Bilongo Cuban Music

La Negra Tomasa,” or “Bilongo,” is a song written in 1937 by the Cuban composer Guillermo Rodríguez Fiffe (1907-1995). Youtube Bilongo

Estoy tan enamorao’ de la negra Tomasa Que cuando se va de casa Que triste me pongo Estoy tan enamorao’ de la negra Tomasa Que cuando se va de casa que triste me pongo. ¡Ay! – ¡Ay! – ¡Ay! Esa negra linda Que me hecho bilongo. Esa negra linda Que me hecho bilongo. Na’ ma’ que me gusta la comida Que me cocina. Na’ ma’ que me gusta la cafe Que ella me cuela. Na’ ma’ que me gusta la comida Que me cocina. Na’ ma’ que me gusta la cafe Que ella me cuela. ¡Ay! – ¡Ay! – ¡Ay! Esa negra linda Que me hecho bilongo. Esa negra linda Que me hecho bilongo. Kikiri-BU ¡mandinga! Kikiri-BU ¡mandinga! bilongo = under a spell, bewitched mandinga = A catchall name in Cuba for a variety of Senegambian peoples who were captured and forced into slavery, arriving in Cuba around 1830. — Ned Sublette Kikiri-BU mandinga = The mystery [of the meaning of “Kikiribu mandinga”] is easily solved if you refer to the next line in the song. “Asi canta el gallo en la finca” Which means, “Thus sang the rooster in the farm” Kikiriki or Quiquiriqui is the usual Spanish onomatopoeic spelling of a rooster’s crow. “BU” is a syllable shouted to scare someone. Therefore “Kikiri Bu” is a rooster crow meaning to scare someone who might be trying to take him, in this case a “mandinga.” “Mandinga” was a term used in Cuba to refer to slaves brought over from the Senegambia region of Africa. If you listen carefully to the song, you will hear that the “BU” is emphasized when sung and there is a slight pause from the “kikiri” to the “bu” separating the words. I hope this clears the mystery. — Magicflute (at the following link) BEWITCHING TOMASA [an English translation of “La Negra Tomasa”] I’m in love so completely with that black witch Tomasa, when she’s out cause she hasta’ I get so sad and lonely. I’m in love so completely with that black witch Tomasa, when she’s out cause she hasta’ I get so sad and lonely. Aye! — Yay! — Yay! Oh me, that black beauty, she has made me spellbound. Oh me, that black beauty, she has made me spellbound. The only food I want to eat is what she’s been cooking. The only coffee I want to drink is what she’s been making. The only food I want to eat is what she’s been cooking. The only coffee I want to drink is what she’s been making. Aye! — Yay! — Yay! Oh me, that black beauty, she has made me spellbound. Oh me, that black beauty, she has made me spellbound. Ki-ki-ri-BOO, Mandinga! Ki-ki-ri-BOO, Mandinga! The cock spooks the witch to stay a free winger. Ki-ki-ri-BOO, Mandinga! Ki-ki-ri-BOO, Mandinga!

BEWITCHING TOMASA [an English translation of “La Negra Tomasa”] I’m in love so completely with that black witch Tomasa, when she’s out cause she hasta’ I get so sad and lonely. I’m in love so completely with that black witch Tomasa, when she’s out cause she hasta’ I get so sad and lonely. Aye! — Yay! — Yay! Oh me, that black beauty, she has made me spellbound. Oh me, that black beauty, she has made me spellbound. The only food I want to eat is what she’s been cooking. The only coffee I want to drink is what she’s been making. The only food I want to eat is what she’s been cooking. The only coffee I want to drink is what she’s been making. Aye! — Yay! — Yay! Oh me, that black beauty, she has made me spellbound. Oh me, that black beauty, she has made me spellbound. Ki-ki-ri-BOO, Mandinga! Ki-ki-ri-BOO, Mandinga! The cock spooks the witch to stay a free winger. Ki-ki-ri-BOO, Mandinga! Ki-ki-ri-BOO, Mandinga!