Introduction
In Salsa History Part I, I highlighted the legacy of the
transatlantic African trade slaves and how the drum, a cornerstone of the West
African civilization2 , has travelled from Africa to the Caribbean and to North
America to inseminate what eventually became rumba, mambo and salsa.
The purpose of Salsa History Part II is to explain why the
drum has played such a powerful role in salsa music. This article is an
invitation to explore what is called “La Fuerza del Tambor” (The Power of the
Drum).
Let’s start with two facts about salsa and rumba music that are
now unanimously accepted. The first one is that the drum is central to Salsa
music’s genre. The second one is that the drum is African. This centrality of
the African drum is also recognized by music scientists (ethnomusicologists)
who study music as human social and cultural phenomenon4 . The selected
materials below include rare documentaries and videos. They also introduce
declarations of mambo and salsa legends, pioneers, artists, promoters,
researchers, academics and salsa historians around the world.
Mambo and Salsa legends
As the saying goes, “Before Salsa, there is Mambo”. Indeed,
historically, both expressions were and still are very closely connected.
Mambo, was originally Bantu (Congo) names for musical instruments that were
used in rituals and gradually became secular5 . Mambo means "conversation
with the gods". Later in Cuba it designated a sacred song of the Congos
(the Cubans of Bantu origin). The Cuban Congos have absorbed a variety of
foreign influences and the mambo is a delicious cocktail of Bantu, Spanish and
Yoruba (West African tribe in Nigeria and Benin, former Dahomey) elements.
Today, in Salsa, the mambo is a theme that is played in
unison by the rhythm section and serves as a transition between two improvised
passages. It’s a reminiscence of a particular section of the salsa song were
the music creates a particular feeling of high spirit like the trance in the
original voodoo. Mambo and Salsa legends are very famous personalities of the
past and the present, whose direct contributions as musicians or composers to
mambo and salsa are well-recognized and admired. Perez Prado was the first to
adopt and market his compositions under the name "mambo," which he
popularized as a specific musical genre. But for the purpose of this article,
only legends that have made memorable quotes or statements about the African
drum are selected.
Arsenio Rodriguez
Arsenio Rodriguez, the descendent of Congolese slaves, was
born on August 30th, 1911 in Guira de Macurije in Cuba's western province, Mantanzas.
At age seven Rodriguez was blinded by a mule's kick; he would later become
known as "El Ciego Maravilloso" ("The Marvelous Blind
One"). As a child, he began playing a variety of instruments, including
Afro-Cuban drums and percussion. He is considered the father of the conjunto,
an instrumental format that was revolutionary for its time because it
introduced the conga drum, which had previously been considered taboo because
of its African origin. His compositions became standards of the Cuban and New
York salsa repertoires. They frequently emphasized Afro-Cuban, particularly
Congolese, elements in their subject matter. Below is a very rare recording of
a statement of Arsenio Rodriguez - “Esa letra de bruca manigua es Africana, es
de Congo…De mi familia…Yo vengo del congo y desde nino sabia much cose che me
ensegno mi abuelo…Yo soy caravali…Hay distincta raza in Congo…”
Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri “El rumbero del piano”, was born December 15,
1936. He is a Grammy Award winning Puerto Rican pianist, bandleader and
musician, best known for combining jazz piano and instrumental solos with Latin
rhythms. Eddie Palmieri is considered as one of the foremost Latin Jazz
musician of the second half of the 20th century. With Tito Puente, he released
one of the best Latin Jazz albums of our time8 . Eddie Palmieri said: - They
never allowed the drum here (in North America), by not allowing the drum, they
took away the Africanism and little by little, from the plantations what came
out was the blues, the classic blues … - The drum which imitates the pulse of
life is the essence of our music
Ruben Blades
Rubén Blades was born on July 16, 1948 in Panama, a small
Latin American country famous for its canal. He is a salsa singer, songwriter,
lawyer, actor, Latin jazz musician, and politician. His work has crossed
geopolitical borders, cultures, and genres and made an impact throughout the
world. Blades has made landmark albums in classic Afro-Cuban salsa as well as
Afro-Cuban music touched with rock, jazz, pan-Latin, and other influences from
around the world. He has composed hundreds of songs and dozens of hits known
for their eloquent, politically-aware lyrics, colorful characters, and
memorable melodies. The most famous of his compositions are "Pedro Navaja,"
a song about a neighborhood thug who appears to die during a robbery. He also
composed and sings what many Panamanians consider their second national anthem.
The song is titled "Patria" (Fatherland). Ruben Blades is also the
author of the famous statement “Salsa is not a music, it’s a concept” that we
have adopted and registered as a trademark. We give credit to him for our
“Salsa Concept” and for introducing “thinking” and ”conscience” into salsa
expressions. About the drum, Ruben Blades said: - There is something majestic
about the drum… - If you didn’t have the drum, you wouldn’t have music
Other Musicians
Quincy Jones
He is a famous composer and record producer, born on March
14, 1933 in Chicago, Illinois. A multifaceted jazz and pop figure, he began
with his Seattle teenage friend Ray Charles. He worked for musicians like Frank
Sinatra, Michael Jackson and Aretha Franklin. According to Quincy Jones: - What
we call savage music is not savage at all, it’s one of the most sophisticated
music in the world
La India de Puerto Rico
La India (her birth name: Linda Viera Caballero) was born in
Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico on March 9, 1969. Her parents moved to New York City
soon after her birth, and settled down in the South Bronx area of the city.
Caballero's nickname India was given to her by her grandmother because of her
dark features and long straight black hair. As the story goes, during a studio
recording, Eddie Palmieri was impressed with Caballero when he heard her
singing. In 1992, Palmieri produced Caballero's first Spanish-language salsa
album Llego la India via Eddie Palmieri (The India has Arrived via Eddie
Palmieri), which was acclaimed as one of the best salsa albums of the year.
From then on Caballero became known to all as La India de Puerto Rico. La India
said: "Something about that music,
makes you want to get up and dance, because it is spiritual and has a sense of
freedom".
Disk Jockeys
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and
plays pre-recorded music for performance. Some salsa DJs are renowned artist in
their specialty. They played an important role in popularizing salsa music on
radio stations, clubs and parties. Being a good salsa DJ is very difficult and
challenging as it requires a vast knowledge of Afro Cuban, and Latin Jazz music
history. It also requires the ability to understand languages, to please
dancers from various backgrounds and read very difficult audiences. DJ Sake
One. DJ Sake is a very influential DJ with a cause. He was born in Antwerp,
Belgium in 1970. By the age of 12 he had already started scratching. DJ Sake
One has made many important statements about the African Drum10: - The only
thing more beautiful than complete silence is soul music: the sound of the
ancestors singing the blues through physical form. We seek to harness the tears
and the laughter, the Sound and the Fury, the joy and the pain to create a
soundtrack for human liberation. And we consider it an honor to play music for
you to dance to - The first spirits of salsa were African…Across the ocean and
slave ships filled with misery and human degradation…The hard driving tribal
sounds of African music has somehow survived. But shortly after reaching here
in the Caribbean it started evolving into something different….It was still
African in Flavor, but the music has become unique…” - Many of the people of
the Caribbean are descendants from slaves brought by the Spanish and the
English to cut the sugar canes on the Islands and outposts of their empires.
When Europeans people from Africa was brought to Cuba they brought their music
with them - Whether the music makers of the traditionally Latin sounds like a
Gran Combo, or more modern Latin Jazz or somebody like Mongo Santamaria, the
drum is central for the music…And the Drum is African.
Books on Salsa History
It was quite a surprise to find so many excellent books on
Rumba, Mambo and Salsa and history. But of all the available publication two
books truly stand out
when it come to recognizing the influence of the African
drum.
“Salsiology” by Vernon Boggs (1992 – 386 pages)
Boggs presents a readable, exciting history of Salsa,
showing how Afro-Cuban music was embraced in New York City and how it has
undergone cycles of popularity and been replicated abroad. From its roots in
Cuba through present-day Salsa clubs, Boggs provides a tour of a popular music
form that has had a significant impact on the Latin community as well as
contemporary musicians and composers. Extensively illustrated with photographs
of the bands and clubs as well as the key leaders and promoters, the book also
contains interviews of salsa legends and it is considered the “golden standard”
of all salsa publications19 . The book refers to the West African drum as the
historical framework from where salsa evolved.
The Salsa Guide Book for Piano and Ensemble by Rebeca
Mauleon (2005 – 260 pages)
Rebeca Mauleon is an Author/pianist who recorded and
performed with; Carlos Santana, Tito Puente, Poncho Sanchez, Pete Escovedo, The
Machete Ensemble, Israel "Cachao" Lopez, Francisco Aguabella, Daniel
Ponce, Alex Acuna, Giovanni Hildalgo, Justo Almario, Steve Turre, Joe Henderson
...and many others. Her book is considered as the only complete method book on
salsa ever published! It is filled with musical examples for piano, bass, drum
set and salsa percussion instruments for beginners to advanced players. It also
included are excerpts of musical scores showing how each instrument fits into
each variation of salsa, an historical synopsis, numerous photos of salsa
artists and an extensive discography of Afro-Caribbean music. As pointed out by
Rebeca Mauleon, “ A major factor in Salsa development stems from its deep
connection to numerous drumming styles, most prominently in Cuba where enslaved
African people were able to maintain their sacred and secular drumming
tradition. A unique element in these traditions is the bond between music and
language with the spoken work extending beyond song to the instruments
themselves. This interpretation of the drum 18 See facebook page…. 19 See
Salsiology, Vernon Boggs, Greenwood Press, 1992
http://abstracto.wordpress.com/reviews/test 9 into popular culture is perhaps
the most predominant factor in Afro-Cuban music and all Afro centric music…”
According to Carlos Santana, This book is a true treasure of knowledge and
information about AfroCuban music.”
Conclusion
With part II, we have completed an extraordinary journey to
understand why the African drum is so powerful in salsa. But what is still
missing to fully understand the drum is an explanation about what in the
African drum is so special and what incidentally created so much fear among the
former slave owners that the African drum was declared illegal, muted and
forbidden? Indeed the biggest misunderstanding between Africans and Europeans
was the drum.
