Conga

The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). Congas are traditionally used in Afro-Cuban genres such as conga and rumba, although they are now very common in some other forms of Latin music, including descarga, Afro-Cuban jazz, salsa, songo, merengue and Latin rock.

Characteristics

Most modern congas have a staved wooden or fiberglass shell, and a screw-tensioned drumhead. They are usually played in sets of two to four with the fingers and palms of the hand. Typical congas stand approximately 75 centimetres (30 in) from the bottom of the shell to the head. The drums may be played while seated. Alternatively, the drums may be mounted on a rack or stand to permit the player to play while standing. While they originated in Cuba, their incorporation into the popular and folk music of other countries has resulted in diversification of terminology for the instruments and the players. In Cuba, congas are called tumbadoras.

Conga (music)

The term conga refers to the music groups within Cuban comparsas and the music they play. Comparsas are large ensembles of musicians, singers and dancers with a specific costume and choreography which perform in the street carnivals of Santiago de Cuba and Havana.

The instrumentation differs between congas santiagueras and congas habaneras. Congas santiagueras include the corneta china (Chinese cornet), which is an adaptation of the Cantonese suona introduced in Oriente in 1915, and its percussion section comprises bocúes (similar to African ashiko drums), the quinto (highest pitched conga drum), galletas and the pilón, as well as brakes which are struck with metal sticks.Congas habaneras lack the corneta china but include trumpets, trombones and saxophones, and they have a different set of percussion instruments: redoblantes (side drums), bombos (bass drums), quinto, tumbadora (the lowest pitched conga drum), and metallic idiophones such as cowbells, spoons, frying pans and rims.

Conga line

The conga line is a novelty dance that was derived from the Cuban carnival dance of the same name and became popular in the US in the 1930s and 1950s. The dancers form a long, processing line, which would usually turn into a circle. It has three shuffle steps on the beat, followed by a kick that is slightly ahead of the fourth beat. The conga, a term mistakenly believed to be derived from the African region of Congo, is both a lyrical and danceable genre, rooted in the music of carnival troupes or comparsas.

Origin

The conga dance was originally a street dance in Cuba. The style was appropriated by politicians during the early years of republic in an attempt to appeal to the masses before election. During the Machado dictatorship in Cuba, Havana citizens were forbidden to dance the conga, because rival groups would work themselves to high excitement and explode into street fighting. When Fulgencio Batista became president in the 1940s, he permitted people to dance congas during elections, but a police permit was required.

Goro

Goro may refer to:

Places

Benin

Ethiopia

Italy

New caledonia

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Characters

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See also

Goro (sweet bread)

Goro is a Norwegian sweet bread which forms an important part of the cuisine associated with the Norwegian Christmas celebration. It is a cross between a cracker, a cookie, and a waffle. Goros are made from a mixture consisting of eggs, sugar, cream, fat (butter or lard), flour and spices, baked in a special waffle iron called a Goro-iron. Cardamom is an important spice in Goros.

Goro (Mortal Kombat)

Goro is a fictional character from the Mortal Kombat fighting game series. He first appears in the original Mortal Kombat as an unplayable boss character, challenging the player before the final fight with Shang Tsung. Goro is part of the four-armed half-human, half-dragon race, called the Shokan. In the original game he has been champion of the Mortal Kombat tournament for 500 years before being defeated by eventual tournament champion Liu Kang. Unlike most characters in the game, who were digitized representations of live actors, Goro was a clay sculpture animated through stop motion.

The character was not in the next two Mortal Kombat titles, which instead featured two other Shokan fighters, Kintaro and Sheeva. He returned in Mortal Kombat Trilogy, this time as a playable character. Goro returned in the home versions of Mortal Kombat 4 as a sub-boss and an unlockable character. In contrast to his previous role as a villain, in the storyline of Mortal Kombat 4 he aligns himself on the side of good. He returned to a villainous role as a playable character in the GameCube and PSP versions of 2004's Mortal Kombat Deception, forming a pact with Shao Kahn. Goro also made subsequent appearances in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon as well as the 2011 Mortal Kombat reboot.