Rumba is a secular genre of Cuban music involving dance, percussion, and song. It originated in the northern regions of Cuba, mainly in urban Havana and Matanzas, during the late 19th century. It is based on African music and dance traditions, namely Abakuá and yuka, as well as the Spanish-based coros de clave. According to Argeliers León, rumba is one of the major "genre complexes" of Cuban music,[1] and the term rumba complex is now commonly used by musicologists.[2][3] This complex encompasses the three traditional forms of rumba (yambú, guaguancó and columbia), as
well as their contemporary derivatives and other minor styles.
Traditionally performed by poor workers of African descent in streets and solares (courtyards), rumba remains one of Cuba's most characteristic forms of music and dance. Vocal improvisation, elaborate dancing and polyrhythmic drumming are the key components of all rumba styles. Cajones (wooden boxes) were used as drums until the early 20th century, when they were replaced by tumbadoras (conga drums). During the genre's recorded history, which began in the 1940s, there have been numerous successful rumba bands such as Los Papines, Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, Clave y Guaguancó, AfroCuba de Matanzas and Yoruba Andabo.
Since its early days, the genre's popularity has been largely confined to Cuba, although its legacy has reached well beyond the island. In the United States, it gave its name to the so-called "ballroom rumba", or rhumba, and in Africa, soukous is commonly referred to as "Congolese rumba" (despite being actually based on son cubano). Its influence in Spain is testified by rumba flamenca and derivatives such as Catalan rumba.
^León, Argeliers (1974). Del canto y el tiempo. Havana, Cuba: Editorial Pueblo y Educación.
^Olsen, Dale; Sheehy, Daniel (2014). The Garland Handbook of Latin American Music (2nd ed.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. pp. 114–115. ISBN 9781135900083.
^Daniel, Yvonne (1995). Rumba: Dance and Social Change in Contemporary Cuba. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. p. 18. ISBN 9780253209481.
Rumba is a secular genre of Cuban music involving dance, percussion, and song. It originated in the northern regions of Cuba, mainly in urban Havana and...
influence on Cubanrumba, particularly on its vocal style. However, musicologists agree that rumba flamenca does not truly derive from Cubanrumba, but from...
certain rhythms. In term rumba as applied to the flamenco style stems from its use in Cuba to refer to Cubanrumba (originally, "rumba" meant "party"). Within...
music with Afro-Cuban rhythms, primarily the son cubano, but also conga and rumba. Although taking its name from the latter, ballroom rumba differs completely...
mid-1940s and 1950s, the syncopated Afro-Cuban rhythms of Cuban son bands exerted a significant influence on Congolese rumba. This can be seen in the rhythmic...
Cuba. p. 29. "Décima y Rumba". Scribd.com. Retrieved July 6, 2015. Orovio, Helio 2004. Cuban music from A to Z. p. 191 Daniel, Yvonne 1995. Rumba: dance...
derived from the Andalusian flamenco rumba, with influences from Cuban music and rock and roll. The Catalan rumba originated in the Romani communities...
titled Rumba (named for the Cubanrumba musical genre), it was a result of a two-week holiday which Gershwin took in Havana, Cuba in February 1932. Gershwin...
Afro-Cubanrumba traditions, and others brought their rumbitas and montunos. It was in Havana where the encounter of the rumba rural and the rumba urbana...
country. Due to influence of Cuban son, the maringa dance music—although unrelated to Cubanrumba—became known as "rumba Congolaise" as the imported records...
Congolese music. In 2021, Congolese rumba joined other living traditions such as Jamaican reggae music and Cubanrumba on UNESCO's "intangible cultural heritage...
son cubano and bolero (the Cuban genre) and, despite its name, it rarely included elements of Cubanrumba. It includes Cuban motions through knee-strengthening...
Renaissance dance Reog Rhumba (a.k.a. ballroom rumba; International Latin & American Rhythm) Cubanrumba (Cuba) Rigaudon Rinkafadda Robam Meh Ambao Robam...
The ballroom rumba is so called despite the music, and the dance, being of a different genre from the authentic Cubanrumba. The rumba danced in America...
fused with partner figures and turns adopted from the Cuban Mambo, Cuban Cha Cha Cha, Rumba Guaguancó and North American Jive. As with Son, Danzón and...
other genres, such as son Cubano, conga, cumbia, salsa, merengue, and Cubanrumba, as well as styles and forms such as rap and ballads, whereas the latter's...
created "RumbaTap", which merged American Rhythm Tap with Afro-Cuban music and dance. He is the only non-Cuban member of the Afro-CubanRumba and folklore...
as rumba. Many of these dance elements from European dance and religious dances were fused together to form the basis of la técnica cubana. Cuban music...
Rumba ("de cajón o de solar") music originated in the early Afro-Cuban culture, mixed with Spanish elements of style. The Tres was invented in Cuba from...
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