the.com/conga
the dance that turns strangers into one absurd, sweaty, grinning centipede.
means A lively Latin dance in which people line up single file, holding the waist or shoulders of the person ahead, and shuffle forward in a kicking, snaking rhythm — also the tall, narrow drum that often drives it.
from From American Spanish 'conga,' the feminine of 'congo,' meaning 'of the Congo' — a nod to the dance's and drum's Afro-Cuban roots, carried across the Atlantic with enslaved Central Africans. The word traveled into English in the 20th century alongside the dance's burst of popularity, so 'conga' literally points back to the Congo region as the cultural source.
- cuban roots
- Born from Afro-Cuban carnival processions through Havana streets.
- slave origins
- Drums and rhythm carried over by enslaved Congolese people.
- world record
- Largest line topped 119,000 people in Miami, 1988.
- three-two beat
- That hip-kick on count four is non-negotiable.
- desi arnaz
- He made the conga line a 1930s American craze.
conga line at weddings — traditional celebratory dance formation where participants hold each other and follow a leader in a snaking line
conga drum — tall, narrow, single-headed drum originating in cuba, used in latin music since the 1920s
miami conga — annual street festival in little havana, miami celebrating cuban-american culture with conga music and dancing