Rhumba and Rumba

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Rhumba and Rumba

Rhumba and rumba are two very different though similar stylistically and in name. Rumba has become a large pat of national identity and its African roots are easily noticed through both its sound and dance. Rumba is closely linked to the past and present condition of the Cubans who celebrate it and it has always closely mirrored the life of the Afro-Cuban and like the Afro-Cuban held a strong tie to Africa. Rumba as described by Yvonne Daniel is an event that originated in the mid 1800's where free and enslaved blacks gathered to dance and socialize and at these Rumbas where rumba, the dance and music, was first practiced. Rumba can also be considered to be the name of a dance, a rhythm, and a group of related dances, together called the rumba complex, which evolved in the nineteenth century (Daniel 18). The rumba is a set of rhythms and their associated dances, with three main divisions: the yambú, the guaguancó, and the columbia. According to some Kongo Elders, the modern rumba grew out of older rhythms that had been played on the yuka drums, with which there are some stylistic carry-overs: the rumba stick part is also called guagua; the wrist rattles worn by yuka drummers also appear in some forms of rumba; and the rumba song leader and chorus are called gallo and vasallo, respectively.
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Rhumba is a ballroom dance that originated out of the Cuban rumba style. Its music and dance is related to the Cuban rumba though it is importantly and decidedly different in several key aspects. In the first part of the 1900's, before the Cuban Revolution, Cuba was one of the hottest vacation spots in the world. Political corruption made mafia casino development a profitable avenue in Cuba, where American tourists could drink and do drugs without the consequences these actions incurred in the USA. Prostitution, alcohol, and drugs were very much a part of the Cuban economy and ...

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