rumba (cuba)

rumba emerged in the ports of matanzas and havana, cuba in the 19th century
among black workers beating rhythms out on anything to hand from boxes to bottles, clave stocks to spoons
while one of them answered by a chorus sang improvised verses about life
it thrived in the patio fiestas of the communal solares, tenements populated by a family per room
sailors took it to cadiz, spain where it was absorbed into flamenco
and to barcelona from whence rumba catalana emerged
that is how rumba is described in songlines magazine article on their 50 rhythms of the world
staying true to the origins of this one limited the choice of clips to include
it seems as implied that the word rumba has been widely used
meaning many musicians from around the world claim to be playing rumba
which may well be true in reference to their own derivation of the style
but cuba is where rumba was born and developed
so cuba is where the youtube clip of choice is from
by all accounts the following clip is from a 1967 film
it features a group called clave y guaguanco
they formed at the havana docks more than 40 years ago
and strictly adhere to the afro-cuban style of music
which basically means lots of drums and percussion and not much else
though laterly their music is being integrated with flamenco style
so presumably now working towards another strain of rumba found in barcelona
i enjoy seeing some of these older clips of the music at it's roots
the documentary film is titled y tenemos sabor
not sure what that means in english
but seems to be the real deal
(34 of 50)