The Congas

Thomas Altmann, 2004

The congas (conga drums) have gotten their name from the kind of music for which they had been constructed for the first time: in the Ritmo Conga (Conga rhythm), which is still performed in the comparsas, the street parades. Another name for the conga(-drum) is "tumbadora" (or "tumba"). The tumbadora plays the tumbao. The common (commercial) names, tumba - conga - quinto, are misleading. A quinto describes merely a musical function of a slim, high-pitched conga, precisely the improvising part in both Rumba und Conga(-rhythm).

The congas are derived from the single-headed hand drums of the Congo (Bantú), above all the tambores makuta. Congas are constructed like a barrel. Their skins were tacked to the drum outside underneath the edge before the Fifties, when finally the tensioning system with screws, hoops and crown was invented.

In the comparsa, as well as in Rumba and early Son Montuno of the conjuntos, only a single tumbadora is played by one drummer. Congeros like Candido Camero oder Patato Valdéz introduced the double (and triple) conga set. Today, conga sets of 4 to 5 Congas are not uncommon.

Playing congas is a pretty physical affair. The drummer who wants to survive, let's say, a Salsa dance party of several hours without injuries and still play accurately in the encore, is well advised to learn the proper technique. Thanks to Changuito and Giovanni Hidalgo, modern Cuban conga technique with its "floating hand" (pescadito) and its economical, short-way motions has evolved tremendously from the days of Tata Güínes to Richie Flores and other amazing players.

The photo on this page is taken from the Gon Bops catalog from 1976. The company has been taken over by DW (Drum Workshop). The production of the above depicted model was discontinued.