From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Catá

Field	Value
image	Catá (1980s-90s) used by Ramón “Mongo” Santamaría - Smithsonian Museum (2013-03-16 14.06.04 by Tyffer Y) clip.jpg
caption	Catá (1980s-90s) used by Ramón “Mongo” Santamaría (Smithsonian Museum)
name	Catá
names	Guagua
background	percussion
classification	Idiophone
hornbostel_sachs	111.231
hornbostel_sachs_desc	Directly struck idiophone, individual percussion tube
related	Claves, wood block, jam block

The catá or guagua is a Cuban percussion instrument which originated in the eastern region of the island. It is classified as a directly struck idiophone, traditionally made out of a hollowed tree trunk, which the player hits with wooden sticks or mallets. The resulting sound is dry and penetrating, similar to that of the claves, although with a different pitch. Of Congolese origin, it is an essential instrument in tumba francesa, yuka and some rumba ensembles.

Use

The catá is primarily used in the tumba francesa tradition from eastern Cuba, which originated in the early 19th century. Its role in tumba francesa is to provide the main rhythm in the form of a cinquillo pattern. In fact, in Saint Domingue (current Haiti), from where the tumba francesa was imported, the word catá (of Bantu origin), denoted this rhythm. The catá is considered a reconstruction of idiophones from the Congo region, brought by slaves to the Caribbean.

The catá has been incorporated into Cuban rumba, where it "locks" with the claves, establishing the clave rhythm. In the context of rumba, the term guagua is more common, as in guaguancó, or palitos, which refers to the sticks. Nonetheless, these have been replaced by the caja china (wood block) or the more durable jam block, made of plastic. The guagua is also used in yuka, one of the oldest genres of Afro-Cuban percussion.

Musicologists from Guantánamo, such as Ramón Gómez Blanco, hypothesize that the catá pattern was adapted by the marímbula players in changüí, highlighting the common Bantu roots of tumba francesa and changüí.

References

(2004). "Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo". Chicago Review Press.
Sublette, p. 134.
(2014). "The Garland Handbook of Latin American Music". Routledge.
(1954). "Los instrumentos de la música afrocubana, Volumen IV". Dirección de Cultura del Ministerio de Educación.
(2008). "El son y la salsa en la identidad del Caribe".
(2005). "Cuban Counterpoints: The Legacy of Fernando Ortiz". Lexington Books.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

central-american-and-caribbean-percussion-instruments idiophones-struck-directly unpitched-percussion-instruments cuban-musical-instruments

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Catá — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report