Candombe is a drum-based musical form of Uruguay. Candombe originated among the Afro-Uruguayan population of Montevideo and is based on Bantu African drumming with some European influence and touches of Tango. For other kinds of drums, see drum (disambiguation). ... Montevideo Independence Plaza Independence Plaza, c. ... Map showing the approximate distribution of Bantu (dull yellow) vs. ... A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. ... World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ... Tango in the streets of Buenos Aires Tango is a social dance form that originated in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Montevideo (Uruguay) . The musical styles that evolved together with the dance are also known as tango. Early tango was known as tango criollo or simply tango. ...

Origins

Candombe's origins lie in the Kings of Congo ceremonial processions from the period of African slavery in South America. Candombe is related to other musical forms of African origin found in the Americas such as Cuban son and tumba and Brazilian maracatú. The form had evolved by the beginning of the 19th century and was immediately seen as a threat to the elites, who sought to ban the music and its dance in 1808. South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Arsenio Rodríguez initially developed son montuno from son. ... Tumba can mean: Tumba - a town in Botkyrka, Sweden Tumba Bruk - printer of the Swedish krona banknotes, located in Tumba Tumba (music) - a native musical form to Curaçao This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Maracatu is a term common to two distinct performance genres found in Pernambuco state in northeastern Brazil: maracatu nação and maracatu rural. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... A contemporary dancer rehearsing Dance (from Old French dancier, perhaps from Frankish) generally refers to human movement either used as a form of expression (see also body language) or presented in a social, spiritual or performance setting. ... 1808 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Instruments

Candombe is performed by a group of 50-100 parading drummers called a comparsa. The barrel-shaped drums, or tambores, have specific names according to their size and function: chico (small, high timbre, marks the tempo), repique (medium, improvisation) and piano (large, low timbre, melody). An even larger drum, called bajo or bombo (very large, very low timbre, accent on the fourth beat), was once common but is now declining in use. Tambores are made of wood with animal skins that are rope-tuned or fire-tuned minutes before the performance. They are worn at the waist with the aid of a shoulder strap called tali and played with one stick and one hand.

Performance

Today there are 80 or 90 comparsas in existence. Candombe is still performed regularly in the streets of Montevideo's central neighbourhoods on Sunday evenings as well as on many other occasions, and massively on January 6, December 25 and January 1. During Uruguay's Carnival period, all the comparsas participate in a massive Carnival parade called llamadas ("calls") and vie against each other in official competitions in the Teatro de Verano theatre. In llamadas, comparsas often have costumes which reflect the music´s historical roots in the slave trade, such as sun hats and black face-paint. The monetary prizes are modest; more important aspects include enjoyment, the fostering of a sense of pride and the winning of respect from peers. Swabian-Alemannic carnival clowns in Wolfach, Germany A carnival is a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus and public street party, generally during the Carnival Season. ...