congaplace.com

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Could you please at least post a picture (or did you do it allready somewhere else on this forum) ? Some members here are real scholars (I could name some) and are, imho, able to answer your question(s). The ones I'm thinking of are able to recognize a Vergara from a Requena or a Guerra at the first look. I understand if you don't care anymore about the brand, but it's interesting to know anyhow.

Edit : I just remembered your other post, sorry. Do you allow me to post pictures of your bongó on Facebook to try to find the brand ? If you don't allow me, I won't publish them.

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As you want.
The people I was refering to know these brands (Vergara, Requena, Guerra, Raúl, Sonoc/Guanex/AÉ and others) because they played them, and/or own them (or have owned some), or worked on them, or learned with someone playing them, etc.
Some are "living librarys" and know what they're talking about, so when they identify a model (brand, wood species), I trust them.
Some are Cubans, some have lived in Cuba, some are woodworkers or metal workers and have worked on these drums, some are experimented musicians, some are all this at a time. Generally, when I ask them a question, they give me quickly a decent answer, and I never had to complain so far.

As I said, it's as you want, and sorry we couldn't help you further.

Have a nice day.

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It's posted, let's wait now.
I shall not be very original : to me, the darker one seems to be a Vergara (out of caoba/mahogany) with Requena hardware, and the lighter one either Requena or Bienvenido Guerra out of cuban cedar with Requena hardware. But I never saw such instruments in real life, only from pictures, so my knowledge is limited. This being said, caoba is heavier than cedar. If the dark one is heavier than the other one, it's very certainly mahogany. And cuban cedar is said to have a tipical smell and to be softer than caoba. If you push a fingernail into the wood and it comes out with a smell, and if it's lighter than the darker one, it's certainly cedar.

Wait and see...

All I harvested so far is a ton of "like" and a buying offer from a passionate collector. I answered him I would transfer the offer to you, which is done now.

I had nevertheless 2 interesting answers :

- one pointing out that the hardware on the lighter model looked newish, in comparison to the other one (I answered it could also only be cleaner)

- one stating that Vergara bongó have a kind of flare at the ends of the shell : a kind of outside bevel at the top, and inside a the botton (I should have remembered that, but I forgot...). so your darker one should not be a Vergara. He also displayed a picture of a Guerra bongó he used to own, which look different from yours, from the hardware.

I think Requenas had a stave construction, whereas yours are both enterizos, i.e. in a solid shell construction. So we're not any further along.

But it could also be another, unknown brand. We mostly know Vergara, Requena, Guerra, Raúl Travieso (Arsenio Rodríguez' brother, drummer and also drum builder, very very rare instruments), but there certainly were other makers, who were not so famous, but maybe as good...

Let's wait and see. I got caught up in the game now, and want to know too.

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Here are the answers I've got sor far :

[about the light model first] :
"...there’s also usually a stamp inside. the darker bongo is hard to tell without taking the head off and looking for the flare at the top of the shell. it’s the best indicator of vergara shells especially when the hardware is clearly not vergara".

And from another member :

"The lighter one is a Bienvenido Guerra, I have one now. He used to stamp the inside, but not in every case. Quality enterizo bongo"
"Remember in Havana of the 50's there was a welding shop in Calle Zanja (Chinese section) were the hardware for bongos and congas were made. The artisan on that pacticular day chose the design for the "V"s in the crown."

Hopefully you play them, and they sound as nice as they look.

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