Representation and Difference

Racialisation in Marimba Esmeraldeña and Bomba del Chota 1)

Abstract

During the Atlantic slavery period enslaved and freed Africans and Afro-descendants populated principally two areas in Ecuador: the Chota-Mira valley (Imbabura and Carchi provinces) and the northern part of Esmeraldas province. Afrodescendants from these territories created two music and dance-based events; Bomba del Chota and Marimba Esmeraldeña. Since their arrival, Afro-descendants in Ecuador have had a history of dehumanization that continues until the present day. Based on the testimonies of the Marimberos and Bomberos included in this paper, archival compilation and fieldwork research, I address questions of racialized representations of Marimba and Bomba in order to build towards the notion of communicative competence. Here I propose the shift of some of the representations of Marimba and Bomba from the current focus on stereotypical characteristics such as a naturalized happiness and hyper-sexuality, to an emphasis on Afro-Ecuadorians’ collective memories. Through a sonic composition and its theorization, a questioning of coloniality that sustains racialized representations and the exposure of key, but usually silenced, collective memories is proposed. By developing a sonic composition and analyzing it, I aim to contribute with crucial theoretical and practical strategies to deepen a much needed and timely understanding of Marimba and Bomba

^{1) This paper and its sonic composition are bas ed on a chapter of my PhD thesis entitled “Sounds of collective memories: A decolonial counter- representation of Afro-Ecuadorian Marimba Esmeraldeña and Bomba del Chota” (López-Yánez, 2020). I dedicate this paper to one of the most renowned, charismatic and wise Afro-Ecuadorian artist, the Marimbero Guillermo Ayoví Erazo -Papá Roncón-, who passed away on September 30th, 2022, while I was writing it.}