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Music of Colombia

  • 18 min read
  • 8 chapters

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Colombia has a vibrant collage of talent that touches a full spectrum of rhythms ranging from Pop music and Classical music to Salsa and Rock music. Colombian music is promoted mainly by the support of the largest record labels, independent companies and the Government of Colombia, through the Ministry of Culture.

Caribbean region

Colombia is known as "the land of a thousand rhythms" but actually holds over 1,025 folk rhythms. Some of the best known genres are cumbia and vallenato. The most recognized interpreters of traditional Caribbean and Afro-Colombian music are Totó la Momposina and Francisco Zumaqué.

Western Caribbean Region

Cumbia

Cumbia began as a courtship dance practiced among the African population on the Caribbean coasts of Colombia. It is a mixture of Spanish, Native Colombian and African music. The style of dance is designed to recall the shackles worn around the ankles of the slaves. In the 19th century, slavery was abolished and Africans, Indians and other ethnic groups got a more complete integration in the Colombian culture.

Cumbia is a complex, rhythmic music which arose on Colombia's Atlantic coast. In its original form, cumbia bands included only percussion and vocals; modern groups include saxophones, trumpets, keyboards and trombones as well. It evolved out of native influences, combining both traditions. Some observers have claimed that the dance originally associated with iron chains around the ankle. Others still believe that it is a direct import from Guinea, which has a popular dance form called cumbe.

Cumbia's form was solidified in the 1940s when it spread from the rural countryside to urban and middle-class audiences. Mambo, big band and porro brass band influences were combined by artists like Lucho Bermúdez to form a refined form of cumbia that soon entered the Golden Age of Cumbia during the 1950s. Discos Fuentes, the largest and most influential record label in the country, was founded during this time. Fruko, known as the Godfather of Salsa, introduced Cuban salsa to Colombia and helped bring Discos Fuentes to national prominence by finding artists like La Sonora Dinamita, who brought cumbia to Mexico, where it remains popular.

It is worth pointing out that the "classic" cumbia known throughout Colombia is the Cumbia Cienaguera. This song reflects a uniquely Colombian feel known as "sabor" (flavour) and "ambiente" (atmosphere). Arguably, this song has remained a Colombian staple through the years and is widely known as Colombia's unofficial national anthem. Some artists are Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto, Los Graduados, Los Black Stars, Los Golden Boys, Los Teen Agers, and Los Corraleros de Majagual. In the United States, an Afro- Colombian band based in New York called Grupo Rebolu, performs a variety of Afro-Colombian rhythms with authentic instruments such as Tambora and Tambor Alegre. Their repertoire includes Cumbia and many more genres from the Northern coast of Colombia as part of their original compositions.

Champeta and African-diasporic music

Some Colombian communities, such as Chocó, Cartagena, San Andres and Providence Island, have large African-descendant communities. Unlike most of the country, cultural mixing with native and European influences have been rare, and, especially in El Chocó, music has changed little since being imported from West Africa. Providencia Island is also home to a type of folk music which is closely related to mento, a Jamaican folk form. Most influentially, however, is the city of Cartagena and its champeta music which has been influenced by soukous, compas, zouk, and reggae. Champeta musicians have included Luis Towers, El Afinaíto, El Sayayín, El Pupy, and Boogaloo, while others like Elio Boom have incorporated Jamaican raggamuffin music to champeta.

Porro

Porro bands are a form of big band music that came from Sucre, Córdoba and Sabana de Bolívar. The brass ensembles are modeled after European military bands. Notable porros include Pacho Galan.

Eastern Caribbean musical region

Vallenato

Vallenato was first played by the pre-Columbian Indians using traditional instruments. The first vallenato singer was Guillermo Buitrago, born in the Magdalena department. Vallenato did not always use accordion as its main instrument. In fact, from 1920 to 1936 the main instrument was the guitar. Groups such as bovea and sus vallenatos also are among the first vallenato singers. They form the group in the city of Barranquilla Atlantico department. They also were the first to take the vallenato music to a different country like Argentina, specifically in northern Argentina. Contrary to popular belief, vallenato is not a rhythm. Rather, it is a genre. It is made up of four rhythms: Son, Puya, Merengue, and Paseo. Vallenato arose in Valledupar on Colombia's Atlantic Coast and only gained popularity elsewhere in the country in the 1980s. Its origins are shrouded in mystery but are said to have begun with Francisco el Hombre, who allegedly defeated Satan in a musical contest. Based around the accordion, the guacharaca, and the caja vallenata (a larger version of the bongo), vallenato has long been connected with cumbia. Influential artists include Alejo Duran and more recently, Alfredo Gutiérrez and Lisandro Meza. In addition to the accordion, the bass guitar has been a common part of vallenato ensembles since it was introduced by Caliya in the mid-1960s. The most recent modernization of vallenato occurred in 1993 when Carlos Vives released Clásicos de la Provincia, which made him into a star and changed the face of vallenato.

An important phenomenon has occurred in Colombia with vallenato. At first it was an exclusive kind of music for Atlantic Coast people but because the proliferation of radio programs of this genre in other cities of the republic (such as Bogota), and the migration of people from the coast to the capital, vallenato spread to the rest of Colombia. Not only the music, but the musicians of the genre increased in the capital and other cities. In 2006 for the first time, a musician from Bogota, Alberto "Beto" Jamaica, was the king of vallenato in the traditional competition to play accordion, "El Festival Vallenato". Other important musicians from other cities have taken importance in the vallenato world.

Vallenato has spawned several subgenres, including vallenato-protesta, which is known for socially aware lyrics, and charanga vallenata, which was invented by Cubans in the United States like progenitor Roberto Torres.

Other Caribbean genres

  • Chalupa
  • Champeta
  • Chande
  • Cumbión
  • Bullerengue
  • Décimas
  • Fandango
  • Gaita
  • Lumbalú
  • Mapalé
  • Maya
  • Merecumbé
  • Mode Up/Mud Up
  • Pajarito
  • Parrandí
  • Pilón
  • Pompo
  • Porro
  • Puya
  • Son Sabanero
  • Son Palenquero
  • Tambora
  • Tamborito

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