Carriera Incharte "El Chino" of the Sexteto Nacional, the two leading groups of the 1920s and '30s. Sotolongo himself would later leave the Habanero and direct his own group, the Conjunto Típico Cubano.^[12] His replacement was Agustín Gutiérrez "Manana", who is widely considered one of the most influential bongoseros, partly due to his condition as an Abakuá member, which allowed him to develop techniques based on the ekué (secret drum) drumming of such society.^[9] In 1930, Sotolongo's son, Andrés Sotolongo replaced Gutiérrez in the Habanero.^[13] Decades later, at 82 years of age, Andrés Sotolongo was recorded for the Routes of Rhythm documentary playing alongside Isaac Oviedo.^[14]

The 1930s saw an increase in the technical skill of bongoseros, as evidenced by Clemente "Chicho" Piquero, whose virtuosic performances inspired a young Mongo Santamaría to take up the instrument.^{[15][note 1]} By the early 1940s, Santamaría had become a master of the instrument, performing with the Lecuona Cuban Boys, Sonora Matancera, Conjunto Matamoros and Arsenio Rodríguez's "Conjunto Segundo" among others.^[15] Arsenio had pioneered the conjunto format by incorporating a tumbadora (conga drum) into the rhythm section and having the bongosero double on cowbell. Arsenio's long-time bongosero was Antolín "Papa Kila" Suárez, who is often cited as one of the greatest of his time along with Pedro Mena of the Conjunto Matamoros.^[18] Arsenio's group also helped break the barriers of race, which particularly affected bongoseros. For example, the Orquesta Casino de la Playa did not allow their black bongosero Ramón Castro to perform on stage, nor was Arsenio allowed on the tres.^[19] The Casino de la Playa would also feature bongosero Cándido Requena, who later joined the Conjunto Kubavana and Conjunto Niágara, and became one of Cuba's foremost makers of bongos and tumbadoras.^[20] Requena, as well as the Vergara brothers, were instrumental in the technological improvement of bongos and congas.^[21] Before the advent of mechanically tunable bongos and congas in the 1940s, both instruments used to be tuned with oil or kerosene lamps. The heat of the flame was used to contract the drumhead to achieve the desired sound.^[21]

Following the popularization of the tumbadora, Santamaría switched to the instrument, while remaining a close friend of bongosero Armando Peraza.^[22] Both moved to New York by 1950, bringing their music abilities with them. Among the bongoseros who stayed in Cuba were the aforementioned Chicho Piquero, who had become a close friend of Benny Moré in Mexico and became his Banda Gigante's bongosero back in Cuba. Also important during the 1950s were Papa Gofio of the Conjunto Rumbavana and Rogelio "Yeyo" Iglesias, the main bongo player in Havana's descarga scene.^[23] Over the course of the 20th century, the bongo spread throughout Latin America. In the Dominican Republic, the bongo became integral to bachata, a genre related to bolero that emerged in the 1960s.^[24]

In the United States

 

Jose Mangual, Sr. on bongos (left) alongside Machito on maracas and Carlos Vidal on conga at the Glen Island Casino, New York, 1947

Spearheaded by the iconic conguero Chano Pozo, the late 1940s saw an exodus of Afro-Cuban percussionists from Cuba to the United States. Among the leading bongoseros of Cuban origin in the United States were Armando Peraza, Chino Pozo (unrelated to Chano) and Rogelio Darias, who had a long career in Las Vegas and was known as the King of the Bongo.^[25] Many others, however, would become primarily conga players, such as Mongo Santamaría, Sabú Martínez and Cándido Camero.

The Latin music scene of New York, and the US in general, was primarily constituted by 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 bongosero in Chicago until the 1980s.^[26] In New York, many Puerto Rican bongoseros would go on to join the pioneering Afro-Cuban jazz ensembles 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 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 biggest Latin orchestras of the 1950s in New York, led by Tito Puente and Tito Rodríguez, were home to two generations of bongoseros represented by Johnny "La Vaca" Rodríguez and his son Johnny "Dandy" Rodríguez, of Puerto Rican ancestry.^[27]

Other Puerto Rican musicians who made a name for themselves on the 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, American master bongoseros include Jack Costanzo and Willie Bobo, the latter more active on timbales. Other bongoseros who had more impact as timbaleros were Manny Oquendo, Orestes Vilató and Nicky Marrero. American novelty 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

 

Grupo Changüí de Guantánamo in 1962. The bongosero (left) is playing bongó de monte, which is much taller than the standard bongó.

Bongo drums produce relatively high-pitched sounds compared to conga drums, and should be held behind the knees with the larger drum on the right when right-handed. It is most often played by hand and is especially associated in Cuban music with a steady pattern or ostinato of eighth-notes known as the martillo (hammer).^[6] They are traditionally played by striking the edge of the drumheads with the fingers and palms. The glissando used with bongó de monte is done by rubbing the third finger, supported by the thumb, across the head of the drum. The finger is sometimes moistened with saliva, or sweat before rubbing it across the head.^[28]

When playing son cubano and other popular genres, the macho is on the left and the hembra on the right. In changüí, the bongó de monte is positioned the opposite way.^[10] Playing patterns are also different in changüí, where the bongó does not follow a steady beat. Instead, it usually marks offbeats and beat four while improvising.^[10] Thus, the playing technique in changüí resembles that of the congas (moreover, their pitch is often lower than both bongos and congas).^[10] This reflects it origin, since the bongó del monte evolved from pairs of bokús, a larger drum from eastern Cuba similar to the conga.^[10]

Bongos can also be played on a stand, as is the case with concert orchestras and bands. In classical music performances, bongos are usually struck with mallets or drumsticks. Examples of pieces featuring bongos include Ionisation by Varèse (1931), Le Marteau sans maître by Boulez (1955) and In seinem Garten liebt Don Perlimplin Belisa by Fortner (1962).^[29]

Notes

1. Some musicians were able to effectively translate their technical skill into pure showmanship, 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.^[16][17] He later moved to Miami and released two albums as a leader in the 1970s.

References

1. Strain, James Allen (2017). A Dictionary for the Modern Percussionist and Drummer. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-8108-8693-3. OCLC 974035735.
2. Goldberg, Norbert (October 1985). "The Bongos". Percussive Notes. 24 (1): 25–26.
3. Wacker, Jonathan (2003). "Bongo drums". In Shepherd, John (ed.). Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World: Volume II: Performance and Production. London, UK: Bloomsbury. p. 351. ISBN 9780826463227.
4. Warden, Nolan (2013). "Bongó". In Torres, George (ed.). Encyclopedia of Latin American Popular Music. ABC-CLIO. pp. 52–53. ISBN 9780313087943.
5. Ortiz, Fernando (1985). Nuevo catauro de cubanismos (in Spanish). Editorial de Ciencias Sociales. p. 82.
6. Fernandez 2006, p. 22–41.
7. Ortiz, Fernando (1924). Glosario de afronegrismos (in Spanish). Havana, Cuba: Editorial de Ciencias Sociales. p. 64.
8. Rodríguez, Victoria Eli (1997). Instrumentos de la música folclórico-popular de Cuba (in Spanish). Havana, Cuba: Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo de la Música Cubana. p. 262. ISBN 9789590602795.
9. Sublette, Ned (2004). Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo. Chicago, IL: Chicago Review Press. pp. 338–339. ISBN 9781569764206. LCCN 2003022097.
10. Lapidus, Benjamin (2008). Origins of Cuban Music and Dance. Lanham, MA: Scarecrow Press. pp. 21–23. ISBN 9781461670292.
11. Orejuela, Adriana (2006). El son no se fue de Cuba (in Spanish). Havana, Cuba: Letras Cubanas. p. 26. ISBN 9789591011497.
12. Orejuela p. 202.
13. Encuentro de la cultura cubana. Asociación Encuentro de la Cultura Cubana. 2003. Issues 28–31.
14. Liner notes of Cuban Dance Party: Routes of Rhythm Volume 2 (1990). Rounder Records.
15. Fernandez 2006, p. 85.
16. Acosta, Leonardo (2003). Cubano Be, Cubano Bop: One Hundred Years of Jazz in Cuba. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books. p. 75. ISBN 9781588345479.
17. Collazo, Bobby (1987). La última noche que pasé contigo (in Spanish). San Juan, PR: Cubanacán. p. 417.
18. Salloum, Trevor (2007). Fun with Bongos. Pacific, MO: Mel Bay. p. 2. ISBN 9781610656641.
19. Moore, Robin (1997). Nationalizing Blackness: Afrocubanismo and artistic Revolution in Havana, 1920–1940. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 143. ISBN 9780822971856. JSTOR j.ctt5vkh3b.
20. Fernandez 2006, p. 101–102.
21. Sublette p. 572.
22. Fernandez 2006, p. 88.
23. Mauleón, Rebeca (2005). Salsa Guidebook for Piano and Ensemble. Petaluma, CA: Sher Music Co. p. 75. ISBN 9781457101410.
24. Tallaj, Angelina (2013). "Bachata". In Torres, George (ed.). Encyclopedia of Latin American Popular Music. ABC-CLIO. pp. 19–22. ISBN 9780313087943.
25. "Remembering Rogelio Darias". Congressional Record Index, Volume 156, A-K, L-Z, Part 10. US Congress. February 4, 2010. pp. 1248–1249.
26. Flores, Carlos (1996). "Rafael "Congo" Castro: One of the Last Performers of his Generation" (PDF). Kalinda!. No. Spring 1996.
27. Conzo, Joe; Pérez, David A. (2010). Mambo Diablo: My Journey With Tito Puente. Bloomington, IN: Authorhouse. p. 218. ISBN 9781617130298.
28. Salloum, Trevor (2015). The Bongo Book. Mel Bay. ISBN 9780786690404.
29. Beck 2007, p. 13.

Bibliography

• Beck, John H., ed. (2007). Encyclopedia of Percussion (Second ed.). Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-97123-2. OCLC 0415971233.
• Fernandez, Raul A. (2006). From Afro-Cuban Rhythms to Latin Jazz. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-5209-3944-8. OCLC 535982099.