No Cowbells at Día Nacional de la Zalsa

This post is also available in: Español

When I saw this video explaining why you shouldn’t play the cowbell in concerts, I immediately thought of those that do it at the Día Nacional de la Zalsa. He provides 5 reasons why not to do it.

5 Reasons Not to Play Cowbell at Concerts

Joaquin Arteaga, the bandleader of Barcelona-based Salsa band Tromboranga, offered this video of why you shouldn’t play the cowbell at concerts. I must assume that as a Salsa musician, he has suffered the consequences of this modality.

The video is in Spanish, and it’s best that you see him explain his reasons, as I can’t come close to transmitting the emotion in the message that he offers.

But if you don’t understand Spanish, I’ll list the reasons after the video:

Here are the 5 reasons:

1. It’s more dangerous than a monkey with a gun (more details below).

2. Show respect for the bongo-cowbell player and the band – The bongo-cowbell player is the one that dictates the pulse of the music for the band. If there are people in the audience beating the cowbell, it will confuse the band.

3. Show respect for the people near you – these people paid good money to hear the band, and now they will only be able to listen to your cowbell.

4. Won’t appreciate the good sound of the band – sound engineers and the band spent time doing sound checks and adjustments to make sure the band sounds great to the audience. With your noise, no one will appreciate that good sound.

5. For your own benefit – if you paid to come to see the band, but can’t listen to it because you are playing the cowbell, you’re wasting your time and money. Buy a piece of foam or rubber and play it like a cowbell. That way you can do the same motion without disturbing anyone else.

Salseros; this seems like good advice for those going to the Día Nacional de la Zalsa! But it also applies to other concerts. Take note!