Palo Drum: Afro-Dominican Tradition

Palo is an Afro-Dominican sacred music. The drum and human voice are the principle instruments. Palo is played at religious ceremonies - usually coinciding with saint's days - and at special occasions. With roots in the Congo region of central-west Africa palo shares much the same pantheon of deities/saints as the Afro-American religious traditions of Cuba, Brasil, Haiti and elsewhere in Latin America.

Palo is common in many regions of the Dominican republic today. In the video featured here, some young paleros perform outside a colmado (general store) in Villa Mella (a suburb of the Dominican Republic's capital city: Santo Domingo)