It is said that Rosas enjoyed the Candombe dances so much that he not only permitted them, but even attended some of them with his family (160). Dances sponsored by African societies were enforced and these Candombes were held on the edge of town by the river shore, where by that time slaves and freed men danced publicly to the music of the drums resembling African celebrations (Miller 2004, 88). The vitality of African and Afro-Argentine dance formed the basis of all social and cultural activities, and although after Rosas' reign there were new curfews imposed to limit the Candombes, it was difficult to suppress these celebrations (Andrews 160). Already during colonial times and thereafter African religious beliefs were transformed with Catholicism. An example would be the most important celebrations of the African nations on January 6 (Three Kings Day). At this celebration and similar Candombes Afro-Porteños performed their national dances trying to recreate a reflection of African society in the New World (Andrews 161 f.). George Reid Andrews observes in his book The Afro-Argentines of Buenos Aires – 1800-1900.

“Through the candombes the Afro-Argentines kept a part of their lives free of the absolute control that a slave-owning society sought to exercise over them. It was a small act of resistance, but it was one of the few open to them, and they refused to abandon it.” (162)

On January 6 the African nations would have a king and queen preside over the celebration, and as mentioned above, the different nations would perform their different dance characteristics. Through the close contact of the different African nations a common dance was developed throughout time.

“The choreography of the candombe is divided into four stages. In the first, men and women form two lines facing each other, singing, chanting, and swaying to a slow and steady beat. Occasionally the lines come together for the ombligada, in which males and females strike stomachs together. At the end of this section the “broomsman” performs a solo using a broom as a baton, twirling, throwing it, and performing various feats of skill as a sort of intermission. Following this, the rhythm picks up slightly and couples dance one at a time while the rest of the dancers form a clapping and singing circle around them. Couples succeed each other in the center until everyone has danced. In the third stage, men and women make a ring together and dance a sort of cakewalk step, bodies alternately thrown back and forward, the wheel moving to the beat of the drums. Then with an abrupt shout the lead drummer hurls himself into a wild and driving rhythm, in which he is immediately joined by the other musicians. The wheel dissolves and the whole crowd dances madly; each person improvises his or her own steps and dances however he or she pleases. The rhythm picks up speed and intensity over roughly half an hour. The dancers dance to exhaustion. Then as suddenly as it began, it is over: the lead drummer shouts out a command, his companions stop precisely on cue, and the dance has ended.” (163)

This dance formed the climax of festivities in the first half of the nineteenth century. In Andrews' description we can discover certain parallels to Afro-Uruguayan Candombe of that time. First of all, Candombes were similarly held in Montevideo during the 1800s. Additionally, the Afro-Uruguayan dances at the time also consisted of couples dancing together. As you can read in our Afro-Uruguayan Candombe section this was due to European influences that Afro-Uruguayans had adopted into their dances. In regard to Afro-Argentines in Buenos Aires we cannot trace the same root, but in regard to the viceroyalty, it could be a possibility that the Candombe dance of the nineteenth century was not solely born out of African-based characteristics.