Batucada is the sound of carnival in Lanzarote, you just can’t help but move your feet to the beat! Lanzarote’s drum bands provide the rhythm of carnival.
The rhythm of batucada drum bands originates from the Brazilian sound of samba. A large group is required to play the wide variety of percussion instruments which include some or all of the following:
Apito – whistle, usually played by the leader to instruct the group
Repinique – similar to a tom tom drum, played with a stick and a hand
Surdo – large bass drum
Caixa – slim snare drum
Tamborim – small drum
Agogô – u shaped metal bell
Shekere – hand shaker with a net of beads around the outside
Pandeiro – similar to a tambourine
Güiro – hollow wooden instrument with ridges, played with wooden stick (sounds like the wooden frogs sold at Teguise market!)
These drum bands give it their all during the length of the carnival procession, making the spectators sway and shuffle along to the beat.
The following video is of Villa Pipol, it demonstrates the different beats of batucada. Listen out for the whistle from their leader to signify a change of rhythm and routine.
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