Bomba is a traditional Afro-Puerto Rican dance. The dance style emerged from the enslaved West Africans who were brought to work on the island’s sugar plantations.
Music is characterized by percussion, namely barriles de bomba (bomba barrels), the cuá (bamboo stick drum) and maracas, with a call-and-response style between musicians and dancers.
Men and women both participate, but men traditionally wore white, while women danced with large flowing skirts in delicate movements.
Bomba today is characterized by men moving in strong, jerking steps, and women swirling their skirts in a powerful, vigorous manner.
“Bomba is an Essential Expression of Puerto Rican Culture,” Discover Puerto Rico, 2022, https://www.discoverpuertorico.com/article/bomba-is-essential-expression-puerto-rican-culture. Accessed Nov. 22, 2022.
Colón-León, Vimari, “Bomba: The Sound of Puerto Rico’s African Heritage,” National Association of Music Education, 2021, Mar. 30, 2021, https://nafme.org/bomba-the-sound-of-puerto-ricos-african-heritage/
“Puerto Rican Bomba and Plena: Shared Traditions - Distinct Rhythms,” Folkways, 2022. https://folkways.si.edu/puerto-rican-bomba-plena-shared-traditions-distinct-rhythms/latin-world/music/article/Smithsonian. Accessed Nov. 22, 2022.