Bomba is an umbrella term that refers to a variety of musical styles and associated dances originating in Puerto Rico. It was developed during the 17th century by enslaved Africans and their descendants on sugar plantations along coastal towns, most notably Loiza, Mayagüez, Ponce, and San Juan. It is the island's oldest musical tradition.

Bomba reflects a syncretism of Puerto Rico’s many cultural groups. It incorporates Taíno instruments such as maracas; characteristics from traditional European dances like rigadoons, quadrilles and mazurkas; and drum ensembles and drummer–dancer interactions that bear close resemblance to a number of African musical styles. The music also evolved through contact between enslaved populations from different Caribbean colonies and regions, including the Dutch colonies, Cuba, Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), and Saint-Domingue (Haiti), and it has notable roots in Congolose and Afro-French cultural expressions.

After slavery was abolished, bomba was commercialized in the mid-20th century and incorporated into the island’s folklore. In the 1990s, the bomba and plena group Hermanos Emmanueli Náter brought the genre to the streets for public consumption in the form of "Bombazos" that were designed for communal participation.

The roots of the bomba tradition can be traced to the Asante people of Ghana. The word bomba is derived from the Akan and Bantu languages of Africa.

Bomba was developed by West African slaves and their descendants on sugar plantations in Puerto Rico during the early European colonial period. Despite lacking a shared language due to their varied origins, they found common ground in music. Cane workers used music and dance to release feelings of sadness, anger, and resistance; they were also used to communicate and plan rebellions and were integrated into baptism and marriage celebrations. The first documentation of bomba dates to 1797, when botanist André Pierre Ledru described his impressions of inhabitants dancing and singing popular bombas in Voyage aux îles de Ténériffe, la Trinité, Saint-Thomas, Sainte-Croix et Porto Ricco.

Distinct regional styles of bomba developed across Puerto Rico, each possessing its own characteristics. For example, the style performed in Ponce is distinguished by the use of large drums which are mounted vertically.

Bomba was also significantly shaped by Haitian influences. The music of Haitian slaves, many of whom were brought to Puerto Rico during the Haitian Revolution, contributed to the yubá rhythm typical to bomba in Mayagüez.

For much of its history, bomba was marginalized due to heavy racialization and its perception as a primitive style, and it remained largely confined to the areas of Puerto Rico with substantial Afro-Boricua populations such as the municipalities of Loíza, Ponce, Mayagüez, and Guayama. A major shift occurred in the 1940s and 1950s, when artists such as Rafael Cortijo and Ismael Rivera popularized bomba internationally by introducing it to other parts of the Americas and beyond. In these new settings, it was fused with various national and regional musical styles to create hybrid genres. Within Puerto Rico, however, bomba was insulated from these developments and thus retained its traditional character.