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Definition 2024

tumbao ‎(plural tumbaos)

(music) The basic rhythm played on the conga drum and the bass in Afro-Cuban music.
- 2007 February 12, Nate Chinen, “A Flamenco Master Is His Own Ensemble”, in New York Times:
  After all, its encore introduced some new musical elements, including a pulse faintly suggestive of an Afro-Cuban tumbao.