In the streets of Montevideo, Uruguay, Afro-Uruguayans celebrate an often-ignored part of their history - Candombe and resistance. For more than 200 years Afro descendants have maintained the tradition of Candombe, a rhythm that travelled from Africa to Uruguay with African slaves. The music carries centuries of resistance and liberation. The word Candombe literally means place and dance of Africans. The musical tradition evolved during the colonial area. Africans brought to Uruguay for slave labour used the rhythm of the tambores, or drums, to communicate with each other and defy colonialists. Upper class whites tried to ban Candombe gatherings in the 19th century. One of the earliest historical documents tracing Candombe music is an 1808 police record, when citizens of Montevideo requested that these dances be severely repressed and completely prohibited. Afro descendants took their music underground, to defy the oppressive conditions of slavery. The dance and music are filled with symbols of African descendants painful past. The troupes the perform the Llamadas are called comparsas, and are made up of cuerdas (drummers) and dancers. The drummers walk very slowly, barely separating their feet as they walk. This rhythm and style of procession is meant to symbolize Afro-descendants past and historical roots when their ancestors were made to walk with chains and shackles. Candombe is not only a question of skin colour, its a way of thinking and being, says Diego Bonga Martinez from the Afro-cultural movement in Buenos Aires. In Buenos Aires, the Llamadas have been continually repressed by police and government officials. Martinez adds, Candombe is a cultural weapon we have used to defend ourselves with, for our culture to live on. From the size and sound of the growing number of comparsas participating in the Llamadas in Montevideo, this tradition will be passed on for generations to come.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 17:08:05 +0000