Customer Reviews

Bomba De Loiza

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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.

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!

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

By my good friend, Samuel Lind. This music takes me back to when I was in High School at La Escuela Superior Carlos Escobar Lopez, in Loiza. I remeber summer when I would go out and dance bomba all night and get drunk with my friends. Those were the days.

I try to return again and again to this record, just to try to understand it. Out of due respect. Unfortunately the feeling is the same. This bomba style of the Ayala has a default: Too many drums! It may look very nice live, but when you get too many drums in the studio, it sounds like cats and dogs. This last time I listened to the recording I found some jewels. Even though the rhythm is the same monotonous fast machine-gun shooting through the C.D., some of the melodies if turned into the Cangrejero style ( Bomba from Santurce)would sound much more appealing, because there are less drums, and more variation of rhythms
and the accent is where it should be: The primo drum playing the solo danced by the bombero/bombera.

Just listen to Yuba La malire by the Ayalas and turn to listen to the Cepedas do the same song and judge by yourselves.

As Bomba spreads through many states and even to Europe and as far as China!, guess which is the Bomba style that prevails?:

The Cangrejero style of Santurce, championed by the Cepedas.
Wonder Why?
The difference is that the Loiza style remained provintial in its pattern of rhythms. In the other hand , the Cepeda style of Santurce evolved in the cosmopolitan environment of San Juan. It was influenced by Flamenco forms and figures as well as other forms. It remained purely Bomba, but more international, more "hip", if I dare say...

An another best kept secret is the Bomba Balancé from Mayaguez.
Viento de Agua Unplugged, plays a nice example, "Siré, Siré".
It is worst buying the Viento de Agua Unplugged.

If you know your Bomba music, you know who Los Hermanos Ayalas are. This CD is full of Hermanos Ayalas's signature all time favorite bomba songs. The drumming is engaging and matchless. The group is tight; they got it together. The songs are enjoyable and will bring back good memories of la isla del encanto. Sound quality is A+++. This Cd is first-class.

This cd record the best known bomba groups of the Loíza tradition. The Folkloric Ballet of the Ayala Brothers had been maintaing and cultivating the bomba tradition for 50 years. This cd is an important piece in the collection of puertorican music, specially when with talk about the afro puertorican root.

Most of this Bomba is in the style of Seis Corrido, which is the traditional style of Bomba from Loiza, preserved over the centuries by the Ayala Family. (My grandma comes from that town and has that last name... I wonder if we're somehow related... ? Would be interesting..)

I was very impressed with this CD of traditional Puerto Rican music from Loiza Aldea. La Bomba de Loiza represents the African heritage of the Puerto Rican people that is not always mentioned, admitted, or known about by the general public or by its own people. La Bomba de Puerto Rico is indigenous to the island and is not an offshoot any other musical tradition of any other West Indian island. This CD features different styles of bomba such as Sica, Yuba, etc that are played throughout Puerto Rico. I wish the CD had a booklet that contained information about the history of bomba and its role in the society of Puerto Rico.

Based on what I know, Bomba is a type of music that was brought to Puerto Rico by the African slaves who worked on various types of plantations on the island. According to my former teacher, Jorge Arce of Boston and Puerto Rico, Bomba may have its roots in Ghana and the Ivory Coast among the Akan people because of the similarities of the drumming styles. The music is very strong in Loiza Aldea, a town in west of the capital city of San Juan. Bomba music was forbidden by slave masters in Puerto Rico because some slaves used it as a means of mocking their master through various body movements and gestures. Bomba was also used to organize slave rebellions on the island during the Spanish colonial period by using the drums to convey messages in the are. During July, a festival dedicated to Santiago (Saint James) is celebrated in Loiza Aldea where parades and bomba music is heard all over.

Many people in the United States dance and listen to la bomba. In Boston, El Festival Betances and the Puerto Rican Festival feature bomba dances performed by Sra. Ayala and her son Tito "Sixto" Ayala in July. Boston Public School students at Boston Latin Academy and Boston Latin School keep the tradition alive by featuring the music in the yearly Latino nights. I know this because I was the one who helped to organize it for four years while at Boston Latin Academy. And the tradition will be continued to be passed along to our children to keep it alive.

This CD is good addition to anyone interested in West Indian music in general. This CD will give the listener exposure to one of Puerto Rico's rich musical traditions, la bomba.