Marímbula
The marímbula (Spanish pronunciation: [maˈɾimbula]) is a plucked box musical instrument of the Caribbean Islands (not to be confused with a marimba).
Characteristics
It consists of a wood box with a sound hole cut in the center of it. Across this hole, a number of metal strips are attached at one end to the resonating box. These metal strips are tuned to different pitches, and are plucked to produce a bassline for the music. The marímbula is usually classified as part of the lamellophone family of musical instruments.
Genres
It is mainly used in Mexican son jarocho music (known as marimbol), Cuban changüí and Dominican Merengue típico.
History
With its roots in African instruments, the marimbula originated in the province of Oriente, Cuba, in the 19th century. Eventually it spread throughout the Caribbean, the Americas, and Africa, from Liberia to the Congo. By the 1930s it had made its way to Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, other Caribbean islands, Mexico, and as far away as New York City. The Cubans call it marímbula, and most of the other Caribbean countries have adopted this name or some variant of it: marimba, malimba, manimba, marimbol. The instrument has a number of other names, such as marímbola (Puerto Rico), bass box, calimba (calymba), rhumba box, Church & Clap, Jazz Jim or Lazy Bass (Jamaica), and box lamellophone.
