Bomba is genre of music performed by drummers, dancers, and singers. It developed in Puerto Rican coastal towns among enslaved Africans in the 17th century. Since its origins, bomba has seen waves of public popularity. At times, however, it has fallen far from the eyes and ears of the mainstream, marginalized and even nearly lost. Thanks to the efforts of various local and diasporic communities, it has experienced a revival, and is a very popular form of Puerto Rican cultural expression today. Whereas Lesson 6 of this Learning Pathway focused on bomba within the context of community celebrations (fiestas), Lesson 7 explores bomba as “spectacle” (staged performances). Students will have ample opportunities to make music ("in the style of" bomba), while grappling with complex ideas related to identity, authenticity, and commercialization.

Lesson Components & Learning Objectives

1. Bomba as Spectacle: Introduction

   • Identify important musical and cultural characteristics of bomba as “spectacle” (staged performance).
   • Perform rhythms associated with the bomba tradition.
   • After ample opportunities to listen to a recording, create and perform a class arrangement of the song “Siré y Siré”.
   • 30+ minutes

2. Bomba as an Expression of Identity

   • Explain how bomba contributes to the construction of personal, collective, diasporic, and global identity.
   • Define “authenticity” and explain the connection between this (complex) idea and bomba.
   • Explain how bomba has been preserved and promoted, in Puerto Rio and in the diaspora.
   • 30+ minutes

3. Bomba: Technologies of Transmission

   • Explain how technologies of transmission have affected bomba music.
   • Explain how the commercialization of bomba music has changed it and why these changes can be viewed as positive or negative, depending on who you ask.
   • 30+ minutes