Category:Mambo

From WWR

African and European parentage, the mambo is the result of a long cross-cultural journey, an example of the kind of sensual alchemy which is a speciality of the Caribbean. Mambo, conga and bongo were originally Bantu names for musical instruments that were used in rituals and gradually became secular. Mambo means "conversation with the gods" and in Cuba designates a sacred song of the Congos, Cubans of Bantu origin. The Congos have absorbed a variety of foreign influences and the mambo is a delicious cocktail of Bantu, Spanish and Yoruba.

Despite its African resonance, the mambo can be traced back to an unexpected source, English country dance, which in the seventeenth century became the contredanse at the French court and later the contradanza in Spain. In the eighteenth century the contradanza reached Cuba where it was known as danza and became the national dance. Its hold grew with the arrival of the planters and their slaves who fled from Haiti after it became independent. The Haitian blacks added a particularly spicy syncopation to it called the cinquillo, which is also found in the tango, itself derived from the contradanza. Gradually other black elements found their way into the contradanza, some titles of which--such as "Tu madre es conga" ("Your mother is Congo"), which was played in 1856 in Santiago de Cuba at an aristocratic ball in honour of General Concha, and "La negrita"--reflect this blending. A New Kind Of Music.

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1

Eve Takes The Fall

The Malvinas

Love, Hope + Transportation

4:18

14

Oct 28th, 2008

19 votes 5 stars=Jenny

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Mambo / Acoustic guitar / Mandolin / Fiddle / Rhythmic / Solo vocalist / Acoustic / Band / Jen's favorite

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4:18

The current music queue contains 12 songs that will take 49 mins, 35 secs to play.
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Songs with Mambo in the lyrics