La Bomba de Tiempo has been playing in the same spot—at the same time—for 17 years.
The light went out , and my new friend and I descend silent . We and the rest of the crowd were place upright in a courtyard with brilliantly paint , graffiti - cover wall , and the anticipation was palpable . The curtains rise to let out the Son “ La Bomba de Tiempo ” lit up on a screen , as well as a band of 14 drummers in red boiler suits being led by a music director . dead : an plosion of rhythms unlike anything I had ever heard .
The only matter I knew when I get atCiudad Cultural Konexin Buenos Aires was that La Bomba de Tiempo , which is both the name of the dance orchestra and their show , had been performing there every Monday for 17 years . What concern me , in particular , was that I ’d heard the same suggestion to check them out fromlocalsandtravelersalike . It was a rarefied instance in which an experience was so intrinsic to a commonwealth ’s cultivation that tourists could n’t seize it .
I ’d never previously considered that membranophone could be the master deed of a musical performance , but was willing to give it a shot based on the consuming word - of - mouth . Typically , I aimed for less mainstream itineraries abroad , though my local Porteño friends insist that if they could see La Bomba de Tiempo three or four time without being tire , I should at least watch them at least once . So , on an idyllic Argentine summer evening in December 2022 , amid the World Cup finals , I find out myself at a show so captivating that it ended up being the most prolonged amount of time in weeks I pass in a public place setting without hearing a reference to Lionel Messi .
Photo courtesy of La Bomba del Tiempo
Before La Bomba de Tiempo imprint in 2006 , the drummers knew each other from the pleximetry music festival setting in Buenos Aires . Santiago Vázquez bring the isthmus to life on the bounder of having created what he call the system of “ ritmo con señas”—which translates to something like “ rhythm with signs”—a sign language designed explicitly for channel melodic composition in material - time . He decided to enter an eclectic group capable of produce danceable , virile music that genuinely represent the multifaceted culture of their city .
He would , by nature , serve as the director .
Vázquez make do to win over 17 make drummer to leave behind their gig and consolation zones to create a unexampled musical initiation . And Luciano Larocca was one of them . He say that none of the bandmates would ’ve found their exemption and purpose if it had n’t been for Vazquez baffle them to trust in their corporate potential drop . Especially before they found their now - iconic sound . “ I call back that the first two rehearsal , I brought dissimilar tool , and they did n’t work , ” he order , “ I could n’t quite find my place , and as a group , we were very far away from fathom good . ”
Photo courtesy of La Bomba del Tiempo
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A little itchy feet turned out to be the hole to Larocca ’s problems . He move to the Bolivian hobo camp that summer and became infatuate with the Afro - Bolivian Saya rhythm . He hark back home with a notched , gourd - determine instrument from the güiro family . Upon listening , Vázquez declared he find his new instrument .
Other performers also conceded to sure agreements to ensure their corporate achiever . And obviously , they all had to learn the system of ritmo con señas . But the challenge of performing while watching a conductor with a guide extemporisation system was motivating . Meanwhile , getting a crew of adults to sync calendar presented its own set of issues ; Monday at 7 pm turned out to be the only particular date and metre everyone had available .
“ The rest is chronicle , ” say Larocca , “ Seventeen class later , we are still run short to the same property at the same clip . ”
That is n’t to say there have n’t been changes — Vázquez left La Bomba de Tiempo in 2013 to quest after other melodious Passion of Christ projects based on his improvisational language . But the scout group had his approving and support to keep on without him , and they begin taking turns understudy as the conductor . Not to mention edifice on and improve their speech sound .
They have some famous fans , like Carlos Santana , who they open for at theDubai Jazz Festival , in 2016 . They ’ve also performed with internal legends like Calle 13 , Café Tacuba , and Jorge Drexler , as well as international front-runner such as Coldplay . However , touring is limited to a few calendar week out of the class because La Bomba de Tiempo ’s main objective has always been to fetch delight to Argentina . “ I intend the urban center needed a encounter ground like this , ” says bandmate Gabriel Spiller . “ One that provided a lot of freedom , to listen to music , saltation as you desire , meet new people , or drink with your friends . Our show create a space that could be a refuge against all evil . ”
Spiller is cite the fact that Argentina has been go through an abyssal economical and political crisis in the past couple of decades — pompousness has rocket , the Argentinian peso has plummet in value , and the body politic is heavily divide by political power struggle and rottenness . There ’s no panacea for such deep rooted national turmoil , but La Bomba de Tiempo has ferment firmly to ascertain their ego - wangle cultural projection keeps their beleaguered compatriots front and center .
Photo courtesy of La Bomba del Tiempo
La Bomba de Tiempo also intends to keep Ciudad Cultural Konex as their dwelling house base . The fact they ’ve retained the same weekly locale despite their international demand is a will to their patriotism and hearts as musicians . The radical could have a residency anywhere , yet they continually choose to stay . They ’re not motivated by fame and fortune but by celebrate and maintain their one - of - a - kind euphony .
Toward the end of the operation I witnessed in December 2022 , the drummer start to countdown as the crew all crouched to the floor . presently enough , the music director lead the band into a final plosion and we collectively jumped into a hypnotic dance and scream .
" Otra ! ” the crowd yelled as the drummers began to walk off the stage . “ One more ! ” From where I was standing , it felt like they were asking for much more than just another vocal .
