page_title: Candombe
section_title: Uruguayan candombe, Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO
hierarchical_section_title: Candombe / Instruments and musical features / Uruguayan candombe, Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO
caption_attribution_description: Español: Fotografia de los instrumentos del Candombe de Uruguay, llamados "chico", "repique " y "piano". Tomada en el Taller El Power, Carlos Gardel 1017, Montevideo
context_page_description: Candombe is a style of music and dance that immigrated to Uruguay with enslaved Africans. In 2009, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization inscribed candombe in its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
  To a lesser extent, candombe is practiced in Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. In Argentina, it can be found in Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Paraná, and Corrientes. In Paraguay, this tradition continues in Camba Cuá and in Fernando de la Mora near Asunción. In Brazil, candombe retains its religious character and can be found in the state of Minas Gerais.
  This Uruguayan music style is based on three different drums: chico, repique, and piano drums. It is usually played in February during carnival in Montevideo at dance parades called llamadas and desfile inaugural del carnaval.
context_section_description: Inscribed in 2009 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, UNESCO. The candombe is a source of pride and a symbol of the identity of communities of African descent in Montevideo, embraced by younger generations and favouring group cohesion, while expressing the communities’ needs and feelings with regard to their ancestors.
  The music of candombe is performed by a group of drummers called a cuerda. The barrel-shaped drums, or tamboriles, have specific names according to their size and function:
  chico,  small, high timbre, serving as the rhythmic pendulum
  repique, medium, embellishes candombe's rhythm with improvised  phrases
  piano, largest size, its function similar to that of the upright or electric bass
  An even larger drum, called bajo or bombo (very large, very low timbre, accent on the fourth beat), was once common but is now declining in use. A cuerda at a minimum needs three drummers, one on each part. A full cuerda will have 50–100 drummers, commonly with rows of seven or five drummers, mixing the three types of drums. A typical row of five can be piano-chico-repique-chico-piano, with the row behind having repique-chico-piano-chico-repique and so on to the last row.
  Tamboriles are made of wood with animal skins that are rope-tuned or fire-tuned minutes before the performance. They are worn at the waist with the aid of a shoulder strap called a talig or talí and played with one stick and one hand.
  A key rhythmic figure in candombe is the clave (in 3–2 form). It is played on the side of the drum, a procedure known as "hacer madera" (literally, "making wood").
caption: Candombe drums in Uruguay
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