3255 Blacks, Candombe, tango
Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 14:57:14 +0000
From: Sergio Vandekier <sergiovandekier990@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Blacks, Candombe, tango
As you know most of the ballroom dances originated in the American Continent
due to an interaction between African and European cultures.
I am sure that a lot can be said about this subject and that other people
could have a different opinion to mine. The purpose of this note is to touch
on a subject that has not been previouslly discussed from this perspective.
I invite everyone to give his opinion but I do no wish to start a heated
confrontation.
Candombe is considered to be one of the ingredients of Argentine Tango;
milonga, habanera, tanguillo being the others.
Candombes took place every Sunday and during holidays such as Christmas, New
Year, and very specially on January 6th. , the Epiphany (Dia de Reyes) the
day of the Three Wise Men.
One of those Kings, Balthazar, was black. He was specially honored by
Africansalong with San Benito, another black saint.
The candombe had "Authorities": The King and Queen, The Judge(which doctor)
or master of ceremony also called "Bastonero", and the Minister who directed
some protocol as frequently the celebration involved a catholic mass and a
visit to religious and civilian authorities.
The bishop and the governor and ministers received or visited black
representatives to inquire about their problems and give donations of small
amount of money as well as promisses of solving such problems.
Most Candombes started at 3pm. . It took place in the street in front of the
building of the Black African nation . Congos and Angolas were the most
numerous.
The Bastonero had a stick sign of his authority which was used to direct the
candombe.
He would raise the stick demanding attention and silence. Then he would
throw it in the air receiving it back and doing all sort of malabar
movements with it. This indicated the dancers to form two lines one of women
the other of men, facing each other .
The music would start its Tan-Tan with drums and other instruments.
All of a sudden the bastonero would grab the stick and lower it starting the
singing "oje, oje, jumbal" to which people in the lines answered " oje-je-
jum-ban-be" as they sang they would start moving toward each other for the
"ombligada" they would dance slowly dragging their feet till they were in
front of each other, at this moment they would send the abdomen forward to
touch navel to navel, and the upper body back. This was followed by a slow
dancing back. This was repeated several times for about 30 minutes. A
variation could be the same rhythmic dance and singing done in a round
formed by men alternating with women.
At certain moment the bastonero will indicate to break the lines or round
and to start the free dancing with all sort of body contortions . This
lasted till the dancers fell exhausted.
This dance had no embrace or body contact other than the "ombligada".
White boys attending the candombes would immitate for fun the fancy
movements of the blacks adding the closed embrace and other choreographic
moves taken from habaneras and milongas that slowly created our tango.
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 17:17:42 -0700
From: Bruno <romerob@TELUSPLANET.NET>
Subject: Blacks, Candombe, Tango
It looks that the Candombe was performed in Buenos Aires well up to the mid
1970’s. According to Alejandro Frigerio in his research paper “El candombe
argentino: crónica de una muerte anunciada (The Argentine Candombe:
chronicles of an announced death), 1993”. He based his reports on verbal
accounts offered by contemporary afro-argentines, who performed it in the
mid 70’s at the carnivals of the Shimmy Club, the last black organization in
Buenos Aires, which was dissolved in 1980.
I think the Candombe does not merit to be discussed as something from the
past anymore.
Best regards,
Bruno
