On May 28-June 1, 2004, PRFDance received an amazing barrile-making workshop from Juan Fuentes and Papo DelValle direct from Puerto Rico. This intense one-week workshop taught us how to make authentic barriles, Bomba drums, starting with planks of wood in the southern Bomba style, as well as the style of Bomba drums used for Cangrejo-style of Bomba and in Loiza. This was an important education for us, as for a couple of years, we had been making our own drums using techniques that we invented on our own. This workshop taught us correct drum-making techniques by day, and provided additional lessons and fascintating stories on history and culture during the evenings. This workshop came to Austin thanks to the generous sponsorship of FOMENTO, Compania de Fomento Industrial de Puerto Rico. Since 2001 Puerto Rico has been supporting our annual projects that send folkloric masters to Austin to educate us on our heritage and increase our ability to hand down our traditions to a new generation.
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four - Training the Next Generation!!
Day Four - End of Project and Celebration
