Candombe
Encyclopedia
Candombe is a musical genre that has its roots in the African Bantu, and is proper of Uruguay
, Argentina
and Brazil
(each country with its own style).Uruguayan Candombe is the most practiced and spread internationally and has been recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The Argentine candombe can be found to a lesser extent in the cities of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Paraná, Saladas y Corrientes and in Brazil in the area of Minas Gerais.
Originated from the influences of African music, was developed on both banks of the Rio de la Plata because of the large influx of slaves during the colonial period and well into the 19th century, and with the republican form living on both banks. Over the 20th century Uruguayan Candombe was gradually leaving to be a unique feature of the Afro-Uruguayans to become a feature of the Uruguayan cultural identity. The Argentine candombe has gained visibility a few years ago and its practice is limited to Afro-Argentines.
Candombe is played mainly using three drums the largest (lowest pitched) being "El Piano", the mid ranged tambor being "El Repique" and the highest toned tambor called "El Chico". The Piano's drumhead measures approximately 16 inches in diameter. The Repique's drumhead measures approximately twelve inches in diameter and the Chico's eight and a half inches. These drums resemble congas with extra wide bellies, they are much wider in the center. A strap is usually added so the player can play while walking. Candombe is played using one drumstick and one open hand, unlike playing the bongos or the congas which only uses the hands.
. Meanwhile, whites began to imitate the steps and movements of blacks. Calling themselves Los Negros, upper class portenos in the 1860s and 1870s blackened their faces and formed one of the carnival processions each year.
A new dance, which embodied the movement and style of the candombe, and called a tango with couples dancing apart, rather than in an embrace, was created by the Afro-Argentines of Mondongo in the year 1877. So wrote a man who identified himself as "Viejo Tanguero" in a September 1913 article in Buenos Aires's first mass circulation popular newspaper. In a book published in 1883 Ventura Lynch—a noted student of the dances and folklore of Buenos Aires Province—noted the influence the Afro-Argentine dancers had on the compadritos, or tough guys, who apparently frequented the Afro-Argentine dance venues. Lynch wrote, "the milonga is danced only by the compadritos of the city, who have created it as a mockery of the dances the blacks hold in their own places".Andrews, 1908, pp. 161,164. Lynch's report was interpreted by Robert Farris Thompson in Tango: The Art of Love as meaning that city compadritos danced milonga, not rural gauchos. Thompson notes that the population of city toughs dancing milonga would have included blacks and mulattoes, and that it would not have been danced as a mockery by all the dancers.
Candombe the dance was a local fusion of various African traditions. A complicated choreography included a final section with wild rhythms, freely improvised steps, and energetic, semi-athletic movements.
epidemic and the War against Paraguay that decimated the black population in Argentina and nearly wiped out their culture.
In Buenos Aires, mainly in southern districts today called San Telmo, Montserrat and San Cristobal, crowds gathered to practice it. Was decreasing while it carried out the invisibility that the government did to blacks during the 19th and 20th centuries, decimated by these causes, and the flow of immigration of white Europeans who displaced to the domestic service, the crafts and alley sale to the afroporteños (black people from Buenos Aires). Furthermore, the Candombe of Buenos Aires remained hidden to society of this city by the will of African descents for over a century, reappearing a few years ago. The Argentine Candombe or Porteño Candombe has not be called otherwise than this, any other name, as "Candombe Rioplatense" or "Candombe Guariló" are neither recognized nor valided for their own devotees. This is because they are the result of people and interests which are not pooled with those of afroporteños and therefore have no value and representativeness.
Even though the original present-day Angola, where it was taken to South America during the 17th and 18th centuries by people who had been sold as slaves in the kingdoms of Kongo, Anziqua, Nyong, Quang and others, mainly by Portuguese slave traders. The same cultural Carriers of candombe colonized Brazil (especially in the area of Salvador de Bahia), Cuba, and the Rio de la Plata with its capital Buenos Aires and Montevideo. The various stories that followed these regions separated the common origin giving rise to different rhythms.
In Buenos Aires, during the two governments of Juan Manuel de Rosas, it was common that “afroporteños” (black people of Buenos Aires) practiced the candombe in public, even encouraged and visited by Rosas and his daughter, Manuela. Rosas defeated in the battle of Caseros in 1852, Buenos Aires began a profound and rapid change with respect to European culture. In this context, the afroporteños (black people of Buenos Aires) replicated their ancestral cultural patterns increasingly into their private life. For this reason since 1862, the press, intellectuals and politicians began to assert that had disappeared misconception that has remained virtually until now in the imagination of ordinary people, from Argentina.
Many researchers agree that the Candombe, through the development of the Milonga is an essential component in the genesis of Argentine tango. This musical rhythm influenced, specially, the "Sureña Milonga". In fact, tango
, milonga
and candombe form a musical triptych from the same African roots. But with different developments.
Initially, the practice of Candombe was practiced exclusively by blacks, who had designed special places called “Tangó’s”. This word originated sometime in the 19th century the word "Tango", but not yet its present meaning.
, have specific names according to their size and function: chico (small, high timbre, marks the tempo), repique (medium, syncopation and improvisation) and piano (large, low timbre, melody). An even larger drum, called bajo or bombo (very large, very low timbre, accent on the fourth beat), was once common but is now declining in use. A cuerda at a minimum needs three drummers, one on each part. A full cuerda will have 50-100 drummers, commonly with rows of seven or five drummers, mixing the three types of drums. A typical row of five can be piano-chico-repique-chico-piano, with the row behind having repique-chico-piano-chico-repique and so on to the last row.
Tamboriles are made of wood with animal skins that are rope-tuned or fire-tuned minutes before the performance. They are worn at the waist with the aid of a shoulder strap called a talig or talí and played with one stick and one hand.
A key rhythmic figure in candombe is the clave
(in 3-2 form). It is played on the side of the drum, a procedure known as "hacer madera" (literally, "making wood").
Ansina school: Wáshington Ocampo, Héctor Suárez, Pedro "Perico" Gularte, Eduardo "Cacho" Giménez, Julio Giménez, Raúl "Pocho" Magariños, Rubén Quirós, Alfredo Ferreira, "Tito" Gradín, , Raúl "Maga" Magariños, Luis "Mocambo" Quirós , Fernando "Hurón" Silva, Eduardo "Malumba" Gimenez, Alvaro Salas, Daniel Gradín, Sergio Ortuño y José Luis Giménez.
Among the idiophones that always accompany the drums are the "Taba" and "Mazacalla", being able to add: the "Quijada", the "Quisanche" and the "Chinesco”. The Argentine Candombe is a vocal-instrumental practice, all the same to be played sitting or street parade. There is a large repertoire of songs in African languages archaic, in Spanish or in a combination of both. They are usually structured in the form of dialogue and are interpreted solo, responsorial, antiphonal or in group. Although singing is usually a feminine practice, men may be involved. When is more of a voice, it is always in unison. Where there is more of a voice, it is always in unison.
Candombe is performed regularly in the streets of old Montevideo's south neighbourhood in January and February, during Uruguay's Carnival period, and also in the rest of the country. All the comparsas, of which there are 80 or 90 in existence, participate in a massive Carnival parade called Las Llamadas ("calls") and vie with each other in official competitions in the Teatro de Verano theatre. During Las Llamadas , members of the comparsa often wear costumes that reflect the music's historical roots in the slave trade, such as sun hats and black face-paint. The monetary prizes are modest; more important aspects include enjoyment, the fostering of a sense of pride and the winning of respect from peers. Cuerdaluna is a very popluar Candombe group in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Intense performances can cause damage to red blood cells, which manifests as rust-colored urine immediately after drumming.
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
(each country with its own style).Uruguayan Candombe is the most practiced and spread internationally and has been recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The Argentine candombe can be found to a lesser extent in the cities of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Paraná, Saladas y Corrientes and in Brazil in the area of Minas Gerais.
Originated from the influences of African music, was developed on both banks of the Rio de la Plata because of the large influx of slaves during the colonial period and well into the 19th century, and with the republican form living on both banks. Over the 20th century Uruguayan Candombe was gradually leaving to be a unique feature of the Afro-Uruguayans to become a feature of the Uruguayan cultural identity. The Argentine candombe has gained visibility a few years ago and its practice is limited to Afro-Argentines.
Candombe is played mainly using three drums the largest (lowest pitched) being "El Piano", the mid ranged tambor being "El Repique" and the highest toned tambor called "El Chico". The Piano's drumhead measures approximately 16 inches in diameter. The Repique's drumhead measures approximately twelve inches in diameter and the Chico's eight and a half inches. These drums resemble congas with extra wide bellies, they are much wider in the center. A strap is usually added so the player can play while walking. Candombe is played using one drumstick and one open hand, unlike playing the bongos or the congas which only uses the hands.
Common Origins
According to George Reid Andrews, the historian of Montevideo Black communities, after the middle of the 19th century younger blacks in particular abandoned the candombe in favor of dances from Europe such as the mazurkaMazurka
The mazurka is a Polish folk dance in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, and with accent on the third or second beat.-History:The folk origins of the mazurek are two other Polish musical forms—the slow machine...
. Meanwhile, whites began to imitate the steps and movements of blacks. Calling themselves Los Negros, upper class portenos in the 1860s and 1870s blackened their faces and formed one of the carnival processions each year.
A new dance, which embodied the movement and style of the candombe, and called a tango with couples dancing apart, rather than in an embrace, was created by the Afro-Argentines of Mondongo in the year 1877. So wrote a man who identified himself as "Viejo Tanguero" in a September 1913 article in Buenos Aires's first mass circulation popular newspaper. In a book published in 1883 Ventura Lynch—a noted student of the dances and folklore of Buenos Aires Province—noted the influence the Afro-Argentine dancers had on the compadritos, or tough guys, who apparently frequented the Afro-Argentine dance venues. Lynch wrote, "the milonga is danced only by the compadritos of the city, who have created it as a mockery of the dances the blacks hold in their own places".Andrews, 1908, pp. 161,164. Lynch's report was interpreted by Robert Farris Thompson in Tango: The Art of Love as meaning that city compadritos danced milonga, not rural gauchos. Thompson notes that the population of city toughs dancing milonga would have included blacks and mulattoes, and that it would not have been danced as a mockery by all the dancers.
In Uruguay
In the third decade of the 19th century the word candombe began to appear in Montevideo, referring to self-help dancing societies founded by persons of African descent. The term means "pertaining to blacks" in Ki-Kongo. In Montevideo it meant more than a dance or a music or a congregation, but all of the above.Candombe the dance was a local fusion of various African traditions. A complicated choreography included a final section with wild rhythms, freely improvised steps, and energetic, semi-athletic movements.
In Argentina
The African influence was not foreign to Argentina, where the candombe also has been developed with specific characteristics. A population of black African slaves had been present in Buenos Aires since around 1580. The earliest recorded mention of the word “Candombe” in Buenos Aires appears in a document of the council of June 27 of 1825 in which black people were forbidden to make their "candombes" and "batuques". However their place in Argentine culture nearly died out due to events such as the yellow feverYellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
epidemic and the War against Paraguay that decimated the black population in Argentina and nearly wiped out their culture.
In Buenos Aires, mainly in southern districts today called San Telmo, Montserrat and San Cristobal, crowds gathered to practice it. Was decreasing while it carried out the invisibility that the government did to blacks during the 19th and 20th centuries, decimated by these causes, and the flow of immigration of white Europeans who displaced to the domestic service, the crafts and alley sale to the afroporteños (black people from Buenos Aires). Furthermore, the Candombe of Buenos Aires remained hidden to society of this city by the will of African descents for over a century, reappearing a few years ago. The Argentine Candombe or Porteño Candombe has not be called otherwise than this, any other name, as "Candombe Rioplatense" or "Candombe Guariló" are neither recognized nor valided for their own devotees. This is because they are the result of people and interests which are not pooled with those of afroporteños and therefore have no value and representativeness.
Even though the original present-day Angola, where it was taken to South America during the 17th and 18th centuries by people who had been sold as slaves in the kingdoms of Kongo, Anziqua, Nyong, Quang and others, mainly by Portuguese slave traders. The same cultural Carriers of candombe colonized Brazil (especially in the area of Salvador de Bahia), Cuba, and the Rio de la Plata with its capital Buenos Aires and Montevideo. The various stories that followed these regions separated the common origin giving rise to different rhythms.
In Buenos Aires, during the two governments of Juan Manuel de Rosas, it was common that “afroporteños” (black people of Buenos Aires) practiced the candombe in public, even encouraged and visited by Rosas and his daughter, Manuela. Rosas defeated in the battle of Caseros in 1852, Buenos Aires began a profound and rapid change with respect to European culture. In this context, the afroporteños (black people of Buenos Aires) replicated their ancestral cultural patterns increasingly into their private life. For this reason since 1862, the press, intellectuals and politicians began to assert that had disappeared misconception that has remained virtually until now in the imagination of ordinary people, from Argentina.
Many researchers agree that the Candombe, through the development of the Milonga is an essential component in the genesis of Argentine tango. This musical rhythm influenced, specially, the "Sureña Milonga". In fact, tango
Tango music
Tango is a style of ballroom dance music in 2/4 or 4/4 time that originated among European immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay . It is traditionally played by a sextet, known as the orquesta típica, which includes two violins, piano, double bass, and two bandoneons...
, milonga
Milonga
Milonga can refer to an Argentine, Uruguayan, and Southern Brazilian form of music which preceded the tango and the dance form which accompanies it, or to the term for places or events where the tango or Milonga are danced...
and candombe form a musical triptych from the same African roots. But with different developments.
Initially, the practice of Candombe was practiced exclusively by blacks, who had designed special places called “Tangó’s”. This word originated sometime in the 19th century the word "Tango", but not yet its present meaning.
Argentina
Lately, some artists have incorporated this genre to their compositions, and have also created groups and NGOs of Afro-descendants, as the Misibamba Association, Afro-Argentines of Buenos Aires Community. However, it's important to note that the Uruguayan Candombe is the most practiced in Argentina, both due to immigration from Uruguay and to the seductiveness of the rhythm that captivates the argentines. For this reason they learn the music, dance and characters and recreate something similar. Uruguayan Candombe is played much in the neighborhoods of San Telmo, Montserrat and La Boca. While the Argentine variety had less local diffusion (compared with the diffusion that occurred in Uruguay), mainly by the decrease of population of black African origin, its mixing mixing with white immigrants and the prohibition of the carnival during the last dictatorship. The Afroargentine Candombe is only played by the afroargentines in the privacy of their homes, mainly located in the outskirts of Buenos Aires. Recently, due to a change in strategy by the Afro-Argentines to move from concealment to the visibility, there are some ventures to interpret it in public places, as stages and street parades. Among the groups who play Afroargentine Candombe are: “Tambores del Litoral” (union of “Balikumba” from Santa Fe, and “Candombes del Litoral” from Parana, Entre Ríos), “Bakongo” (these, have their own web page) and the “Comparsa Negros Argentinos”. The latter two are in Gran Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires City and its surroundings).Uruguayan Candombe
The music of candombe is performed by a group of drummers called a cuerda. The barrel-shaped drums, or tamborilesTambores de candombe
The tambores de candombe or tamboriles are drums used in the playing of Candombe music of Uruguay. They are single skin headed and there are three sizes: piano , repique , and the chico...
, have specific names according to their size and function: chico (small, high timbre, marks the tempo), repique (medium, syncopation and improvisation) and piano (large, low timbre, melody). An even larger drum, called bajo or bombo (very large, very low timbre, accent on the fourth beat), was once common but is now declining in use. A cuerda at a minimum needs three drummers, one on each part. A full cuerda will have 50-100 drummers, commonly with rows of seven or five drummers, mixing the three types of drums. A typical row of five can be piano-chico-repique-chico-piano, with the row behind having repique-chico-piano-chico-repique and so on to the last row.
Tamboriles are made of wood with animal skins that are rope-tuned or fire-tuned minutes before the performance. They are worn at the waist with the aid of a shoulder strap called a talig or talí and played with one stick and one hand.
A key rhythmic figure in candombe is the clave
Clave (rhythm)
The clave rhythmic pattern is used as a tool for temporal organization in Afro-Cuban music, such as rumba, conga de comparsa, son, son montuno, mambo, salsa, Latin jazz, songo and timba. The five-stroke clave pattern represents the structural core of many Afro-Cuban rhythms...
(in 3-2 form). It is played on the side of the drum, a procedure known as "hacer madera" (literally, "making wood").
Master Candombe drummers
Among the most important and traditional Montevidean rhythms are: Cuareim, Ansina y Cordon. There are several master drummers who have kept Candombe alive uninterrupted for two hundred years. Some of highlights are: inAnsina school: Wáshington Ocampo, Héctor Suárez, Pedro "Perico" Gularte, Eduardo "Cacho" Giménez, Julio Giménez, Raúl "Pocho" Magariños, Rubén Quirós, Alfredo Ferreira, "Tito" Gradín, , Raúl "Maga" Magariños, Luis "Mocambo" Quirós , Fernando "Hurón" Silva, Eduardo "Malumba" Gimenez, Alvaro Salas, Daniel Gradín, Sergio Ortuño y José Luis Giménez.
Argentine Candombe
The Afro-Argentine Candombe is played with two types of drums, played exclusively by men. Those drums are: “Llamador” (also called: "base", "tumba", “quinto” or “tumba base”), and “Repicador” (also called: “contestador”, “repiqueteador” or “requinto”). The first is a bass drum, and the second is a sharp drum. There are two models of each of the drums: one made in hollowed trunk, and the other made with staves. The first type are hung with a strap on the shoulder and are played in a street parade. The latter are higher than those, and played for granted. Both types of drums, are played only with both hands. Sometimes others drums are played: the "Macú" and the "Sopipa". Both are made from hollowed tree trunk, the first is performed lying on the floor, as it is the largest and deepest drum; and the "Sopipa" which is small and acute, is played hung on the shoulder or held between the knees.Among the idiophones that always accompany the drums are the "Taba" and "Mazacalla", being able to add: the "Quijada", the "Quisanche" and the "Chinesco”. The Argentine Candombe is a vocal-instrumental practice, all the same to be played sitting or street parade. There is a large repertoire of songs in African languages archaic, in Spanish or in a combination of both. They are usually structured in the form of dialogue and are interpreted solo, responsorial, antiphonal or in group. Although singing is usually a feminine practice, men may be involved. When is more of a voice, it is always in unison. Where there is more of a voice, it is always in unison.
Uruguayan Candombe Performance
A full Candombe group, collectively known as a Comparsa Lubola or Candombera , comprises the cuerda, a group of female dancers known as mulatas, and several stock characters, each with their own specific dances. The stock characters include:- La Mama Vieja ("Old Mother"), the matriarch
- El Gramillero ("Medicine Man"), Mama Vieja's husband, responsible for health and well-being
- El Escobero or Escobillero ("Stick Holder"), who carries a long magical wooden stick that he uses to create new ways and possibilities for the future
Candombe is performed regularly in the streets of old Montevideo's south neighbourhood in January and February, during Uruguay's Carnival period, and also in the rest of the country. All the comparsas, of which there are 80 or 90 in existence, participate in a massive Carnival parade called Las Llamadas ("calls") and vie with each other in official competitions in the Teatro de Verano theatre. During Las Llamadas , members of the comparsa often wear costumes that reflect the music's historical roots in the slave trade, such as sun hats and black face-paint. The monetary prizes are modest; more important aspects include enjoyment, the fostering of a sense of pride and the winning of respect from peers. Cuerdaluna is a very popluar Candombe group in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Intense performances can cause damage to red blood cells, which manifests as rust-colored urine immediately after drumming.
See also
- Afro-UruguayanAfro-UruguayanAfro-Uruguayan refers to Uruguayans of Black African ancestry. Almost a third is found in Montevideo.-History:It is often asserted in the academic literature on Uruguay that the presence and role of Africans in the development of this nation are overlooked. However, Afro-Uruguayans greatly...
- Afro-Argentine
- Music of UruguayMusic of UruguayThe music of Uruguay includes a number of local musical forms. The most distinctive ones are tango, murga, a form of musical theatre, and candombe, an afro-Uruguayan type of music which occur yearly during the Carnival period. There is also milonga, a folk guitar and song form deriving from Spanish...
- Culture of UruguayCulture of UruguayContemporary Uruguayan culture is diverse in its nature since the nation's population is one of multicultural origins. The country has an impressive legacy of artistic and literary traditions, especially for its small size...
- Argentine tangoArgentine tangoArgentine tango is a musical genre of simple quadruple metre and binary musical form, and the social dance that accompanies it. Its lyrics and music are marked by nostalgia, expressed through melodic instruments including the bandoneon. Originated at the ending of the 19th century in the suburbs of...
- MurgaMurgaMurga is a form of popular musical theatre performed in Uruguay and in Argentina during the Carnival season. Murga groups operate in Montevideo and at the Buenos Aires Carnival, though to a lesser extent than in Montevideo; the Argentine murga is more centred on dancing and less on vocals than the...
- Rubén RadaRubén RadaRubén Rada is an Afro-Uruguayan percussionist, composer and singer. He is closely associated with Candombe, an Afro–Uruguayan rhythmic style music, which is based on the sound of three types of drums: ´chico´, ‘repique’ and ‘piano’...
- Jaime RoosJaime RoosJaime Roos is an Uruguayan singer, composer and record producer. In 2000 he won a Silver Condor Award for Best Score Musician in El Amateur.- Discography :*Candombe del 31 *Para espantar el sueño...
External links
- Candombe (Dutch/English/French/Italian/Portuguese/Spanish)
- http://bakongocandombeafroargentino.blogspot.com/
- http://estudiosafroargentinos.blogspot.com/
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZHNjfAipNk (Afro-Argentine Candombe)
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlxVh8umiis (Afro-Argentine Candombe and Zemba)
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8H4w28ws1I
- http://www.clarin.com/diario/2005/04/02/sociedad/s-04815.htm
- http://tangodesanmiguel.blogspot.com/
- http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1099258
- http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Candombe_porteño_en_la_Asociación_Misibamba.jpg
- http://ar.groups.yahoo.com/group/Esplendor_afroargentino/
- http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candombe
- El Toque de Candombe (English)
- In a Nutshell: Candombe (English)
- Rey Tambor (Dutch/English/French/Japanese/Italian/Portuguese/Spanish)
- Uruguay gets a Female Beat (English)
- (Candombe from Mina Gerais, Brazil)