The caja, a drum similar to a tambora, is one of the three main or traditional instruments of the Vallenato music. Caja, the slang word adopted to nickname this drum, means "box" in Spanish. There is also a Caribbean drum called ''caja'', used in the

music of Colombia The music of Colombia is an expression of Colombian culture, music genres, both traditional and modern, according with the features of each geographic region, although it is not uncommon to find different musical styles in the same region. The ...

Origins

African slaves brought by the Spanish colonizers came along with tamboras to what is now northeastern

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

probably derived from the Congolese makuta drum. Tamboras were first adopted by the Cumbia musical genre and later introduced to Vallenato music. With the advancement of technology new make and models developed the traditional drum into an instrument similar in make to a

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...

Parts

Traditional: Elliptic cylinder made out of wood and a cow skin ( drumhead) stretched over the top wider opening and tighten with rustic ropes, approximately of height. Modern Version: similar in made to a

congas The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest) ...

drum but shorter in height (approximately ). Made out of the same wood base but no ropes are used to stretch and hold the skin, instead a metal frame bolted to the wooden base is used to hold the animal skin or X-ray photo (radiograph) made skin.

Playing the Caja

Vallenato has four different rhythms to which the caja adapts to mark the base key: Rubbing and strucking with hand palms. * Son * Paseo * Merengue * Puya Hand drums Vallenato Colombian musical instruments {{Membranophone-instrument-stub