Bomba (Ecuador)

Bomba or Bomba del Chota is an Afro-Ecuadorian musical form from the Chota Valley area of Ecuador in the province of Imbabura and Carchi. Its origins can be traced back to Africa via the middle passage and the use of African slave labor during the country's colonial period. Africans brought to labor as slaves in Ecuador brought with them this music form heavily influenced from the Bantu cultures of the Congo. The people dance in pairs to the drums and use improvisation to build relationships between the dancer and lead drummer.

This music tends to have a prominent spanish, mestizo and indigenous influence in the melodies. It could go from a mid tempo to a very fast rhythm. It is usually played with guitars along with the main local instrument which is also called bomba which is a drum along with a guiro and sometimes bombos and bongos. A variation of it is la "banda mocha" which are groups that play bomba with a bombo, guiro and plant leafs to give melody.

The word "bomba" is most likely of Bantu origin.

See also

*Afro-Ecuadorian

Links

* [http://www.centroafroecuatoriano.com/content/blogcategory/26/34/ Articles about bomba del chota as well as afro-ecuadorian music]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwCL9FVwAdE video of "Bomba bomba" by Grupo Marabu]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4yl7AiZlSQ Short documentary about the Banda Mocha, a local variant of bomba music]
* [http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=8hYmo-naWN0 Choreography of children dancing to Bomba music]