The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles . Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba , and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba . Since the early 20th century the term has been used in different countries to refer to distinct styles of music and dance, most of which are only tangentially related to the original Cuban rumba, if at all. The vague etymological origin of the term rumba , as well as its interchangeable use with guaracha in settings such as bufo theatre , is largely responsible for such worldwide polysemy of the term. In addition, "rumba" was the primary marketing term for Cuban music in North America, as well as West and Central Africa, during much of the 20th century, before the rise of mambo , pachanga and salsa .
24-423: "Rumba" entered the English lexicon in the early 20th century, at least as early as 1919, and by 1935 it was used a verb to denote the ballroom dance . In this sense, the anglicised spelling "rhumba" became prevalent and is now recommended to distinguish it from traditional Cuban rumba. Also in the first third of the 20th century, "rumba" entered the Spanish flamenco world as a fast-paced palo (style) inspired in
48-646: A fusion of bambuco and Afro-Cuban music was developed in Colombia by artists such as Emilio Sierra, Milciades Garavito, and Diógenes Chaves Pinzón, under the name rumba criolla ( creole rumba ). Rumba criolla is classified into different regional styles such as rumba antioqueña and rumba tolimense. In the 1930s and 1940s, Afro-Cuban son groups such as Septeto Habanero , Trio Matamoros and Los Guaracheros de Oriente were played over Radio Congo Belge in Léopoldville ( Kinshasa ), gaining widespread popularity in
72-552: A hip-sway over the standing leg and, though this is scarcely noticeable in fast salsa, it is more pronounced in the slow ballroom rumba. In general, steps are kept compact and the dance is danced generally without any rise and fall . This style is authentic, as is the use of free arms in various figures. The basic figures derive from dance moves observed in Havana in the pre- revolutionary period, and have developed their own life since then. Competition figures are often complex, and this
96-472: A hit, becoming the first Latin song to sell 1 million copies in the United States. The song, composed by Moisés Simons , is a son - pregón arranged, in this case, for Azpiazú's big band featuring three saxophones, two cornets, banjo, guitar, piano, violin, bass, and trap drums. With vocals by Antonio Machín and a trumpet solo (the first one in the recorded history of Cuban music) by Remberto Lara,
120-556: A popular music and dance genre in the US, rhythmic elements of Cuban rumba (particularly guaguancó ) became prevalent alongside the son . Like salsa , rhumba would then be danced to salsa ensembles instead of big bands. By the end of the 20th century, rhumba was also danced to pop music and jazz bands as seen in TV shows like Dancing with the Stars . In Spain, the term rumba was introduced in
144-504: A purely folkloric genre, numerous innovations have been introduced in rumba since the mid 20th century, including new styles such as batá-rumba and guarapachangueo . In the US, the term " rhumba " (anglicised version of rumba) began to be used during the 1920s to refer to ballroom music with Afro-Cuban music themes, particularly in the context of big band music . This music was mostly inspired by son cubano , while being rhythmically and instrumentally unrelated to Cuban rumba. By 1935, with
168-543: Is the slowest. This ballroom rumba was derived from a Cuban rhythm and dance called the bolero - son ; the international style was derived from studies of dance in Cuba in the pre-revolutionary period. The modern international style of dancing the rumba derives from studies made by dance teacher Monsieur Pierre (Pierre Zurcher-Margolle), who partnered Doris Lavelle . Pierre, then from London , visited Cuba in 1947, 1951, and 1953 to find out how and what Cubans were dancing at
192-460: The 1930s was characterized by variable tempo, sometimes nearly twice as fast as the modern ballroom rumba, which was developed as a dance in the 1940s and 1950s, when the original music movement had died down. Nonetheless, the rhumba craze would be the first of three Latin music crazes in the first half of the 20th century, together with the mambo craze and the cha-cha-cha craze. Two variations of rhumba with opposing step patterns are danced around
216-462: The 1950s, the Mexican and American film industry expanded the use of the term rumba as rumbera films became popular. In this context, rumberas were Cuban and Mexican divas, singers and actresses who sang boleros and canciones , but rarely rumbas. Notable rumberas include Rita Montaner , Rosa Carmina , María Antonieta Pons and Ninón Sevilla . In the 1970s, with the emergence of salsa as
240-477: The 1980s, the style gained international popularity thanks to French ensemble Gipsy Kings . In the 1990s, the term “tecno-rumba” was used to describe the music of Camela , and later Azúcar Moreno . Since the early 2000s, the term rumba has been used in Spain to refer to derivatives of Catalan rumba with hip hop and rock elements, as recorded by Estopa , Huecco and Melendi . In the late 1930s and early 1940s,
264-570: The Cuban guaracha, and which gave rise to other forms of urban music now known as "rumba". Throughout Latin America, "rumba" acquired different connotations, mostly referring to Cubanized, danceable, local styles, such as Colombian rumba criolla (creole rumba). At the same time, "rumba" began to be used a catch-all term for Afro-Cuban music in most African countries, later giving rise to re-Africanized Cuban-based styles such as Congolese rumba . During
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#1732783875312288-514: The Iberian peninsula, outside of the context of flamenco (where the term cantes de ida y vuelta is mostly restricted), such as the Galician rumba . In the late 1950s, popular artists such as Peret ( El Rey de la Rumba ) and El Pescaílla developed an uptempo style that combined elements from rumba flamenca, Spanish gypsy music and pop. This became known as Catalan rumba ( rumba catalana ). In
312-458: The country during the following decades. Their recordings were also made available to the public as part of the G.V. Series of 10" singles released by His Master's Voice throughout Africa. Once local bands tried to emulate the sound of Cuban son (incorrectly referred to as "rumba" in Africa, despite being unrelated to Cuban rumba ), their music became known as Congolese rumba or rumba Lingala. By
336-513: The early 20th century as rumba flamenca , one of the palos (styles) of flamenco . Particularly, it is considered one of the cantes de ida y vuelta , since flamenco itself might have had an influence on Cuban rumba, particularly on its vocal style. However, musicologists agree that rumba flamenca does not truly derive from Cuban rumba, but from guaracha , a fast-paced music style from Havana . Apart from rumba flamenca, other syncretic styles of Afro-Cuban origin have been named "rumba" throughout
360-475: The established American style with contemporary Cuban dancers. International style is taught in a quick-quick-slow pattern danced on the 2, 3, and 4 beats of 4 beat music, similar in step and motion to the cha-cha-cha . Both styles were canonized in 1955. Rhumba is one of the ballroom dances which occurs in social dance and in international competitions. Of the five competitive international Latin dances ( pasodoble , samba , cha-cha-cha , jive , and rumba), it
384-478: The late 1960s by bands such as African Fiesta and is often used as a synonym of the former. Rhumba Rhumba , also known as ballroom rumba , is a genre of ballroom music and dance that appeared in the East Coast of the United States during the 1930s. It combined American big band music with Afro-Cuban rhythms, primarily the son cubano , but also conga and rumba . Although taking its name from
408-462: The late 1960s, Congolese rumba was an established genre in most of Central Africa, and it would also impact the music of West and East Africa under Muziki wa dansi . Franco 's OK Jazz and Le Grand Kallé 's African Jazz were amongst the most successful Congolese rumba ensembles of the 20th century. A faster subgenre known as soukous (from the French word secouer , "to shake") was developed in
432-735: The latter, ballroom rumba differs completely from Cuban rumba in both its music and its dance. Hence, authors prefer the Americanized spelling of the word ( rhumba ) to distinguish between them. Although the term rhumba began to be used by American record companies to label all kinds of Latin music between 1913 and 1915, the history of rhumba as a specific form of ballroom music can be traced back to May 1930, when Don Azpiazú and his Havana Casino Orchestra recorded their song " El manisero " (The Peanut Vendor) in New York City . This single, released four months later by Victor , became
456-787: The recording, arranged by saxophonist Alfredo Brito, attempted to adapt the Cuban son to the style of ballroom music prevalent at the time in the East Coast. Soon, Azpiazú's style was followed by other Cuban artists such as Armando Oréfiche and the Lecuona Cuban Boys , who had extensive international tours in the 1930s. Their style has been often described as ballroom conga , since they used to borrow conga rhythms in songs such as " Para Vigo me voy ". Among their numerous hits were boleros and canciones such as " Amapola " and " Siboney ". This music movement, which also included many American big bands that covered Latin standards,
480-524: The release of " The Peanut Vendor " by Don Azpiazú and the popularity of Xavier Cugat and other Latin artists, the genre had become highly successful and well-defined. The rhumba dance that developed on the East Coast of the United States was based on the bolero - son . The first rumba competition took place in the Savoy Ballroom in 1930. Nowadays, two different styles of ballroom rumba coexist: American style and International style. From 1935 to
504-430: The second half of the 19th century, several secular dance-oriented music styles were developed by Afro-Cuban workers in the poor neighbourhoods of Havana and Matanzas . These syncretic styles would later be referred to as "rumba", a word that also meant "party". Traditionally, the three main styles of rumba are yambú , columbia and guaguancó , each of which has a characteristic dance, rhythm and singing. Although still
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#1732783875312528-528: The time. The international ballroom rumba is a slower dance of about 120 beats per minute which corresponds, both in music and in dance, to what the Cubans of an older generation called the bolero-son. It is easy to see why, for ease of reference and for marketing, rhumba is a better name, however inaccurate; it is the same kind of reason that led later on to the use of salsa as an overall term for popular music of Cuban origin. All social dances in Cuba involve
552-502: The world. American style rumba was imported to America by band directors like Emil Coleman and Don Aspiazú between 1913 and 1935. The film Rumba , released in 1935, brought the style to the attention of the general public. American style rhumba is taught in a box step, known for its slow-quick-quick pattern danced on the 1, 3, and 4 beats of 4-beat music. International style rhumba was developed in Europe by Monsieur Pierre after he compared
576-409: Was dubbed the rhumba craze . Notable bandleaders of the rhumba craze include Xavier Cugat , Jimmy Dorsey , Nathaniel Shilkret , Leo Reisman and Enric Madriguera . Rhumba was also incorporated into classical music, as exemplified by symphonic pieces by composers such as George Gershwin , Harl McDonald and Morton Gould . The kind of rhumba introduced into dance salons in America and Europe in
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