Children & Youth Bomba y Plena Workshop

Mondays, 4pm-5pm PST | January 23 – December 18, 2023
In person at La Peña Cultural Center

Students will learn dance, songs, drum rhythms, and history. For those interested in staying healthy, connecting with the community or learning a rich musical tradition, Bomba is for you.

Bomba reflects the powerful forces that shaped Puerto Rico’s history, emerging from the African experience on the island before the 1700’s. Bomba music and dance originated in the sugar cane plantations and was played, danced and sung as a means to express daily hardships, cope with oppression, and escape captivity. Bomba is the oldest living musical tradition of Puerto Rico. The Bomba ensemble consists of “barriles” or barrel drums with goat skins, a “maraca” played by the lead singer, and a pair of “cuas”, or sticks traditionally played on the wooden body of the drum. Inspired and guided by songs and the drum rhythms, dancers improvise their movements in a dynamic communication with the “primo” or lead drum.

This class is open to all levels and drop-ins are welcome. Instruction is geared to different levels and skills from beginner to more advanced.

To register, contact bombaaguacero@gmail.com