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Store An Homage To Owner's Dad

Tribune photo by José Patiño Girona

Amyra Hernández-Oquendo is the owner of Tumbao Music, which she opened in December. The store sells percussion instruments and Spanish acoustic guitars used in Latin music. It also sells compact discs of Latin music, selling new artists and the classic old school sounds.

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By JOSE PATNO GIRONA

jpatino@tampatrib.com

Published: January 14, 2009

WEST TAMPA - Amyra Hernandez-Oquendo remembers working at her father's music store in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he sold Latin albums and the instruments that dominated Latin songs.

When she grew older, she decided to set her own path. For 10 years she was a mortgage broker and Realtor working the Florida market.

Then her father, Humberto Hernandez, closed the Brooklyn store in 2001. Nostalgia for her youth and time spent working in the family store emerged.

Last month she opened Tumbáo Music to pay homage to her father - and, she said, because she anticipates a local market for compact discs of popular and old-school Latin music and the instruments used to create it.

The store, 4058 N. Armenia Ave., has congas, bongos, timbales, maracas, acoustic Spanish guitars and folkloric guitars, such as the tres, cuatro and requinto. She also sells other percussion instruments, such as guiro, a hollow gourd with ridges played with a wooden stick; djembe, an African hand drum; and batá drum, a two-sided conga.

"There is a huge Latino community and there is no one that specializes in Latino music," said Hernandez-Oquendo, 36.

Hernandez-Oquendo also sees an opportunity to educate. Next month she plans to open a studio next door to her music store, offering guitar and percussion lessons.

"It's important to stay in touch with your roots," Hernandez-Oquendo said. If not, "then you lose your self-identity."

"I think our Hispanic youth today are forgetting where their roots come from," she said. "They need positive outlets. Music is something that is born in us. We have to cultivate that."

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Tumbáo Music, specializing in Latin music and instruments

WHERE: 4058 N. Armenia Ave.

HOURS: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday

CONTACT: (813) 872-0055

Reporter Jose Patino Girona can be reached at (813) 259-7659.

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