ba, with roots in West Africa, is heavily percussive, and played on large barrel drums. The bomba is thought to have been rooted in the occasions when slaves from different haciendas (plantations) were allowed to gather and celebrate together. Their bomba instrumentation is comprised entirely of percussion instruments: two barrel drums (called "barril primo" and "barril Segundo"), a pair of hardwood stick called "cuas", and maracas. Puerto Rico is divided by large mountains, and as a result, the bomba of the south was heavily shaped by the music of Haiti. It was actually easier in the past to get from Haiti to Puerto Rico by boat than it was to cross the mountains. Bombas in the south are sung entirely by women, a series of beautiful call and response songs; in the north, bomba songs are often sung by men.

Contributed by: Dan Rosenberg