Bomba or Bomba del Chota is an
Afro-Ecuadorian
Afro-Ecuadorians (), also known as Black Ecuadorians (), are Ecuadorians of predominantly Sub-Saharan African descent.
History and background
Most Afro-Ecuadorians are the descendants of enslaved Africans who were transported by predominantly B ...
music
Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
and dance form from the
Chota Valley area of
Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
in the province of
Imbabura and
Carchi
Carchi () is a Provinces of Ecuador, province in Ecuador. The capital is Tulcán. The Carchi River rises on the slopes of Chiles (volcano), Chiles volcano and forms the boundary between Colombia and Ecuador near Tulcan. Rumichaca Bridge is the m ...
. Its origins can be traced back to Africa via the
middle passage and the use of African
slave
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
labor during the country's colonial period. Africans brought to labor as slaves in Ecuador brought with them this music form heavily influenced from the
Bantu cultures of the
Congo. The people dance in pairs to the drums and use improvisation to build relationships between the dancer and lead drummer.
This music and dance tends to have a prominent Spanish, mestizo and indigenous influence in the melodies. It could go from a mid tempo to a very fast rhythm. It is usually played with guitars along with the main local instrument which is also called bomba which is a drum along with a
guiro and sometimes
bombos and
bongos. A variation of it is la ''banda mocha'' which are groups that play bomba with a bombo, guiro and plant leaves to give melody.
Recently it is enjoying some national exposure but outside the Chota Valley it is mostly popular in cities such as
Quito
Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...
and
Ibarra which have important concentrations of afro-chotan people. In these cities sometimes it is played in discothèques and has some public performances as well as popularity among mestizo and indigenous people.
The word ''bomba'' is most likely of
Bantu origin.
List of most popular bomba bands
* Edgar Gonzalon "Negrito de la Salsa"
*La Banda Mocha
* Marabu
* Mario Polo
* Mario Congo
* Nery Padilla
* Oro Negro
* Poder Negro
* Eddy More
See also
*
Afro-Ecuadorian
Afro-Ecuadorians (), also known as Black Ecuadorians (), are Ecuadorians of predominantly Sub-Saharan African descent.
History and background
Most Afro-Ecuadorians are the descendants of enslaved Africans who were transported by predominantly B ...
External links
Articles about bomba del chota as well as afro-ecuadorian musicvideo of "Bomba bomba" by Grupo MarabuShort documentary about the Banda Mocha, a local variant of bomba musicChoreography of children dancing to Bomba music
Music video performer Cundi Cundi by Eddy More
African diaspora in Ecuador
Music of Ecuador
Latin American folk dances
Latin dances
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