Rumba
I have always enjoyed music and dance and have been interested in its history. As a result of this class, I have a much greater appreciation for the sound, rhthym, dance, spirit and cultural significance of the Rumba. Now, when I think of Rumba, I hear the beat of the drums and my feet begin to move to the echo of the clave in my head.The musical tradition of Rumba dates back to Bantu tribes in Africa. Words like "Tumba," " Macumba," and "Tambo" are African words that have been used to describe dances similar dances to Rumba that imitated barnyard animal movements. Carried to Cuba in the 1800s by African slaves, the musical style of today's Rumba evolved out of the slums of Cuba after slavery was abolished in 1886. The word, "rumba" derives from the Spanish verb, rumbiar which means "to dance." In her book, Rumba, Dance and Social Change in Contemporary Cuba, Yvonne Daniel tells us that Cuban musicologists who have studied music and dance agree that the precise meaning of rumba is difficult to determine....but points to those words of African origin that mean a collective party, un
There are three fundamental types of Rumba; the Yambu, the Columbia and the Guaguanco. The Yambu also known as the Rumba de tiempo Espagna is the most simple and slowest dance. It is the least popular today and is performed by either older dancers who are comfortable with the more relaxed tempo or professional performers who are preserving the tradition. The Guaguanco is the most significant of the three and is generally the most popular. Guaguanco is a medium paced dance that contains more complex rhythms than the Yambu. Guaguanco is made up of three sections that tell a story or describe an event. The first section is the "Diana," in which the lead vocalist improvises phrases of no actual meaning. In the second or "main" section, the lead vocalists sings the theme of the story. In the last or "choral section," all the other participants in the Rumba sing in a improvised call and response pattern with the lead vocalists. Another important and intriguing aspect of the Guaguanco is the dance that a male and a female do in conjunction with the singing. The couples dance in a flirtatious manner, wit
Some common words found in the essay are:
Spain Rumba, Yambu Guaguanco, Yambu Rumba, Yvonne Daniel, Carried Cuba, Rumba Rumba, , Tambo African, style rumba, music dance, lead vocalists, rumba style, male dancers,
Approximate Word count = 746
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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