conga history: extra stuff

Cuban musicologist Odilio Urfé attributes the conga and its bass drum pattern to Matanzas, but provides little evidence. ( in in fraginals, 232, origin is matanzas.

With the creation of the two competing columbia and pilon grooves, the stage was set for fierce competition over the next twenty-five years.

Based on discussions with musicians and review of available recordings, I contend that, with the exception of the supplemental bokus, the conga groove has not changed much since the 1960s.
Tamboras
Angel Luis Vera Ferrer, better known as "Bebo Isaac" is one of the few living musicians who performed alongside Pililí. Born in 194x, he began playing with Pililí in Los Hoyos and Los Tambores de Enrique Bonne in the early 1960s. Vera occasionally played with two mallets, an uncommon practice he learned from Pililí. A transcription of a 2023 demonstration appears in example xx.

An analysis of tambora variations below will show how drummers balance offbeat and onbeat accents to reinforce and invigorate the groove.

Paso Franco

Paso Franco is known for its relatively slow tempo, between 140 and 150 beats per minute. This conga incorporates a unique pattern called el zapatón which is played on the lowest bokú. Like the patterns in example x, this ostinato resembles the Afro-Brazilian rhythm Maculelé, perhaps indicating a common Congo/Central African influence.

At the rehearsal I attended, I observed one of the tambora players use a “one stroke basic” pattern when not improvising. I have seen this pattern used in other conga ensembles as well.