The conga drums might never have been so popular if not for Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz)

TIL (today I learned)...

The actor who played Ricky Ricardo, Desi Arnaz, was a Cuban-born musician who helped make the conga drum popular in the United States. Arnaz was a teenage immigrant who played drums and guitar in a Latin orchestra. He popularized the conga at a nightclub in Miami Beach. 

The conga drum is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum that is a key part of Latin rhythms. The conga drum originated from the makuta, a drum from the Congo region of Africa. Many Cuban slaves came from the Congo, and after slavery was abolished, they shared their culture with Cuba, including their drums.