The History of Candombe Dance

Candombe music, originating in Uruguay, is gaining fans throughout the Americas.

Candombe, the music and instrumentation that Uruguay now calls its own, has Central African origins. Derived from the Central African word "ndombe" (black) and "ka" (things having to do with), candombe reflects things having to do with African people. The music, dance and the places where people express their joy, and the drums used to make the music, are candombe.

Origins

Many musical forms of the African diaspora expressed joy and physical freedom.

Singing and dancing to express life's blessings was the gift of slaves from the Congo, Nigeria, Angola, Mali and the Sudan as they came to Uruguay around 1750. Entwining of musical elements from Latin music and dance such as the tango, milonga and murga, their music evolved to the candombe.

Candombe originally had religious significance to the late 18th and early 19th century African diaspora of Uruguay. On the Day of Kings in January, slaves would celebrate with candombe to honor the crowning of Congo Kings.

Evolution

Polyrhythmic drumming is crucial to candombe style.

Listening to calenda, bambula, chica/conga or zamba/semba music from the 18th century, one hears similar rhythms and beats of candombe. Rhythmic drumming, circle formations, as well as gyrating upper body and pelvic motions accompany these musical forms.

In the early years of the 19th century, Montevideo's white establishment wanted to stop the dances for fear of moral corruption, according to author Ruben Carambula in "El Candombe" (1995). In 1843, the city of New Orleans stopped Africans from publicly demonstrating these dances in Congo Square because of their "lascivious nature."

Despite these measures, candombe continued to grow in popularity throughout the Americas in spite of these actions.

Los Negros and Candombe

Candombe and carnival were beloved by Uruguay's Los Negros of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Many of the children of Uruguay's slaves sought to fit into Uruguayan culture and they learned the language, customs, music and dance of Europe. Concurrently, according to Dr. George Andrews of University of Pittsburgh's Department of History, some people of European heritage embraced the candombe music and even danced in blackface in the streets and at carnival events during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These "Los Negros" loved the candombe music and the freedom embodied in it.

In 1846, slavery was abolished in Uruguay, and the joy and freedom of developing candombe music was more integral to the Afro-Uruguayan people than ever.

Candombe's Tambores

Isla de Flores is still the best place to experience candombe in Montevideo.

Drumming defines candombe. Three drums create candombe rhythm. The "tambores" -- tambor piano, tambor chico and tambor repique -- in combination create the combined sound, or "cuerda."

Tambor piano is the largest drum with the lowest pitch, creating the bass. Tambor chico, the small drum, has the highest pitch. The tambor repique, the ricochet, flows between the other pitches.

Historically and currently, candombe sound is created by the three drums played in the open air, preferably in starlight. For more than 100 years, the Ansina and Cuareim -- the two candombe social groups -- come together on Montevideo's Isla de Flores to experience the music and dance.

Candombe in the 20th Century

Uruguay's musicians have brought candombe to the world.

Musicians, such as the Fattoruso Family (Trio Fattoruso), Nicolas Mora, Leo Masliah, Ruben Rada and other greats of candombe, have brought this music to people around the world.

Candombe has also become the inspiration for painting, theater and film arts.

References

• Candombe.org: candombe
• Croquis del Candombe: religious significance
• "Remembering Africa, Inventing Uruguay: Sociedads de Negros in the Montevideo Carnival, 1865-1930"; Hispanic American Annual Review 87, 4 (2007): Los Negros
• Candombe.com: abolished slavery
• Daecpu.com: tambores cuerda

Resources

• "Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora"; Carole Boyce Davies; 2008
• "Afro-Latino Voices"; Kathryn Joy McKnight, Leo J. Garofolo; 2009
• "Africana"; Anthony Appiah, Henry Louis Gates; 2005
• "Folclore en las grandes ciudades: arte popular"; Alicia Martin; 2005
• "Uruguay in Pictures"; Alison Behnke; 2009