Catalan rumba
music genre and type of dance
The Catalan rumba (Catalan: rumba catalana, IPA: [ˈrumbə kətəˈlanə]) is a genre of music that developed in Barcelona's Romani community beginning in the 1950s and 1960s. Its rhythms are derived from the Andalusian flamenco rumba, with influences from Cuban music and rock and roll.
The Catalan rumba originated in the Romani communities in the Gràcia, carrer (street) de la Cera del Raval and Hostafrancs neighborhoods. The Romani community in those neighborhoods is long-established and bilingual in Catalan and were influenced by the heavy Andalusian immigration to Barcelona during this period.
The genre is based in a fusion of Catalan-Andalusian flamenco singing and the Afro-Cuban claves. It is in 44 time, and consists of vocalists and handclaps, accompanied by guitar, bongos, and güiro; later groups also incorporate timbales, conga drums, small percussion instruments, piano, wind instruments, electric bass, and electric keyboard.
Among the most important early artists in the genre were Antonio González "El Pescaílla", Peret, Josep Maria Valentí "El Chacho", followed by the duo Los Amaya. In the 1970s, Gato Pérez rejuvenated the Catalan rumba.
An important medium for diffusion of this genre were cheap cassette tapes sold at gas stations.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the Gipsy Kings and Los Manolos brought their spirit to Catalan rumba.
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This entry incorporates text from “Catalan rumba” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.