Bomba De Loiza

Hermanos Ayala | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 25, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Lightyear
• ASIN: B000067IQB
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #203,786 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In response to marco7peace, November 18, 2003

By 

"loiceno" (Jersey City, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bomba De Loiza (Audio CD)

First of all, Loiza is no longer an "aldea". That is a village. Loiza has been a municipality of Puerto Rico for the past 250+ years. It is called "aldea" by unsuspecting Puerto Ricans due to it's high population of African decendants. In Loiza, the term "aldea" as used in the name of our town, is seen as derogatory as in saying the decendants of Africans are only capable of establishing villages (aldea in Spanish).
Also, Loiza is to the EAST of San Juan, not the west. Bomba did not come from Ghana, the Ivory Coast, or the Akan people- the vast majority of the slaves brought to Puerto Rico were from Nigeria of the Yoruba tribe. Yoruba was also the name of their religion, and is the source of Santeria, Vudun (better known as voodoo), the original religion of Yoruba, and many other words used in Puerto Rican vernacular.
Lastly, bomba was neither played, danced, or used by slaves as a means of communication, and it was not forbidden by slavemasters- Different forms of bomba originated in Loiza, Ponce, and Guayama (with several variations in other towns)- the towns with the highest populations of African descendants- by freed and escaped slaves. The town of Loiza itself was founded by freed and escaped slaves. The Spanish sent most of the freed African slaves to the weakly protected North East coast of Puerto Rico in hopes that they would provide some protection from possible invaders. Today, bomba has survived in Loiza- La Capital de la Tradicion- along with other customs such as vejigantes, fishing, cooking "en el bureng" (a Taino pan/oven), and climbing coconut trees due to our isolation as the town with the highest percentage of African descendants (the Africans also learned and mixed with the Tainos- that is why we have also preserved many of their cooking styles). Los Hermanos Ayala- sons of the legendary bomba musician and mask maker Castor Ayala- are one of the families that have helped preserve this heritage, along with their cousins- the Cepedas- with which they compete to be the best musicians and mask makers.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bomba de Loiza--Hermanos Ayala, July 8, 2006

By 

Cynthia L. Mellon "Bombera" (Newark, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bomba De Loiza (Audio CD)

For those that don't know, Bomba is a Puerto Rican music and dance form with it's roots in Africa. It is characterized by specific rhythms played by three barrel-shaped drums called "barriles" and backed up by a piece of wood struck with drum sticks (the "cua") and a marraca. What makes the dance so special is the fact that the solo dancer, which can be male or female, interacts with the lead drum and actually controls the drum with his or her movements. While obviously, you can't see the dance in an audio performance, if you listen carefully to this recording you can hear the solos and imagine what the dancer is doing.

Loiza is a town in Puerto Rico that is treasured and respected for its preservation of the African folk arts. Before a highway and a bridge made it relatively easy to get to, Loiza was geographically isolated, there was limited influence from other cultures and art forms dating back to the time of slavery were nurtured and developed, making Loiza a cultural reference point for all of Puerto Rico.

While Bomba is danced in several parts of Puerto Rico, the Bomba of Loiza is distinct. It is characterized by a very fast and dynamic pace, with some movements that are not found in other places.

The Ayala family is widely recognized as the lead group in presenting the Bomba of the Loiza...hence the cd's title. The liner notes, which are in Spanish, explain that the Ayala family became a professional performing group 40 years ago. This cd is the real thing, produced for a discerning and knowledgeable audience. Do not expect to hear salsa or any form of commercial Latin music. This is a high energy, fast-paced performance from start to finish, with a good selection of classic Bomba songs.

This is a "must have" for serious collectors of Bomba music. It's a wonderful recording. Que viva la Bomba!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This compilation is SMOKING!, June 28, 2005

By 

DAVID E MIRO (San Juan, Puerto Rico) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bomba De Loiza (Audio CD)

This bomba compilation is the real thing... fast-paced, extremely rich in the drum section, quite solid in the chorus response. Should anyone need a primer on Afro-Puerto Rican music, this may be the place to start. Another alternative would be any production by another Loiza native, William Cepeda (who played trombone with Dizzy Gillespie, among others), or Raices, a CD/DVD documentary produced by Puerto Rico's Banco Popular