The Catalan rumba is a genre of music that developed in Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

's Romani community beginning in the 1950s. Its rhythms are derived from the flamenco rumba, with influences from Cuban music and rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

.

The Catalan rumba originated in the Catalan Romani communities in the Gràcia

Gràcia

Gràcia is a district of the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It comprises the neighborhoods of Vila de Gràcia, Vallcarca i els Penitents, El Coll, La Salut and Camp d'en Grassot i Gràcia Nova. Gràcia is bordered by the districts of Eixample to the south, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi to the west and...

, carrer (street) de la Cera del Raval and Hostafrancs

Hostafrancs

Hostafrancs is a neighborhood in the Sants-Montjuïc district of Barcelona, Catalonia . Originally the land belonged to the former municipality of Santa Maria de Sants, the current district. In 1839 the Provincial Council was to disassociate the sector was the Pont d'en Rabassa Cross to cover for...

 neighborhoods. The Romani community in those neighborhoods is long-established and Catalan-speaking

Catalan language

Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...

.

The genre is based in a fusion of flamenco

Flamenco

Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....

 singing and the Afro-Cuban claves

Claves

Claves are a percussion instrument , consisting of a pair of short Claves (Anglicized pronunciation: clah-vays, IPA:[ˈklαves]) are a percussion instrument (idiophone), consisting of a pair of short Claves (Anglicized pronunciation: clah-vays, IPA:[ˈklαves]) are a percussion instrument (idiophone),...

. It is in 4/4 time, and consists of vocalists and handclaps, accompanied by guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

, bongos, and güiro

Güiro

The güiro is a Latin-American percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a stick or tines along the notches to produce a ratchet-like sound. The güiro is commonly used in Latin-American music, and plays a key role...

; later groups also incorporate timbales

Timbales

Timbales are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing, invented in Cuba. They are shallower in shape than single-headed tom-toms, and usually much higher tuned...

, conga drums, small percussion instruments, piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

, wind instruments, electric bass

Electric Bass

Electric bass can mean:*Electric upright bass, the electric version of a double bass*Electric bass guitar*Bass synthesizer*Big Mouth Billy Bass, a battery-powered singing fish...

, and electric keyboard.

Among the most important early artists in the genre were Antonio González

Antonio Gonzalez

*For the American political activist see Antonio Gonzalez .Antonio Gonzalez was a Roman Catholic martyr and saint....

 "El Pescaílla", Peret

Peret

Pere Pubill Calaf , known as Peret, is a Catalan Spanish Romaní singer, guitar player and composer, and the main representative of Catalan Rumba. Peret is known for the song Borriquito, and he represented Spain at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 and performed at the Olympic Games in Barcelona...

, Josep Maria Valentí "El Chacho", followed by the duo Los Amaya. In the 1970s, Gato Pérez rejuvenated the Catalan rumba. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Gipsy Kings

Gipsy Kings

The Gipsy Kings are a group of musicians from Arles and Montpellier, who perform in Spanish with an Andalucían accent. Although group members were born in France, their parents were mostly gitanos, Spanish Romani people who fled Catalonia during the 1930s Spanish Civil War. Chico Bouchikhi is of...

 and Los Manolos brought their spirit to Catalan rumba. Recently, popular groups in the genre have included Ai, ai, ai, Sabor de Gràcia, Estopa

Estopa

Estopa are a popular Spanish rock/rumba duo from Cornellà, Spain. The band consists of the brothers José and David Muñoz, who sing a unique blend of sounds reflecting many genres, including rock, rumba, flamenco, and a "sonido callejero" that does not easily fit into categories...

, El Chinchilla, Melendi

Melendi

Ramón Melendi Espina is a Spanish pop singer with rock, flamenco, and rumba influences.- Biography :He was born on January 21, 1979 in Oviedo, Asturias. He went to class with Formula One race car driver Fernando Alonso, to whom he dedicated the song "Magic Alonso"...

, Muchachito Bombo Infierno, Gertrudis, and La Troba Kung Fú.

External links

• Article about Catalan rumba