Bongos (Spanish: bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single-headed, open-ended drums attached to each other. The drums are of different size: the larger drum is called in Spanish the hembra (female) and the smaller the macho (male). They are membranophones, or instruments that create sound by a vibration against a stretched membrane.
The bongos originated in the folkloric music known as changüí, in the eastern r...
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Bongos (Spanish: bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single-headed, open-ended drums attached to each other. The drums are of different size: the larger drum is called in Spanish the hembra (female) and the smaller the macho (male). They are membranophones, or instruments that create sound by a vibration against a stretched membrane.
The bongos originated in the folkloric music known as changüí, in the eastern region of Cuba known as the "Oriente", during the nineteenth century. The bongos used in changüí are known as bongó el monte, are larger and tuned lower than their modern counterparts, have tack-heads instead of tunable hardware, and play in a manner similar to rumba quinto and other folkloric lead drum parts. (Hear bongó el monte "Ritmo changüí" with Grupo Exploracion). Bongos are also used in the related Cuban musical genre known as son.
The bongos came to western Cuba at the turn of the twentieth century, when the son migrated to the capital...
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