Conga (Part 1)

A conga is a barrel shaped hand drum that originated in Africa but was developed in Cuba. It is believed to have been derived partially from the Makuta drums used in Congo although it is likely that various drums influenced the development of congas. The name conga is also used to describe a rhythm, various music groups, a type of music as well as a dance but it is mostly used when referring to the instrument.

Conga drums appeared in Cuba in the 18th century where they were first referred to as tumbadora, a name that is still often used today. Since they were heavily used in conga groups playing conga music, these drums eventually became associated with the term conga even though they were used in other genres as well such as Rumba.

Today, congas are widely used in various musical genres internationally such as salsa, merengue, rock, jazz, etc. While it was originally customary to play one conga at a time, it is now common to see conga players with a set of drums playing on multiple congas. Moreover, it is an ideal drum to be played in a group and can often be seen as part of drum circles. A percussionist playing congas is usually referred to as a conguero and they may choose to play these drums while seated or standing.

The description conga is used to describe drums of different sizes. While the terminology applied to each size may differ even in Cuba, generally speaking the following classification applies:

• Supertumba (confusingly this is sometimes also called tumba or salidor by some sources like the terminology given to the second category. Other than that it is also known as super tumbadora): Diameter – 31.8cm to 35.5cm
• Tumba (aka tumbadora, salidor): Diameter – 30.5cm to 31.8cm
• Conga (aka segundo, segunda, tres dos, tres golpes, tres, rebajador): Diameter 29.2cm to 30.5cm
• Quinto (aka primero): Diameter around 28 cm
• Requinto (aka super quinto): Diameter around 24.8 cm
• Ricardo (aka niño): Diameter around 22.9 cm

The supertumba is therefore the drum with the largest diameter producing more resonance than the other drums as well as creating the deepest sound. As the diameter sizes decrease from suptertumba to ricardo, the sound that is produced becomes higher such that a ricardo drum produces the highest sound. Out of the above types of congas it is rare to see drums used in practice outside of the three primary types which are tumba, conga and quinto.

Danzón (Part 1)

Danzón is the name of a Cuban dance which evolved from Contradanza towards the second half of the 19th century. This dance was developed from the French Contredanse which itself is a derivative of the English Country Dance. The term Danzón is also used to describe a Cuban musical genre which is defined by its elegant characteristics using no singers or improvisations and using a clearly defined structure and similar instruments although there is some variation comparing earlier versions with later versions of Danzón. The most well known Danzón song is Almendra by Abelardo Validez.

Danzón is one of the main influences of Son Cubano both in terms of dance as well as music which in turn influenced Salsa music and Casino. While influencing modern Cuban music and culture indirectly through genres like Son, Cha-Cha-Chá, Pachanga and Mambo many contemporary Cuban artists have also been directly inspired by Danzón and have incorporated some of its elements into their work. It is therefore a very important genre for any Casino dancer to get used to as it is one of the key historical genres that have influenced the salsa music and dance of today.

While the predecessor to Danzón in Cuba was called Danza which significantly influenced Son Cubano, the word Danzón is not a portmanteau of Danza and Son contrary to a common misconception regarding its etymology. Rather, the word Danzón is an amplification of the word Danza which is believed to reflect the fact that Danzones are usually longer in duration than Danzas.

Danzón is a a couple dance being slower than its predecessor Danza containing more Afro-Cuban elements. That being said, it lost some of its African elements as it became a symbol of Cuba after it gained independence and became “whitened” by the upper-class white elites who wanted to make the dance more socially acceptable. Thus a dance that was first viewed as utterly scandalous where races mixed easily was changed over time to become immensely popular by Cuba’s white population and at some points almost exclusively danced by the white upper class. An article in La Voz de Cuba published in November 1879 clearly shows the initial attitude towards this dance by the following statement: “Because I love my country, it hurts me to see danzón at gatherings of decent people. But if there is no way around it, if this blindness continues, then I beg of you, at least don’t play danzón and don’t dance it, when foreigners are around”.