The Spirit of the Drums Bomba Y Plena at La Casita
Drums playing people chanting and singing
Girls in dance dress
Drumming
Music and dance steps
Drumming
still images
That's Bomba.
Today we meet in in celebration of the Spanish heritage month which brings us this beautiful exhibit, representative of the festival of Bomba Y Plena in Puerto Rico
and to speak about what this exhibit means. Pedro Clemente
Buenas Tardes Let's talk about Bomba and Plena (in Spanish language)
It's Bomba Y Plena is something that goes hand in hand with our culture as we have cultivated these rhythms not only
back in the16th, 17th, 18th and century, but also it remains
as one of the main rhythms defining our culture as we speak today
In this legacy that comes to us from Africa, we see the impact in our music, in our artwork, and the food.
Also it impacts our formal dance, Puerto Ricans are very happy and joyous
with experiencing the culture and music and this impacts
not only the Puerto Ricans but right now Bomba Y Plena is impacting actually the whole world.
Listen to Bomba Y Plena through everywhere. This is about Plena now, let's talk about the Bomba.
Bomba was also used as a means of communications between the coastal towns where the Afro Amercians settled.
Again it would be a call for rebellion, It would be a call for a gathering, or it could be also about the weather.
Drumming
through the Spanish Action League's collaboration with La Casita
I felt that it was a great opportunity to include our families and our community members,
about having them to work on their costumes and the dancing that they have through the skirts and the beguantes, and they had a great time.
the dresses signify that the women are humble these women work in the sugar cane clearing houses and they felt very tired and exhausted
at the end of the day and the skirts were used as a symbol of telling them "I am happy, I am well" and even if I am poor no one can put me down
in addition to the skirts and the hats, we have the mask, and we used the mask in representation of the African component
they come from different places. This is a begante that is made from valesa and is made out of a coconut
the sound of the drums became a language actually they were speaking from town to town with the drums
(Spanish) It's the bomba is also a challenge between the drum player and the dancers
It's also almost as if the dancer is asking the player to challenge him with the music and the speed of the sound
Clapping and dancing, music
Performance, music, drumming and clapping