Tag Archives | Tambora

The two-heads of the Tambora

A Dominican tambora is a bass drum that appears in various forms in various parts of Latin America but which is especially essential to merengue.


It is usually a double-headed drum, sometimes carried and sometimes fixed on a stand, sometimes with cymbals attached to provide for varying types of sound. The most traditional tamboras are converted rum barrels. The tambora in this video probably didn’t have a previous life as a rum barrel, though we have no cause to complain.