Batanga
The batanga is a dance rhythm that pianist Bebo Valdés launched in Havana in 1952. What was new was a batá drum playing in the orchestra: a sacred drum of Afro-Cuban religion that until then had not been heard on the stage of dance orchestras.
Origin
In June 1952 Bebo presented the batanga in the studios of radio station RHC Cadena Azul, with an orchestra of about twenty musicians. The rhythm also premiered at the Tropicana cabaret, where Bebo was pianist and arranger at the time. After that he had his own radio programme, first on Sundays and from July every evening.
- Name: according to Bebo, batanga comes from the African words batá and tanga.
- Batá: batá drummer Trinidad Torregrosa worked on the rhythm, and according to one source percussionist Cándido Camero helped conceive it.
- Singers: one of the singers was Benny Moré. The batanga orchestra helped make him known in Havana.
- Sound: unlike the mambo, the orchestra had a trombone section and a horn.
Why it disappeared
Bebo meant the batanga to rival the mambo. The audience loved the first broadcast, but sponsors and record companies played it safe, and the rhythm got no promotion. It could not compete with the simple, danceable cha-cha-chá. Bebo himself later said the batanga "died a natural death".
Something did remain: the Orquesta Aragón adopted the batanga's bass figures.
📝 Sources
Cuban Dances Originating in Havana
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