Congo De Los Hoyos - Afro Cuba: Carnival Music of Eastern Cuba

2009 release from the World Audio Foundation label from Soul Jazz Records Conga De Los Hoyos is an amazing Afro-Cuban musical institution from the Los Hoyos district of Santiago, in Eastern Cuba. The music here features a riotous mix of over 50 drummers, singers and the distinctive Chinese cornet (a bit like a Cuban bagpipe!), all brought together to make a noise that Sun Ra would be proud of. The drummers play everything from car brakes and hubcaps to frying pans! This is the music of the yearly Carnival in the eastern part of Cuba performed by competing groups featuring hundreds of musicians parading through the streets through 100-degree plus heat and crowds of up to 100,000 people - Afro-Centric rhythms, majestic songs. The CD comes with accompanying text, booklet and exclusive photography in a distinctive WAF CD casing.