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The Congolese rumba, a musical genre born in the 1930s, is also a popular dance. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the streets of Kinshasa in particularit is not surprising to come across locals dancing.
Every evening, the streets of Kinshasa wake up to the sound of a swaying rhythm. In the restaurants and bars of this sprawling capital, Congolese rumba is at home here. Old sizzling loudspeakers, a sometimes quirky look, everyone is dancing. This musical genre was born here and accompanies the country’s history. In 1960, when the King of Belgium came to sign the independence treaties, he was welcomed by a rumba. A few years later, it was in Kinshasa that the rumba experienced its golden age. The lyrics, in Nigalaabove all speak of love, but the messages are sometimes intended to be critical or political.
The rumba has travelled. Originally a ritual dance from Central Africa, it later developed in Cuba with the descendants of slaves, but returned to Africa in the 1940s. Today, the succession is assured. The National Institute of the Arts has been training local musicians for over 50 years. The rumba is also a dance: two partners glued tight, an undulating step and a natural movement of the pelvis. Since December 2021, Congolese rumba has been listed as a UNESCO cultural heritage site. More than a hundred years following its creation, it has been modernized: sexier, more current in words, but she keeps popular with new local stars.
