Bata 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 bata drum, and through that story traces the history of bata culture as it traveled from Africa to Cuba and then to the United States. For the enslaved Yoruba, bata 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 Santeria priest, maintains the link with this tradition forged through his mentor Jesus Perez (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 bata 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.

Master and student trace the history of bata drumming

About the Author

Carlos Aldama is omo Ana (sworn to the drum) and a priest of Chango in the Santeria religion. Born in Havana, he was a founding member of Conjunto Folklorico Nacional de Cuba, studying under its original musical director, Jesus Perez (Oba Ilu), and later serving as musical director himself. He has worked with the National Symphony of Cuba, playwright Roberto Blanco, and Karl Marx Theatre director Alex Valdez, and has performed with Adalberto Alvarez y su Son, Lazaro Ros and Olorun, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba.

Umi Vaughan is also omo Ana and is a priest of Ochun in the Santeria religion. He is an artist and anthropologist who explores dance, creates photographs and performances, and publishes about African Diaspora culture. He is Associate Professor of Africana Studies at California State University, Monterey Bay, and author of Rebel Dance, Renegade Stance: Timba Music and Black Identity in Cuba. To learn more visit UmiArt.com

Reviews

Carlos Aldama's Life in Bata: Cuba, Diaspora, and the Drum, covers incredible history and tradition in its slender 150 pages. Vaughan captures everything the subtitle proclaims, but the heart comes directly from Aldama's own still-feisty voice.

* www.eastbayexpress.com *

Carlos Aldama's Life in Bata is a valuable addition to the growing literature on bata 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 bata 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 *



Book Information
ISBN 9780253223784
Author Umi Vaughan
Format Paperback
Page Count 208
Imprint Indiana University Press
Publisher Indiana University Press
Weight(grams) 318g