Bomba or Bomba del Chota is an Afro-Ecuadorian musical form from the Chota Valley area of Ecuador in the province of Imbabura and Carchi. Its origins can be traced back to Africa via the middle passage and the use of African slave labor during the country's colonial period. Africans brought to labor as slaves in Ecuador brought with them this music form heavily influenced from the Bantu cultures of the Congo. The people dance in pairs to the drums and use improvisation to build relationships between the dancer and lead drummer.
This music tends to have a prominent Spanish, mestizo and indigenous influence in the melodies. It could go from a mid tempo to a very fast rhythm. It is usually played with guitars along with the main local instrument which is also called bomba which is a drum along with a guiro and sometimes bombos and bongos. A variation of it is la banda mocha which are groups that play bomba with a bombo, guiro and plant leafs to give melody.
Recently it is enjoying some national exposure but outside of the Chota Valley it is mostly popular in cities such as Quito and Ibarra which have important concentrations of afro-chotan people. In these cities sometimes it is played in discothèques and has some public performances as well as popularity among mestizo and indigenous people.
The word bomba is most likely of Bantu origin.
Chota Madre
Chota Madre is a New York City-based band who have been recognized as the first group of musicians to play the musical style "bomba" outside of Ecuador. The band initiated in 2010, beginning with three members, Chris Teran, Chris Rungoo, and Jose Juan Paredes. The band has achieved worldwide acclaim by interpreting classic bomba songs and fusing the musical rhythm with other popular and traditional musical genres. Band members consist of musicians from all over Ecuador, as well as other Latin American countries.
The primary mission of Chota Madre is to educate and offer the traditional musical form to the masses. The band has recently gained popularity with their recent covers of "Aicha" and "Pasito Tun Tun". The band has continued to gain popularity for reviving the traditional music form that has been in decline over recent years through Youtube, Facebook, and live performances through out the United States. The band's tendentious name is said to be in homage of the Chota valley, where the musical form is most prominent.
List of Bomba Musicians