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The Tambora Sinaloense
From the beginning the people of Sinaloa have had a great appetite for music and for celebrations in general. There are those who say that such a festive spirit is the product of the spiritual authority that infuses the Pacific coasts, the nearness of the Tropic of Cancer, the torrents of sweet water pouring from the 11 rivers that flow through the state’s territory, the fertile soil and the lavishness of the foliage.
The instruments in the Casa Melchers/Birth of the Sinaloa Tambora
Near the end of the 19th century, the port of Mazatlan was a boomtown.
Various businesses operated from here to most of the rest of Mexico. In the windows of one of these stores, the Casa Melchers, run by a group of Germans who had settled in the port, had an exhibit of musical instruments imported from Germany. Tubas, clarinets and trumpets were acquired by local musicians who soon incorporated them into their groups of players.
With these instruments a set of percussion instruments was formed that consisted of cymbals, a small snare drum with a vibrating sound known as a tarola and a tambora (bass drum), the instrument that gave name to a new type of musical group consisting of a big bass drum that kept the rhythm of the melody that was being played.
The bucolic songs inspired by the old troubadours who roamed in Sinaloa were adapted to these instruments, giving the music force and depth. So the Tambora Sinaloense was born, and the impact on the people was such that, according to the repot in a local newspaper of the day, in 1898, after a lengthy concert in the main plaza of the town, the angry crowd pursued a group of musicians from the nearby town of El Recodo who were too exhausted to continue playing.
IInfluences of a popular expression
The tambora, as a type of musical group, spread throughout the entire state of Sinaloa, although it had its major roots in the southern part of the state.
For many years the most prestigious bands were La Costena, led by Ramon Lopez Alvarado, and El Recodo, of Cruz Lizarraga, both originating in the Municipality of Mazatlan. Such Mexican artists as Luis Perez Meza, Lola Beltran, Juan Gabriel and the mythical Jose Alfredo Jimenez recorded with these bands.
“El Sauce y la Palma”, “El Niño Perdido”, “El Sinaloense”, “Las Isabeles”, “El Toro Mambo”,-- these are some of the songs in the classic repertory that are asked for even today, when many Sinaloa musicians have opted for electronic instruments in which the sound of the tuba can be simulated by an electric bass, modern drums substituted for the tarola, the cymbals and the big bass drum; in some cases a good set of synthesizers can even replace the wind instruments.
The success of the traditional banda tambora groups and the technobandas have reached international audiences. These musical groups have inspired a new style of popular dancing, the caballito or quebradita, which is popular with Mexicans both within the country and abroad.
Even though the technobands have proliferated, the traditional musical groups survive. Despite their wide popularity in and outside of Mesico, the Banda El Recodo has rejected the use of technology except for the essential microphones and amplifiers. These are used to provide a good reception for its ever more numerous groups of fans, along with the creation of a repertory with tendencies towards the more modern musical currents and the inclusion of a vocalist.
Perhaps with less frequency than in bygone times, the traditional banda tambora continues to be heard at events of every type: baptisms, weddings, birthday parties, welcoming parties, even funerals, a custom that seems strange to foreign visitors for sure. .
The music of the tambora is a fundamental part of Carnaval.