column : blue note
text: bill strubbe
DOWN TH EGO D S SPIRITUAL DRUMS IN TH EHAN DS OF �J? � � �
In the annals of Cuban music. two fir ur d e
9ht in 1992 at the percussion festival
in Mantanza. the city that gave birth to both Cuban dance and the Afro-Cuban religion. Santeria . When the female group Obini Bata walked on stage carrying the three familiar drums of the tambor batao waves of dismay swept through the audience. The tambor bata had never before been heard outside of religious ceremonies. Even more blasphemous. the litur gica l drums of Santeria were being desecrated by the hands of women! But by the end of the concert. the auditorium filled with applause and flowers showered the stage.
