It is a genre of music and style of dance from Uruguay that originated with descendants of liberated African slaves.
The word candombe derives from a Kikongo word that means "pertaining to blacks." The term originated in Buenos Aires to describe dancing societies formed by African diaspora members and their descendants. Eventually, it was adopted in Uruguay as well, where it became a term for the dance style in general. The Uruguayan candombe combined a variety of African dances into a complex choreography. Dynamic movements and improvised steps make up the steps.
In the Sur, Palermo, and Cordón districts of southern Montevideo, Uruguay, where most of the people are of African descent, candombe drums or llamadas de tambores de candombe ring every Sunday and many holidays, enlivening the area. Before beginning their marches, people gather around communal fires to tune their drums and socialize before starting the candombe. Upon completion of the drum-call parade, the most prestigious participants from families that have been drumming for generations lead it; other drummers follow behind them in rows, and spectators, dancers, and informal participants watch from balconies. In addition, the beat of the piano, the largest and most intense drum, is distinctive to each of the three neighborhoods, so that the candombe's call and response structure unite and signal each district's unique identity.
Full Candombe groups are collectively called Comparsa Lubola or Candombera, with a blackened white background or blackened black background. The cuerda, is a group of female dancers known as mulatas, and several stock characters that each have their own dance. This music, transmitted by African families, is regarded as a celebration of resistance as well as a collective social practice and a part of the daily life of these neighborhoods. The candombe also symbolizes and manifests the memory of the community and draws former residents back to its roots on special days.
It was not until the late 1960s and early 1970s that candombe was mixed with elements from 60s pop music and bossa nova to form the new genre known as candombe beat. It was widely believed that this genre originated with Eduardo Mateo, along with other musicians such as Jorge Galemire. Currently, musicians such as Diego Janssen experiment with mixing candombe with jazz, blues, and milonga. As of today, Candombe is regularly performed in the streets of old Montevideo's south neighborhood during Uruguay's Carnival in January and February, as well as in the rest of the country.
References
(https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/candombe-and-its-socio-cultural-space-a-community-practice-00182) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candombe#Uruguayan_Candombe_performance) |Subject=Art, dance, Music |Country=Uruguay |SDG=(11) Sustainable Cities and Communities }}