Cuban Rumba Blog - Afro-Cuban percussion blog

I think this is going to work out just fine...

... so since we last posted we had some great fun, rebuilt some drums and played more than ever.

Here is a pic of two La Pena Rumbas ago, all the heavies were there... Afterward we went to Anna Ponces to party... wow that woman can cook!!! Beans and rice, Empanadas, Temales... we are blessed to be among such talent in the kitchen!!

Orlando Rick and a few other cats were there early, the Sandy showed up some other Cuban cats... we played Rumba till late... I got a chance to play quinto for an extended time with Sandy, my teacher and mentor. He gave me some really nice advise about my style. Im on the right track, it seems.

I picked up a set of oak Gon bops to restore and reskin from a cat named Naime, picked up some mahogany gon bops, one requinto i sold to a cat named Geordie, and i kept the conga to restore.

Im in the middle of the mahogany conga project... ill post pics soon.

The Oak drums came together nicely and they sound great, Im going to drop them off today.

I plan on meeting with Reinhard Simon today to look at some of his Mombiza gear, he has the best claves in the world!! i think i may pick up a quinto from him today, well see.

Also today, im going to look at a Fat Conga with major cracking problems... its an old model before he went to the biskit joining. It keep splitting, after fixes etc.. i suggested he send it to Matt Smith in PA to take it all apart and rebuild it from the ground up with bands.. lucky guy, if he gets it done.

Im also going to pick up a set of old Afro congas to reskin in Marin while im down there.

Yesterday, i purchased a mariano model gon bops mahogany requinto i will resell to a cat in Guadalupe. He's been waiting for me to find him a matching conga to his mariano 10.5 for a year now.. hes going to be stoked!

It will take me a few posts to get caught up....

Tony