Bomba Pa' Yo!

The composer says: Folklorists have determined that the quintessential national Honduran dance is the Xique. The Xique (or Sique) is a very simple popular peasant couple dance with a definite European influence and tempo of a fast waltz. Though some of these dances are strictly for the salon, the majority of Honduran folkloric dances are of indigenous roots and have many elements that tie it to the Creole imitations of European musical styles. The onomatopoeic name of the dance, Xique, is an abbreviation of Xixique, the sound that is produced by the caites (sandals), the dancers wear as they scrape the floor while dancing. The dancers are accompanied, as is in most Honduran folkloric music, by the Marimba. These dances evoke times long past when young couples would fall in love while dancing to the music as portrayed today by the dancers in their skirt work, foot work and coquettish glances. In the Xique, the dance may come to an abrupt halt when a dancer interrupts with the cry of ‘Bomba’ or ‘Bomba pa’ yo!’ (Bomba for me!). One dancer then proclaims a set of two to four ‘coplas’ (couplets) to the spectators or to one another. The other dancer then responds to these Bombas with some ‘coplas’ of their own and shows off their wit and grace in their replies before the dance resumes. I revisited the echoes of some of the music from my boyhood in the Caribbean beach town of Tela, Honduras. This is my response to the Xique music that I first delighted in as a boy.