"Don Pablo" Mini Bongo with Puerto Rico Flag. The Don Pablo Mini Bongo is designed and tested by Musical Instrument Artisans. Bongos are an Afro-Caribbean percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed drums of different sizes. The larger drum is called the hembra (female) and the smaller drum the macho (male). Bongo drums produce relatively high-pitched sounds compared to conga drums, and should be held behind the knees with the larger drum on the right, when right-handed.
Bongos are mostly associated in Afro-Caribbean music with a steady pattern or ostinato of eight-notes know as the martillo or "hammer". Bongos are one of the most widespread Afro-Caribbean hand drums. Bongos are commonly played in genres such as son cubano, salsa, and Afro-Cuban jazz.