Bilongo (aka Mandinga)

Mandinga has long been of my favorite Latin songs. It’s also one of the most confusing. For starters, the lyrics are a mixture of Spanish and Bantu (an African language). In addition, the song has three names - “Bilongo,” “Mandinga” and “La Negra Tomasa.”

According to Wikipedia,

Courtesy African Art Gallery

Bilongo is a spell cast by a sorcerer. It certainly casts a spell on iTunes; typing in “Bilongo” displays far more songs than “Mandinga,” prompting me to change the title (and URL) of this page to Bilongo.

Before I continue, I should note that I posted a request for information about this song on SalsaForums - Mandinga (aka Bilongo). Much of the information in this article is gleaned from that thread, which I thought was as intriguing as it was informative. In fact, there are details on the thread that you might find interesting.

Origin

Bilongo was written by a Cuban named Guillermo Rodriguez Fiffe, who died in Miami in 1995. Fiffe was apparently a member of the Trio Azul (formed by Rosendo Ruiz) when he wrote the song.

It was apparently written in the early 1940s (or earlier). In The Death of Salsa, Abel Delgado writes,

Lyrics and Meaning

You can see the lyrics to Bilongo here. But what do they mean?

First, the singer tells us he’s infatuated with a black woman named Tomasa.

The following verse...

...can be loosely translated,

“This beautiful black woman - Oh my!
She casts a spell on me.”

(However, one contributor says camara should be translated “comrade,” rather than “Oh my!”)

Here the singer says he doesn’t want to eat anything except what she cooks, nor does he want to drink any coffee except what she brews. One contributor says this has a very sexual connotation in Spanish - “She ’cooks’ good, that means she does everything good, too.”

What does the above verse mean? “Simple,” says another contributor (Veronica): “It’s just referring to the fact that the way she is dancing the rumba is casting a spell and is so bewitching and mesmerizing that it’s summoning the powers of Mandinga,” adding that menea refers to swaying one’s hips or waist.

Veronica further put Bilongo in perspective on the last page of the online discussion Mandinga (aka Bilongo).

If a picture’s worth a thousand words, then this charming video says it all.

Versions

There are many versions of Bilongo/Mandinga/La Negra Tomasa to explore. Just visit the iTunes store and type in each name, or check out some of the versions carried by Amazon.com below (and this list is far from complete).

MP3 Downloads (Amazon.com)

Mandinga
• Buena Vista Social Club
Bilongo
• Eddie Palmieri
• Henri Guedon
• Ismael Rivera
• Sonoros de Verdad
• Sonoros de Verdad
• Fania All Stars
• Andy Gola & Colé Colé
La Negra Tomasa
• Caifanes
• DJ Kane
• Refugio Norteño
• Compay Segundo
• Sentimiento
• Las Estrellas Colombianas
• Banda la Cumbiera
• Afrosound
• Vocal Sampling
• La Sonora Cumbiera
• La Orchesta de Pepe Delgado
• La Pásion
• La Calle Caliente
• Luis Kalaff
• Internacional Fiesta 85
• Estrella de Charanga
• Guillermo Rodriguez Fiffe
• Trío Tesis
• Cheleman
• Grupo el Organo Pinareño
• Celia Y Josè Antonio
• Rafael Alcon
• Manolito the Gypsies

Curiously, songs recorded under the name “La Negra Tomasa” tend to reflect very different styles than songs recorded under the other two names, including a lot of cumbia and even a few flamenco versions.

My favorite is a sassy, brassy version performed by the Buena Vista Social Club (see YouTube links below). Here’s another version by the same group minus the trumpet. I also like an instrumental version (piano) by Bebo Valdés & Javier Colina (Live At the Village Vanguard). And check out this version by Seattle’s Latin band Mambo Cadillac.

And here are a few verisions you can check out via YouTube. (The last one features a great video.)