Chapter 4. The Model Groove

Introduction

This chapter presents an overview and musical analysis of the “modern” conga groove as it has been practiced since roughly 1940. As mentioned above, after the demise of La Conga del Tivoli in 1939, Los Hoyos’ “conga-pilón” groove became synonymous with conga santiaguera. With the essence of the groove defined, innovative players and ensembles have continued to add personal touches, but there have been no major changes to the essential texture. In Musical Example 4.1, I propose a “model groove” which has been adopted with slight modifications by all of Santiago's conga ensembles:

The following overview is based on Galis' text, his comments in interviews, recordings and video footage from 1950 to the present, and my own conversations with musicians who began performing between roughly 1960 and 1999. Due to the scarcity of older films and recordings, much of this discussion will focus on sources produced after 1980, with a great deal of material drawn from my own fieldwork. Rather than speculate on when specific patterns emerged, I summarize common practices for each component of the percussion section (bass drums, bells, and bokús) and the corneta china.

In the model groove, the pilón, requinto, “un y dos” bokús and bells work together to reiterate the main beat, the tresillo and the resulting hemiola figure [x..xx.x.], while the tamboras interpose their prominent contrapuntal “paan” accent. The additional interwoven bokús and quinto “spice up the soup” by adding syncopated layers.^[1]

Pilón and Requinto: A Sturdy Foundation

The pilón (sometimes called tambora pilón or tambora pilonera) is the largest and lowest-pitched bass drum in the ensemble. It takes its name from the pilón (mortar and pestle), a kitchen implement. The word tambora (and occasionally conga among older musicians from Los Hoyos) often refers to large bass drums in general; in the conga ensemble, the tambora “section” includes the pilón and the two thinner tamboras discussed below (galletas (“crackers”) or redoblantes; often called “tamboras”). The requinto is the smallest and highest pitched bass drum; it is not considered part of the tambora “family.”

The pilón and requinto work together to establish the groove's foundation, the simultaneous hemiola: the pilón plays on all four beats and the requinto plays the tresillo figure. The “modern” requinto pattern [o..x..x.], shown in Musical Examples 4.1 and 4.2, differs slightly from Galis' transcriptions [o..x..o.]. A subtle but important facet of the pilón/requinto combination is the interplay between bare hand slaps on the drums' bottom heads. While Lázaro Bandera described this as an important element of Los Hoyos’ sound, it is present in other ensembles. This interwoven slap combination, while only audible at close distances, enriches the groove with an additional melorhythmic layer; see Musical Example 4.2 and Video Example 4.1:

Bells (Campanas, Llantas or Brake Drums): Reinforcing the Foundation

The conga's bell ostinati have not changed much since these instruments were incorporated in the 1930s and 1940s. The high-pitched maní tostao bell plays a simultaneous hemiola pattern like the pilón/requinto combination, but with a brighter and more resonant timbre. This bell is the most essential of the three; it is usually the one played in small group settings. In Example 18, the two-beat “uno y dos” pattern is in the second staff, and the most common current version is in the third staff.^[2] This middle-pitched bell, the only one with a four-beat pattern, emphasizes Burns' “341” archetype. Accented strokes tend to sound lower in pitch than unaccented ones, and all strokes are allowed to fully resonate, with little if any muting. The lowest bell (un solo golpe [“just one hit,”] chan, or can) mostly plays straightforward variations which reinforce the main beat. Musical Example 4.3 and Video Example 4.2 show the most common current patterns:

Video Example 4.2. “Bell Demonstration.” Video by author.

Bokús: Balancing Reinforcement and Syncopation

The bokú (also known as fondo [background] or bombillo [light bulb, due to its shape]) is a conical hand drum like the common “conga drum” or tumbadora but ostensibly light enough to carry in a parade. According to Galis' research and my own conversations with musicians, the most essential and traditional bokú is the salidor (“starter”) or un y dos (“one and two”), which has not changed much since it was introduced in the early 20th century. In Galis' pre-1940 transcriptions, he refers to bloques (“blocks” or sections) of bokús playing in unison; these patterns are variations of the basic “straight” un y dos pattern still used today (see Musical Examples 2.4 and 2.5). Galis' first reference to a supplemental “interwoven” bokú is a pattern used around 1960 by Mariano “uiuí” Duharte (Musical Example 4.4). Like bokú 5 in Musical Example 4.5, this pattern creates a “sustained syncopation shift,” accenting the fourth subdivision of every beat (the “a's”).^[3]

Since at least 1980, conga ensembles have included between ten and twenty bokús; their relative tuning is not standardized (as in other Afro-Cuban styles such as guaguancó or bembé). The improvising quinto is always tuned highest, with the un y dos usually tuned slightly lower, and the other bokús tuned lower than that. The general tendency is to include a few overlapping variations of the un y dos pattern and several syncopated bokús whose slaps and tones interweave with the un y dos contingent to create a melorhythmic ostinato. As many conga musicians point out, this collective ostinato fills in the middle register of the ensemble, complementing the higher pitched resonant bells and lower pitched bass drums (Bandera Malet 28 April 2025, Bandera Bles quoted in Millet et al., 138). Lázaro points out the importance of the long-standing practice of using contratiempo (offbeat or syncopated) bokú patterns; without them, the groove would be “too flat” (28 April 2025).

The bokús and their patterns don’t always have names; the names and numbers assigned to the different drums are not standard in Santiago but help distinguish the different parts; this is roughly analogous to Opheim’s grouping of bokú patterns into “families” (48–50). Musical Example 4.5 and Video Example 4.3 present a partial bokú/fondo section from a 2016 demonstration by members of La Conga de Los Hoyos:^[4]

Video Example 4.3. “How to play Conga Santiaguera - El toque de Los Hoyos” (bokús at 9:00). Video by cineVillon.

While every performance is unique, this example provides a small-scale model of a full section; Lázaro notes that in an actual performance there would be more bokús in both the “un y dos” (bokús 1, 2 and 4 in this case) and “contratiempo” (bokús 3, 5 and 6) groups. Most of these patterns resemble versions I learned from directors of other conga ensembles: San Agustín, El Guayabito, Paso Franco and San Pedrito; each of these groups adds its own flavor to the interwoven texture.^[5]

In contemporary practice, the highest pitched bokú, the quinto, is usually the first drum to start playing (after the corneta china); after the rest of the ensemble enters, the quinto begins improvising.^[6] I will briefly address this instrument in Chapters 5 through 7.

The Tambora: Shaking the foundation

As mentioned above, La Conga de Los Hoyos began incorporating two tamboras (thin bass drums also known as redoblantes, galletas, or occasionally congas) which took turns playing variations in the late 1930s; these were soon incorporated by other ensembles. Typically, the player who is not improvising repeats one of several “basic patterns” shown in Musical Example 4.6. The names of the patterns refer to the number of stick strokes per cycle; bare hand slaps are sometimes replaced with open tones or less prominent timekeeping “taps.” These patterns all include the essential “paan” accent on 4a. The four-stroke version is a rotation of the Western Cuban bombo pattern, which is the same as the one used for conga-columbia (see Examples i and 2.1). The four and five stroke versions include strokes on 4 and 4a, outlining the displaced tresillo.

The model groove on Vinyl: the Panart Sessions

The first modern conga recording is a Panart 78 single made around 1950 by Conjunto Corneta China. Although studio recordings of conga are much more constrained and “staged” than street performances, they still give us an idea of the sound of the genre at a given time.

This record includes two tracks, “Conga en Oriente” and “Goza mi Conga.” The ensemble consists of singers, four or five percussionists, and a corneta china.  The percussion section includes the mani tostao timeline pattern (on a cowbell), pilón, tambora, bokú salidor and quinto; this choice represents a “distillation” of the conga groove and confirms the importance of the bokú salidor, maní tostao and tambora as essential to conveying the conga “feel” with a small group.^[7]

Conjunto Corneta China did not make any other recordings. It is very likely that this was a “pickup” group that included musicians from La Conga de Los Hoyos, who visited Havana in 1950 and rehearsed a few blocks away from the Panart studio (Millet et al., Barrio comparsa y carnaval Santiaguero [“Barrio”], 265). This visit was sponsored by José “Pepín” Bosch, a prominent carnival booster, Cuba's Finance Minister and president of the Bacardí Rum company. While there is no direct evidence to link the Panart recordings to Bosch, his influence may have helped make the sessions happen. The refrains on these recordings extol Santiago's carnival, inviting tourists to meterse en la conga (join the conga parade/party) at a time when businesses like Bacardí were actively promoting carnival. I further discuss the importance of this visit in Chapter 6.

The corneta china as guia: musical guide and lead singer

El chillar de la corneta es tan alegre que ella sola mueve.

[The corneta's cry is so joyful that it stirs up the crowd all by itself.]

– Algínes Carvajal^[8]

The conga santiaguera is much more than percussion: the strident corneta china constantly energizes the procession. As the guia (guide) or lead voice of the ensemble, it declares well-known melodies which the crowd then takes up in a communal chorus. The corneta china is a potent symbol of Santiago, conga and carnival.

Both Panart tracks (Video Example 4.4) follow the same form, starting with the corneta's llamada (call): a series of dramatic long tones accompanied by percussion rolls. After the groove is established, the corneta plays an improvised interlude which resolves with a “transitional phrase” (:23 on “Conga en Oriente” and 3:32 on “Goza Mi Conga”) like the one I will discuss below. After the singers establish refrains (:25 on "Conga;" 3:34 on “Goza"), the corneta responds with improvised passages. Unlike more recent (post-1980) recordings, the corneta does not state or allude to the refrain; it improvises much more freely, based on the song's implied chord progression; the same thing occurs in “Carnavales de Oriente” (see Chapter 2). After a piano solo (1:33 on “Conga”; 4:32 on “Goza”) and corneta interlude, the coro/corneta interchange returns before the songs end with a unison coro/corneta figure.

Video Example 4.4. “Conjunto Corneta China – Conga en Oriente – Goza Mi Conga.”
Uploaded by Rigoberto Andrade.

All the coros (refrains) on these tracks directly refer to Oriente, conga and carnaval but never mention Santiago; the genre listed on the records is Conga Oriental (Eastern Conga), a term more common in Havana than Santiago. All of this is consistent with the term Carnavales de Oriente, which was used to promote Santiago's carnival to tourists around this time.^[9]

The coros on “Goza Mi Conga” are probably adaptations of two famous conga refrains. The first coro, “Mamá que fue . . .” (3:34) is based on a frequently repurposed traditional melody; it first appeared as the “theme song” of Los Hoyos' 1921 comparsa, Los Estibadores (The Stevedores) (Galis Riverí 194).^[10] Later adaptations of this melody are shown in Musical Example 4.7:

The second coro, “Goza mi conga como es (Enjoy my conga as it is)” (5:08) is virtually identical to “Abre que ahí viene el Cocoyé,” Los Hoyos' most famous anthem. This refrain probably emerged with the 1947 Hijos del Cocoyé comparsa (see Musical Example 4.8 and Chapter 6). The practice of modifying lyrics for a given performance is common in conga and other Afro-Cuban genres; there are many examples of melodies whose lyrics have been modified by comparsas throughout Cuba.

We can speculate that both refrains on “Goza Mi Conga” were changed to appeal to a broad Cuban audience and promote Carnival; references to Ases del Ritmo or El Cocoyé may not have resonated outside of Santiago at that time.^[11] Also, the producers and musicians may have wished to hide any association with El Cocoyé or Los Hoyos to avoid drama and controversy. If the session musicians were members of Los Hoyos, they were probably recording without the knowledge of the group's leadership or its other players. None of the musicians that remember the 1950 visit to Havana in Barrio mention a recording session.

“Standard Form” emerges

At some point between 1960 and 1982, it seems that corneta china players and ensembles began to follow a fairly standard form which is mostly absent from earlier recordings.^[12] Studio and street recordings after 1982 mostly adhere to this form, but street performances include much longer and freer improvised interludes. A certain amount of chaos (musical and otherwise) is necessary for the conga procession to thrive: the hundreds of revelers are not always following a single corneta, and multiple soundscapes with their own refrains will emerge (see “Piquetes,” below). This form should be taken as a broad model. There are many performances which omit or add elements, and musicians in Santiago don't always have names for these elements. Figures 4.1 and 4.2 compare the the form on “Conga en Oriente” to this “standard form” as interpreted on “Ases del Ritmo en la Calle.”

Figure 4.1. Form and timestamps for “Conga en Oriente.”

Figure 4.2. “Standard Form” with timestamps for “Ases del Ritmo en la Calle.”

Introduction and Interlude:“Ases del Ritmo en la Calle,” Conga de Los Hoyos, c. 1982

A partial transcription of the studio recording “Ases del ritmo en la calle (Rhythm Aces in the Street)” is shown in Musical Example 4.9. “Ases” is one of the earliest recorded examples of an introduction (llamada, efectos and salida) and “main groove” (interlude, transitional phrase and corneta/coro exchange) that follow the standard form in Figure 4.2; it does not include the coda.

Video Example 4.5. “Ases del ritmo en la calle:” studio recording by La Conga de Los Hoyos, c. 1982.

Llamada and Efectos (0:00–0:12)

The opening llamada (call) in the first measure is also known known as tremolo, rezo carnavlesco or diana mambisa (rebel rallying cry/rebel reveille).^[13] The latter term evokes the soldiers (many of whom were Black Santiagueros) who fought in the Cuban wars of independence. This rousing call alerts the conga (both the ensemble and its entourage) to prepare to “invade” rival neighborhoods. The diana is usually embellished with arpeggios (“Ases” [:02–:06] and most of the players I took lessons with) or variations on the common transitional phrase shown in Musical Example 4.11; see “Oye Niña” (:10–:14) and “Paso franco al carnaval de Tivoli” (:02–04).

The corneta china then initiates two common call and response breaks or efectos. Measures two and three (:06–:09) resemble a phrase from “Tres Lindas Cubanas,” and measure four (:10) is the famous “shave and a haircut, two bits.” These breaks are sometimes omitted.

Salida (:12–:14)

The salida (measures five and six) is a short clave-oriented phrase which establishes tempo and cues in the quinto (bokú salidor or requinto in older practice), which is followed by the rest of the percussion. Many ensembles bring the percussion in gradually, building energy and tension before unleashing the full throttled groove. Musical Example 4.10 shows a few typical corneta salidas.

Interlude and Floreos (Riffs)

After the percussion comes in, the corneta plays an improvised interlude, usually building on a common vocabulary of floreos (flourishes, phrases or “licks”) (Musical Example 4.9, measures 7–18 [:15–:32]). While each player has a great deal of latitude to express themselves, most of these traditional phrases are within the pentatonic scale. In Musical Example 4.9, most of the phrases imply B minor or D major; measures 11–12 and 17–18 imply the dominant chord, A7.^[14] The phrase in measures 19 and 20 (:33–:36) serves as a transitional phrase; a more common transitional phrase is shown in Musical Example 4.11:^[15]The corneta then states a refrain to initiate the corneta/coro exchange at measure 21 (:38). After a brief interlude and transitional phrase (3:11–3:17; not transcribed), the corneta states a new refrain (“Mamá que fue. . .” transcribed in Musical Example 4.7).

The Corneta/Coro Exchange

This section is a dialogue between the corneta china, acting as a lead voice, and a chorus of musicians and revelers. While conga songs are constantly being revised and invented, there are several enduring refrains that all of Santiago's conga ensembles share. Many of these can be found on Carnaval en Santiago and the 1996 Egrem album Santiago, Calles y Congas; Opheim transcribes several refrains on pages 83–86 and notes that these refrains take on various structures. The most common form is AA, where the corneta and coro melodies are virtually identical; in many cases the corneta alludes to the song's melodic contour without duplicating it (see Musical Example 4.12 and Video Example 4.6).

Video Example 4.6. 1988 field recording of La Conga de Los Hoyos at 4:58. From the Arion album Cuba: Chants et rythmes afro-cubains; uploaded by World Field Recordings.

Another common structure is AB, where the “call” (A) differs from the response (B). One common example of the AB form is “Va llover (it's gonna rain),” an ubiquitous refrain which is interpreted by a few creative corneta players in Musical Example 4.13. This is just one brief example of ways that congueros (conga musicians) constantly innovate within the tradition.

The corneta/coro exhange usually continues until the corneta states a new refrain or plays an improvised interlude as described above. The interlude then concludes with a transitional phrase (as shown in Musical Example 4.11), followed by a new corneta/coro exchange.

Coda

The corneta china often cues the end of a conga performances by playing the “coda melody” shown in Musical Example 4.14 and Video Example 4.7 at 5:00. This melody is sometimes referred to as a cierre (closing). As with floreos and refrains, each player adds their own embellishments or substitutions but maintains the general contour. The ensemble follows this cue by ending with a unison figure such as rumba clave (measure 8). This melody was probably created by Neno Betancourt or Valentín Serrano as a cue for a transition to the “Abre Que ahí Viene El Cocoyé” coro (Beltrán Carvajal 3 March 2026; Solorzano Benítez 2 March 2026).

Video Example 4.7. “Corneta Jam for Neno, Part 2.” Coda melody at 5:00. Video by author.

Although the corneta/coro exchange is the most common and frequently recorded example of conga melody, lead singers play a vital role in enlivening the conga and its “little sister,” the comparsita (“little comparsa”, also known as conguita [“little conga”]) .

Piquetes (combos or factions): local soundscapes within the conga

As mentioned above, Santiago's comparsas have always been enlivened by the spontaneous creation of canticos (refrains) that irreverently comment on current events and everyday struggles. One of the prime vehicles for this form of expression is the piquete: an “autonomous” group or faction that sprouts up within a conga parade when a singer calls out a refrain that inspires the surrounding crowd to join in. The refrain might be a tried and true “classic” or, better yet, a poignant original commentary about life in Cuba. In a multi-block procession with thousands of people, the community's creativity creates multiple soundscapes. While most studio conga recordings are dominated by percussion, corneta china solos and corneta/chorus dialogues, street recordings do occasionally capture the piquetes.

El Poeta: Canto para no llorar (I sing instead of crying)

In February 2022, a piquete within a Conga de Los Hoyos procession, led by singer Rubestier Porte Carrión “El Poeta (The Poet)” (b. 1979), a resident of El Mejiquito, went viral with a critique of perennial scarcity in Cuba:

Video Example 4.8. “The Poet (Ya no me dan carne de res).” Video by William Sabourin O'Reilly.

(:05) Ya no me dan carne de res

 ni de primera ni segunda

 el café me lo dan ligao

El multipropósito perdió la junta...

(:58) Ya no existen los reyes magos

desaparecieron los juguetes

Los niños están embarcaos

A los siete años les quitan la leche

(:05) [They don't give me beef anymore  

not prime, not scraps

The coffee is bad

The slow cooker lost its rubber seal...

(:58) No more Three Wise Men

No more toys

The children are screwed

At the age of seven they take away their milk]”

This clip was an outtake of William Sabourin's film Lázaro and the Shark. Although it was shot in during the 2012 Invasion, the clip was interpreted in the context of the island's post-covid economic crisis and the mass protests of July 11, 2021. Rubestier was detained for several hours and prohibited from singing in parades because of sardonic verses like these. More than a century after Santiago's defiant comparsas helped ignite Cuba's wars of independence, El poeta and others like him vent their discontent in the conga procession.

In "Made in the Shade," Walfrido Valerino recalls the creative competition between piquetes and its role in nurturing quality.

The Comparsita: a hyperlocal mini-conga

during carnival, friends and family would go to a kiosk, to drink and eat; they’d fill the table with beer and soon enough, you'd have another conguita.

(Bertha Armiñan Linares, interview, 18 December 2023)

Comparsitas were a type of miniature conga that arose spontaneously in verbenas (informal family-centered carnival block parties) during the mid-20th century. Master singer and folklorist Bertha Armiñan Linares (b. 1943) is one of the few living proponents of this genre. In this interview, she nostalgically recalls participating in her family's comparsitas as a young woman:

Video Example 4.9. “Berta Armiñan Linares speaks about and demonstrates comparsita.” Video by author.

As Bertha mentions, there is a great deal of overlap between the comparsita and conga song repertoires. The typical format she describes includes a bell, un y dos bokú, lead singer and chorus (see Musical Example 4.15).

An expanded comparsita is spliced in with a full conga ensemble in Rogelio Paris’ 1964 film Nosotros, La Musica. About sixty years later, Bertha recalled recording this comparsita for Paris on the street with fellow members of Conjunto Folklórico de Oriente (“CFO”):

Video Example 4.10. “La Comparsita de Enramadas / The Crew from Enramadas.” Video by author.

Conclusion

While this chapter proposes a broad outline, conga performances are spontaneous and often depart from this model. Some street recordings include long periods of “free blowing” where corneta and percussion improvise without playing any songs; this is partially due to the limitations of microphones which fail to capture piquetes and other “pop up” melodies. Because of this, I am quite cautious to assert that the “standard form” emerged in a specific period; I can only note that it was first recorded around 1982.

1. The soup analogy paraphrases Raúl López Martínez, director of Conga San Agustín.

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2. As is the case with this type of detail, it is impossible to know if the two-beat pattern, which is still in use, is truly “older” than the four-beat pattern, and when the latter eclipsed the former.

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3. The term “syncopation shift” was coined by David Temperley in “Meter and Grouping in African Music: A View from Music Theory.” Ethnomusicology, vol. 44, no. 1, 2000, p. 65.

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4. In the video, Lázaro uses the term “fondo,” not bokú.

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5. For more extensive bokú transcriptions, see Oppenheim 110-138.

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6. The first recording to include the corneta/quinto introduction is Carnival En Santiago, Siboney LD 212, c. 1982. A Hermanos Bravo recording from the early 1960s, “Bonche,” starts out with the quinto but lacks a corneta china (RCA Victor 45-1129).

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7. I confirmed these three instruments' importance in conversations with Lázaro Bandera, Andres Cobás, and Richard “Kiki” Ferrera, three very experienced conga musicians.

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8. quoted in Barrio, p. 251. He was Luis Beltran Carvajal's uncle; see Chapter 6.

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9. “Carnavales de Oriente” was the municipal government's official name for the event between 1945 and 1947; the term also appears in numerous advertisements and press accounts between roughly 1930 and 1960. See Pichel and García, Carnavales de Santiago de Cuba (1948-1956): La Gran Semana Santiaguera and Sarmiento-Ramírez and Cruz-Guibert, “El carnaval y la historia política de Santiago de Cuba.”

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10. Los Estibadores was La Conga de Los Hoyos' comparsa title that year; see Chapter 2, footnote 4.

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11. On the other hand, the term “Cocoyé” was probably well-known in Havana at the time of this recording; see Chapter 6.

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12. Around 1961, the French Chant du Monde label made brief field recordings during Santiago's carnival season. These four tracks mostly consist of corneta china and percussion improvisation. There are very few audible coros and the corneta solos lack the common floreos (licks) of later recordings. Only one track, “El Macuquillo Oriental” has a distinct beginning and ending.

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13. The term rezo carnavalesco “carnival invocation” is used in Guantanamo (Opheim 12).

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14. “Ases” is played and transcribed in the key of D; most corneta china melodies have their tonal center somewhere between C and D, often close to C#. The pitches in my transcriptions are approximate; for a more detailed discussion of intonation, see Perez Fernandez 2014.

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15. This phrase does not have a standard name, but several corneta players agreed that it usually concludes an improvised passage. When two or more cornetas are present, this phrase can serve as a cue for the other corneta player to start (Cobas Marten 23 April 2025, Solorzano Benítez 20 March 2026). ↑