Tamborito, Panama's national dance

The tamborito is Panama’s national dance with its call-and-response vocal phrasing and interlocking drum patterns showing African antecendants. The lyrics tend to be repetitive and, as in West African vocal music, also incorporate proverbs and political commentary.

“El Tamborito” means the little drum and it is more than a dance. The tamborito is contagious. It is an expression of the Panamanian grace, faith, hopes, desires, spirit and soul. It is Panama’s typical and folkloric musical theatre. Its intoxicating rhythm and underlying emotions are communicated to all. Its cadences are mixed with the turbulence of jealousy; with the palpitations of pleasure; with the resonance of kisses; with the laughter of deception; with the honey of coquetry; or the pain of sorrow. Breaths come short and fast, spirits soar and yield to an atmosphere bathed in romance, in sensuousness, in love.

The performance displays an elegant and dramatic synergy of singers (“Cantalantes”),dancers and drummers. The performance usually depicts themes of seductive poetry revolving around the joys and anguish resulting from the attraction between men and women.

The native drums of Panama, the “Caja”, the “Pujas” and the “Repicador” have special significance in Panama’s folkloric tradition. These drums are made of hollow cylindrical wood from local tree trunks covered with tanned velum from thoroughly sun dried cowhide stretched tightly over one or both circular ends of the receptacle, kept taut and wound by hoisting chords made of hide or rope. They are played by beating the head or heads repetitiously in rapid succession of strokes with the hands or sticks to produce reverberating rhythmical sounds.

The “Caja” is a short and squat rhythmical drum that produces staccato like tones. The “Puja” or Pujador gender is masculine. It is a long and marrow deep tone drum that produces booming baselike sounds. The “Repicador” gender is feminine. It is a long and narrow drum that produces sonorous high pitched scaled melodious sounds, which carries the rhythm of the dancers.

And all three of them, played together, diffuse into the atmosphere a symphonic poem.

And how graciously sound the silver voices of the girls as they clap hands to the beat of their song. Their bodies sway in tune with the music and beginning with the “cantaora alante (the soloist) who stands beside the caja, the circle of girls which ends close to the repicador grows slowly smaller.

When dancing the “Tamborito”, the dancers sensuous movement and suggestive gestures are usually in response to the pulsating vibrations and rhythmical reverberations of the hypnotic drum beats. A favorite, classic is the “Tambor Empollerado” where Panama’s national dress is worn by the dancers. The decoratively frilled and embroidered gown, “La Pollera” is worn by the woman and “El Montuno” is worn by the man. There are many who swear that a woman is more seductive robed in a “pollera” than Venus de Milo disrobed.

DEFINITION: The term is a derivative of “El Tambor” which means the drum in Spanish. Historically, drums have symbolic cross-cultural meaning such as to give signals, to command, to summon, to call, to alert and to warn. Drums are also percussion instruments used to produce music to entertain, as well as, for special and solemn occasions.

“Por carida... Por carida...
Maria Remolona... dime la verda...
(In charity;s name, take pity, do,
And, Lazy Mary, tell me true.)

The chorus answers:

“Lazy Mary, in the name of Heaven above,
“Tell me if you love me... I’m dying of love.”

“A poor man steps out with his lady fair
“Along comes a rich one, and he gets the air.”

“In charity’s name, take pity, do,
“And, Lazy Mary, tell me true.”

“The poor man is kicked right out the door,
“He scratches his head... And is he sore?”

“Lazy Mary, in the name of Heaven above
“Tell me if you love me... Before I die of love.”

“If you leave me I’ll wish I had never been born,
“Without your love I am quite forlorn...

OOOPAAA!

“Panameno, Panameno Panamanian Panamanian
Panameno, vida mia Panamanian, my life
Yo quiero que tu me lleves I want you to take me
Al tambor de la alegria To the drum of joy"

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