MUSIC

In 1797, the Bomba dance was the social expression that most surprised French traveller, botanist André Pierre LEDRU.

This dance, done then by Whites, mulattos and free Blacks, represented an organised cultural element in Puerto Rico at that time. This was happening of course, in the days when la vida no era dulce e coco. The drums accompanying this dance already called the Bomba dance, came into the island with the slaves from Ghana and from the Fanti-Ashanti civilisation, not forgetting the Carabalis on the southern banks of the Niger and the Congos.

The Bomba drum, which will give rise to the dance of the same name, thus became the main element of the afro-boricua musical and percussive framework (from boriquin, the taino name for Puerto Rico). This tambor abarillo and the resulting music, would give birth a little over a century later to the Plena. The different rhythms and dances of La Bomba originate on the banks of Africa: the cunyá, the yubá, the xicá, the cocobalé, the cuembé, the grásima, the bambulaé, the holandés, the leró, the calindá and the mariandá are just some of the dances done by black Puertoricans for two centuries. Some, like the calinda and the marianda have fallen into oblivion.

© Ines Fernandez

We have, given the social composition of the island, these strong Community musics accompanying and punctuating anti-slavery protests: 1805, 1822, 1826, 1833, 1835, 1836, 1839, 1841, 1843, 1848; the libations and festive celebrations serving as vehicles for the every move of the poorer class. The texts and the songs can already be considered the radio la gente (the peoples’ radio) or the radio bemba.
La Bomba, testimony of the dashed hopes of the Puertorican people, yet capable of striking up elegies or fiery songs in praise of the Puertorican heroes – male and female – thus becomes, together with La Plena, the national music.

How did La Bomba become la Plena?

This is the question asked by Edgardo RODRIGUEZ JULIA in the Puertorican daily newspaper El Nuevo Dia of April 9th 1989.

La Plena is a typical example of the music of uncertain origin, resulting from the clash of migratory currents: Barbados, St Kitts, towards Puerto Rico, a deformation of the expression Play it Ann! Play Anne during a dance done by these ‘English’, or even the very fact of dancing during a party at full moon: Luna plena!!!

It is generally agreed that La Plena erupted in the Puertorican rhythmic patrimony between the end of the 19th century and 1916.

The posture of the percussionists would be different, the rhythm livelier, their instruments easy to carry, but the texts, the message, sabor a pueblo would be several pages, several bulletins highlighting innumerable cross sections of life: the humble and, more generally the social, political and cultural peregrinations of the Puertorican people.

These two forms of national musical expressions take shape and are perpetuated at patronal fetes, Carnival and different festivals in the country of maquinolandera.

The drum will find its redemption in the sublime, the mellow, the swaying rhythm of Luís PALÉS MÁTOS, who, through this music, will succeed in extending a spirit of brotherhood to the peoples of our cuenca caribeña, their African roots always laid bare in the poetic palesien song.

And so we’ll see at our Communal table, from La Plena del Menéalo à la Canción Festiva para Ser Llorada, our Caribbean nations identified as follows:

Cuba – ñañigo y bachata
Haïti – Vodú y calabaza
Puerto-Rico – burundanga
Martinica y Guadalupe
Me van poniando la casa
Martinica en la cocina
Y Guadalupe en la sala
Martinica hace la sopa
Y Guadalupe la cama.
Buen calalú, Martinica,
Que Guadalupe me aguarda
En qué lorito aprendiste
Ese patuá de melaza
Guadalupe de mis trópicos,
Mi suculenta tinaja ?

We can all respond to the tune of :

Bambulae
Sea ya
Sea contigo na’ ma
Bambulae !