congaplace.com

There is an old good thread about these bongos -
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=6978

I got this set from a guy who went from New York to Cuba on this ship in 1956 -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Mongolia_%281922%29.

He bought the bongos at the Solis shop. They are like new. He brought them home, put them on a shelf and then in a box for 50 years. They are 6" tall, Macho 6 1/2, Hembra 7 1/2. The Hembra staves are 3/4" thick, the Macho about 7/8". There is a Solis sticker on the center block with the address 550 San Lazaro, Havana. Inside the Hembra is a piece of the disclaimer sticker about weather affecting the wood. In addition to glue, the staves are held together by these metal things hammered into the bottom. I have seen these things on other drums but never before on a Requena. They seem to work because there are no signs of stave-separation.

I'm going to keep them as they are for now. I have the exact same bongo with new super hardware that I play a lot - they have a big sound for a small light bongo. Where did I put my sterno??.

They are screaming for Matt Smith to put hardware on them. Them Requenas sound huge for such a small bongos, they project as good or better than a Jay Bereck or a Junior Tirado,and they only weigh 5 lbs with hardware. Is a job for Super Ritmo Man to retrofit hardware on them.

Saludos,

Dario

Would love a set of Requenas to match my Conga
Anybody have one for sale?