Bomba is a music and dance genre that requires singing, drumming and dancing. Several regional bomba traditions also employ additional percussion such as güiro (or gourd scraper made from the dried fruit of cucurbita lagenaria), and one or two sticks used to beat on the wooden side of a drum. Sometimes one or two maracas may be utilized. Usually two drums are played. The higher pitched drum is used to play drumming improvisation and to dialogue with the dancers. The lower pitched bomba drum for playing a non-changing constant rhythm that is complemented with the pattern played with the pair of sticks (cuas). While bomba is played singers participate either in responsorial or antiphonal performance.

In southern Puerto Rico bomba is traditionally sung by women. A lead singer is alternated by her femenine chorus. The lead singer or cantadora plays the maraca and sets tonality, tempo and rhythm. The cuas musician will follow and the lower pitched drum will fortify. The musician of the higher pitched drum will do his improvisation of spontaneous combinations of sounds played on the drumhead.

Bomba rhythms and songs are called sones de bomba. Five different rhythms were performed: leró, güembé, cunyá, holandés, and belén. Other manifestations of Southern Puerto Rican bomba were calindá, mariandá, and yubá. However, these last three sones de bomba have been lost in Southern Puerto Rico. My theory is that the term bomba is derived from the archaic form of the Ashanti or Akan word bommaa. In his English-Twi dictionary, Chrystaller states that this word means drum. Nketia states that previously this word was pronounced bombaa. The phonetic similarity is quite obvious. The Spanish term bombo (bass drum) is also phonetically similar. It is reasonable to believe that both words influenced each other through the complex process of tranculturación. The terms yubá, belén, calindá and cunyá are apparently of Bantu origin.

In Southern Puerto Rico the drums are lied against the floor and the drummers sit over the wooden sides. The drummer on the higher pitched instrument (primero) alters the sound of his drum by adding pressure to the drumhead by pressing with his heel. The skins for the drums should be of female goat skin. The thickness of the membrane is different if masculine or femenine. Men traditionally play the drums and cuas. Women do the singing. Both genres join while dancing. Dancing is the stylized metaphor of the union between man and woman. It is the celebration of life because of this union.

Bomba has another manner of African influence some song texts are hermetic or difficult to interpret. Words and phrases suggest metaphors, images and have phonetic or rhythmic values. The following are some examples of somewhat enigmatic bomba lyrics.

No sé si será de piedra
o si será de madera
pero voy a comprar un piano
para bailar en la acera.

Mi querida es,
mi querida es,
en el cuartel de Buenavista,
Sánchez, yo la saludé.
_______________________________

Dice la negra Martina,
que brinca por los palacios
que cayó dentro de una olla
de bandazos entre la maya.

De bandazos va ella,
de bandazos,
de bandazos anda ella,
de bandazos.
_______________________________

Cachón dice Elena,
Cachón dice Elena,
Cachón dice Elena
que vamos pa la contra pa resguardarse.
_______________________________

Prepárate,Reparada,
Prepárate,
Prepárate, Reparada,
que La Fortuna te va a tumbá