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Where salsa comes from

5.Cousin #2: rumba

A pair of red wooden congas on a stand

Rumba is raw, drum-only music from the poor neighborhoods of Havana and Matanzas. It stayed the closest of all to its African roots: just drums, sticks, and voices.

Rumba has three styles: yambú, guaguancó, and columbia. Guaguancó is a playful couple dance, and salsa still borrows its conga patterns and its flirty moves.

ListenCongo yambumbaLos Muñequitos de MatanzasLos Muñequitos de Matanzas have played rumba since 1952. There are no horns or piano here: listen for the conga drums answering each other under the singers.