• Submitted by: admin
• Arts and Culture
• Caribbean
• culture an traditions
• history
• national
• Santiago de Cuba
• Society
• 07 / 25 / 2008

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The Carnival is perhaps its most outstanding cultural event, different from other similar events island wide, due to the Conga (female of Congo )peculiar to Santiago

Born over a century ago in the Santiago de Cuba neighborhood of Los Hoyos, the Conga closes the July Carnival every year, when the high temperatures make you move to the catchy rhythm of the chan-chan music, always with a cold beer or a bottle of rum in hand.

In Cuba , there are several musical groups playing Conga, a beguiling rhythm whose main instruments are the drums and brass. But, Cuban and foreign musicologists alike agree that the Conga of Los Hoyos is already a tradition.

The Los Hoyos --one of the oldest, most popular neighborhoods in Santiago de Cuba- was mainly inhabited by blacks and people of mixed race. It later experienced the inflow of French-Haitian immigrants.

Although the instruments used by Conga groups in Santiago de Cuba and in other Cuban provinces are very similar, the Conga of Los Hoyos has a unique, unmistakable rhythm.

The musical group was founded in Los Hoyos in 1900 with the name El Cocoyé. The rhythm, with its deep African roots, is currently played with typical instruments, including three congas (drums), the re-quinto and membranophone drums. Besides the percussion instruments, we find bells and the Chinese cornet, the only wind instrument used to play conga music.

The sound of the Chinese cornet is the first you hear, inviting you to enjoy yourself. It was first included as an instrument to play Conga music in 1916. Original instruments included congas, cylindrical bocu, cencerro or hand bell and guiro.

With the passage of time, two large circular conga drums were added and the cencerro and the guiro were substituted by the bells.

Every night and weekend there are street celebrations in the Los Hoyos neighborhood, although the group´s rehearsal venue is on Martí and Moncada Streets. Rehearsals attract hundreds of people, who end up moving to the captivating rhythm.

"Hasta Santiago a pie" (To Santiago on foot) from Havana , is one of the most popular congas, meaning that people usually can dance along many kilometres, moving to the conga rhythm.

Made up of 30 musicians, during Carnivals the band supports the comparsa dance groups in the Los Hoyos neighborhood.

Considered to be unique, the conga music played in the Los Hoyos neighborhood, has represented Cuba at folk events in many countries around the world including French Guyana, Mexico , the Dominican Republic and France .

That is why, if you ever go to Santiago de Cuba and hear some one say: “Make way, the Cocoyé group is coming”, then put on some comfortable shoes or better a pair of wooden sandals (called cutara in Santiago de Cuba), get a hand towel and put it around your head or on your shoulders (to wipe the sweat off and protect yourself against the heat) and prepare yourself to becoming a better happier human being, just by dancing to the catchy conga rhythm.

(Cubarte)