Guide Note
Rumba refers both to a style of dancing and the music that accompanies the dance. Developed in the late 1800s,1 Rumba emerged on Cuba and other Caribbean islands after black slaves from Africa brought their music and dances to the area. The combination of African drum beats with Spanish Flamenco influences resulted in Rumba.2 The original Rumba folk dance was sexually suggestive, with the male partner acting as the aggressor in pursuit of his female partner.3
Rumba Instruments
- Cajones: Wooden box drums
- Claves: Wooden sticks
- Maruga: Metal Shaker
- Palitos: Sticks used to play a piece of bamboo called the guagua
- Tumbadoras: Congo drums
- Yuka: Hand drums1
Rumba Dances
- Yambú: The oldest and slowest dance, performed by a male-female couple
- Guaguancó: An faster and more sexual couples dance
- Columbia: An up-tempo male-only dance1
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