Bomba as Community-Building
Bomba
1) an Afro-Boricua cultural practice that incorporates call-and-response drumming, dancing, and singing
2) the oldest African-derived music of Borikén, criminalized throughout much of the archipelago’s history
3) our resistance to psychic, cultural, and territorial colonization
New Jersey Monthly Batey
Batey
1) the communal meeting space;
2) where bomba is played
Since 2021, I have co-organized monthly bateys de bomba with a talented and driven collective of New Jersey-based bomberos. In contrast to staged performances, these bateys have been organic, fluid spaces of community, cultural education, mentorship, storytelling, and healing. As a student and practitioner of bomba, this is perhaps one of my most important endeavors: learning from my elders, growing alongside my peers, and teaching our youth how to create and maintain our cultural communal spaces.
Segunda Quimbamba
From 2010 to 2017, I had distanced myself from my Boricua culture and family on the island. I let myself assimilate more and more to the United States mainstream, and I lost my grounding in what it means to be Puerto Rican. Then Hurricane Maria hit the archipelago. With the prospect of losing Borikén, I was desperate to reconnect to the homeland of my maternal ancestors. It was precisely that yearning that brought me to Segunda Quimbamba Folkloric Center in Jersey City.
Segunda Quimbamba directors Juan Cartagena and Nanette Hernández were my first maestros de bomba. Through their inspiring, devoted, and caring teaching style, I learned not only how to play, dance, and sing bomba, but also how to represent my culture with poise and pride, how to advocate for artistic representation of diasporic experiences, and how to create, sustain, and nurture communities that feel more like family than anything else. Although I have been an official member of Segunda Quimbamba since 2018, I will forever remain their humble and grateful student.
BombaYo
Technically speaking, the first time I saw live bomba was in 2011 at Hunter College with the group BombaYo, founded by Jose Ortíz (AKA Dr. Drum) and Melinda González. As an arrogant conga-playing 19-year old, I thought I could walk up to any skinned drum and become Giovanni Hidalgo. However, Dr. Drum put firm yet wise boundaries. “Can I try the drum?” I asked, pointing at the barril. “You can’t touch the drum until you first learn how to dance,” he responded. Annoyed and refusing to dance, I took a seat by the side, watched the rest of the workshop, and forgot about bomba for years to come.
Fate would have it that we would meet again in 2019 in Puerto Rico as part of an event called Encuentro de Tambores. Upon returning to the East Coast, I decided to study not only with Segunda Quimbamba, but also with BombaYo. Dr. Drum’s unapologetically anti-colonial, political teaching style was invaluable to my growth as a bombero. Emphasizing batey fundamentals, the history of bomba, and ethical and moral integrity, Dr. Drum makes sure that all of his students can proudly and responsibly embody and transmit the bomba that our African ancestors gave their lives to defend. He taught me that bomba isn’t simply a genre of music; it is one of our most powerful tools for us to liberate our minds and Borikén herself from ongoing colonialism.
Today, I am honored to say that Dr. Drum, Melinda, and founding member Wilson Lantigua are among my maestros de bomba. On stage, in workshops, and in batey, I continue learning beside them, one dance step at a time.