Rumba
Rumba is both a family of rhythms and a dance style that emerged in the African slave community in Cuba.
There is an altogether different dance, called rhumba in Anglo-Saxon countries and bolero in Spanish-speaking countries. Some dancers considered rumba (or bolero) the most erotic and sensual Latin dance, for its relatively slow rhythm and the hip movement.
| Rumba
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| Stylistic origins:
| African, native and Spanish music
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| Cultural origins:
| African slaves in Havana and Matanzas
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| Typical instruments:
| Quinto and tumbadores drums and Guaguancó, columbia, and yambú
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| Fusion genres
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| Chachacha - Salsa music
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Cuban Rumba
History
Rumba arose in Havana in the 1890s. As a sexually-charged Afro-Cuban dance, rumba was often suppressed and restricted because it was viewed as dangerous and lewd.
Later, Prohibition in the United States caused a flourishing of the relatively-tolerated cabaret rumba, as American tourists flocked to see crude sainetes (short plays) which featured racial stereotypes and generally, though not always, rumba.
Perhaps because of the mainstream and middle-class dislike for rumba, son montuno became seen as "the" national music for Cuba, and the expression of Cubanisimo. Rumberos reacted by mixing the two genres in the 30s, 40s and 50s; by the mid-40s, the genre had regained respect, especially the Music of Cuba
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!style="border-bottom:3px solid; background:#efefef;" colspan=2|History (Timeline and Genres
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|align=center colspan="2" valign="top"|Batá and yuka drums - Chachachá - Changuí - Charanga - Conga - Danzón - Descarga - Guajira - Guaracha - Habanera - Jazz - Hip hop - Mambo - Música campesina - Nueva trova - Pilón - Rumba - Salsa cubana - Son - Son montuno - Timba
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!align="center" style="background:#efefef; border-top:3px solid"|Awards
|style="border-top:3px solid"|Festivals
|colspan="2"|Cuba Danzon, National anthem
|"La Bayamesa"
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Rumba is sometimes confused with salsa, with which it shares origins and essential movements.
There are several rhythms of the Rumba family:
- Yambu
- Guagancó
- Columbia
- Columbia del Monte
Bolero rhythm begins with one beat pause, then three equally long steps. Salsa misses one beat, and counts quick-quick-slow, where slow is a movement as long as both quick steps together.
Rumba is thought to have contributed to the origin of the cha-cha-cha, and indeed most figures (if not all, somehow) can be reinterpreted in cha-cha-cha.
Ballroom Rumba
International Style
American Style
