Bomba is an Afro-Puerto Rican music/dance genre that can be traced all the way to West Africa. In colonial Puerto Rico African slaves were transmitting rhythmic memories from their land that managed to captivate the energy of the blacks as they went from island to island in the Caribbean. It is not a religious ceremony eventhough it does connect its participants into a profound spiritual experience. Bomba started out when slaves were allowed to gather on certain occasions and it was their instrument to establish a sense of community by telling the other stories, those that otherwise would've died forgotten. Stories and legends were then passed on from generation to generation and traveled from island to island. Used also as a conspiracy tool for their freedom from slavery, Bomba is always about challenge and communication. Conversations are held between the danzante and the tambor until one of them gives up in the attempt to control the rhythm. Messages were sent through corporal dialogue right in front of the landowners who didn't understand this exchange.

Today Bomba isn't popularized by radio, TV and the traditional mass media, but we can find it in fiestas and celebrations from certain regions like Santurce, Loíza, Mayagüez, Ponce and Guayama. It continues to be subversive in challenging the notions of nationhood; in accepting our African roots; and in offering an alternate understanding of our spirituality, sensuality and of our relation with nature.