Carlos Aldama's Life in Batá: Cuba, Diaspora, and the Drum
Vaughan, Umi A.; Aldama, Carlos
Batá identifies both the two-headed, hourglass-shaped drum of the Yoruba people and the culture and style of drumming, singing, and dancing associated with it. This book recounts the life story of Carlos Aldama, one of the masters of the batá drum, and through that story traces the history of batá culture as it traveled from Africa to Cuba and then to the United States. For the enslaved Yoruba, batá rhythms helped sustain the religious and cultural practices of a people that had been torn from its roots. Aldama, as guardian of Afro-Cuban music and as a Santería priest, maintains the link with this tradition forged through his mentor Jesus Pérez (Oba Ilu), who was himself the connection to the preserved oral heritage of the older generation. By sharing his stories, Aldama and his student Umi Vaughan bring to light the techniques and principles of batá in all its aspects and document the tensions of maintaining a tradition between generations and worlds, old and new. The book includes rare photographs and access to downloadable audio tracks.
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About Vaughan, Umi A.; Aldama, Carlos
Reviews for Carlos Aldama's Life in Batá: Cuba, Diaspora, and the Drum
www.eastbayexpress.com
Carlos Aldama's Life in Batá is a valuable addition to the growing literature on batá drumming, as a musical and historical phenomenon, [and] provides a snapshot of this period by a master drummer and preserves it for future generations.
Latin American Music Review
Vaughan and Aldama are well suited as coauthors: one is young and hungry; the other is mature and content to see the batá legacy passed on. Anyone taking the journey alongside them,whether just setting out on the drummer's path or seeking to reconnect with humanity and 'home,' will find this book to be an indispensable guide.
New West Indian Guide
This book is an important contribution to literature about the Afro-Cuban Lucumi tradition in its latest wave of expansion. As the bata player is a central figure in Afro-Cuban religious tradition, Vaughan and Aldama's book opens an ideal window from which to observe and learn about one of its most skilled proponents.
Journal of American Folklore
The chapter notes, list of references, and index are all quite thorough; the glossary is adequate. . . . Recommended.
Choice
[T]his book makes a compelling contribution to scholarship on bata as religious practice, folklore, and diasporic symbol, through the dialogue between a Cuban master drummer and his ethnographer-student.
Journal of Folklore Research