Bombo legüero is an
Argentine
Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...
drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...
traditionally made of a hollowed tree trunk and covered with cured skins of animals such as goats, cows (leather) or sheep; ''legüero'' signifies that one could supposedly hear it a
league away.
It derives from the old European military drums, and uses a similar arrangement of hoops and leather thongs and loops to tighten the drumheads, which are usually double. It is also called bombo legüero to differentiate it from similar large drums. The body is made of a hollow log, with the inside scraped and chiseled. The drumheads are made of the skins of animals such as cows, sheep, or guanacos. Because the fur is left on the hide, the bombo's sound is deep and dark. The bombo is played while hanging to the side of the drummer, who drapes one arm over the drum, to play it from above, while also striking it from the front. The player's hands hold a soft-headed mallet and a stick, which strike drumhead and wooden rim in alternation. The bombo serves as a combination of bass and percussion, not just maintaining the meter, but evoking an elemental, visceral response.
The ''legüero'' is an essential element of Argentine ''Folclore'' (
zamba,
chacarera
The Chacarera is a dance and music that originated in Santiago del Estero, Argentina. It is a genre of folk music that, for many Argentina, Argentines, serves as a rural counterpart to the cosmopolitan imagery of the tango (ballroom), Tango. A da ...
, etc.) popularized by musicians like Los Chalchaleros, Tremor,
Los Fronterizos,
Carlos Rivero,
Soledad Pastorutti, and
Mercedes Sosa
Haydée Mercedes "La Negra" Sosa (; 9 July 1935
at BrainyHistory.com .
External links
El Bombo at Latin American Folk InstituteBombo criollo clinics
See also
* Bombo criollo
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bombo leguero
Drums
Music of Argentina
Argentine musical instruments
South American percussion instruments