Bongos (Spanish: bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes.

Bongos are mainly employed in the rhythm section of son cubano and salsa ensembles, often alongside other drums such as the larger congas and the stick-struck timbales.

By the 1940s, bongos and congas were sharing the stage as son ensembles grew in size and Latin music began to cross-pollinate with jazz and other genres.

The glissando used with bongó de monte, called bramido (howl), is done by rubbing the third finger, supported by the thumb, across the head of the drum.

[7] This reflects it origin, since the bongó del monte evolved from pairs of bokús, a larger drum from eastern Cuba similar to the conga.

Examples of pieces featuring bongos include Ionisation by Varèse (1931), Le Marteau sans maître by Boulez (1955) and In seinem Garten liebt Don Perlimplin Belisa by Fortner (1962).

Its use was first documented in the eastern region of Cuba, the Oriente Province, during the late 19th century, where it was employed in music styles such as nengón, changüí, and their descendant, the son cubano.

[7] As explained by eastern Cuban informants to Benjamin Lapidus, the oral tradition among changüí musicians in Oriente is that the bongó originated as a replacement for pairs of bokús that were slung over the player's knee.

The strong historical presence of Africans from the Congo/Angola region in eastern Cuba (where the bongo first appeared) makes such an influence possible, as does the widespread use of the term bongó/bonkó among Bantu speakers.

[22] Decades later, at 82 years of age, Andrés Sotolongo was recorded for the Routes of Rhythm documentary playing alongside Isaac Oviedo.

This repression of Afro-Cuban culture was denounced by poets in the Afrocubanismo such as Guillén, whose "Canción del bongó" (Song of the bongo) was published in 1931.

[26] The 1930s saw an increase in the technical skill of bongoseros, as evidenced by Clemente "Chicho" Piquero, whose virtuosic performances inspired a young Mongo Santamaría to take up the instrument.

[27] Arsenio had pioneered the conjunto format by incorporating a tumbadora (conga drum) into the rhythm section and having the bongosero double on cowbell.

Arsenio's long-time bongosero was Antolín "Papa Kila" Suárez, who is often cited as one of the greatest of his time along with Pedro Mena of the Conjunto Matamoros.

Also important during the 1950s were Papa Gofio of the Conjunto Rumbavana and Rogelio "Yeyo" Iglesias, the main bongo player in Havana's descarga scene.

Among the tracks recorded in their 1927 sessions was "Viva el bongó",[37] a song about the instrument itself which—unlike the stylized Cuban son popular at the time—brought percussion to the foreground.

Things changed one Saturday afternoon in April 1930, when the Havana Casino Orchestra directed by Don Azpiazú debuted their live show at the Palace Theatre in New York.

[39] In the early 1930s, Cuban orchestras proliferated in New York, featuring the bongo as key percussion instrument, including those directed by Antonio Machín, Alberto Socarrás, Pedro Vía, Antobal, Enrique Bryon, etc.

Among the leading bongoseros of Cuban origin in the United States were Armando Peraza, Chino Pozo (unrelated to Chano) and Rogelio Darias, who had a long career in Las Vegas and was known as the King of the Bongo.

On the other hand, American master bongoseros include Jack Costanzo and Willie Bobo (of Puerto Rican origin), the latter more active on timbales.

American novelty rock acts such as Preston Epps and Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band capitalized on the popularity of the instrument as well as its exotic and rhythmic qualities.