Mapping of the Colombian musical diversity
Colombia's musical reputation and richness is based on its history and the cultural and geographical diversity of its territory. Each region has a number of musical genres. There are no less than 157 of them, for 1025 rhythms! Here is a small presentation by regions of the traditional Colombian musics
The cumbia. Who has not heard cumbia in Colombia has never been there. If this saying does not exist, it is not less true so much the genre is important in the country. Even on the continent. "Cumbia" would come from the Bantu language, a derivative of cumbé, designating rhythms and dances from Equatorial Guinea. Imported from West Africa by the first slaves, the cumbia became "Latinized" over time. Originally, it is the music of the gaiteros, early 19th century, a fusion of indigenous and African influences. It was played with two gaitas (long, typically Colombian flutes) in offbeat - the characteristic offbeat of cumbia - and a maraca (indigenous instruments), accompanied by African drums (including the llamador, a small drum) - today's groups have added saxophone, keyboards, trumpets, electric guitars... In the early 1940s, it was Lucho Bermúdez who brought this style, which had been rural until then, to the middle classes of the big cities. Ten years later, cumbia was heard everywhere, thanks to the label Discos Fuentes. Among the most important Colombian cumbia artists, José Barros gave birth to mythical pieces such as El Alegre Pescador or La Piragua. We can also mention Andrés Landero, "the king of cumbia", La Sonora Dinamita, iconic since the 1960s and still close to traditional cumbia or Totó la Momposina, simply one of the most important personalities of Colombia. Today, the genre is in the good hands of the young Colombian guard like Bomba Estéreo or Frente Cumbiero who rejuvenate it with more modern sounds. Internationally, the genre is also very successful with groups like Chico Trujillo in Chile, Bareto in Peru, Chicha Libre in Brooklyn or La Yegros or Hijo de la Cumbia or the ZZK label in Buenos Aires.
Vallenato is the other major musical genre popular on the Caribbean coast and especially in the Valledupar region, where it originated. " Vallenato " was originally an expression for its inhabitants. When the peasants of the valley were asked where they came from, they would answer: " Soy del Valle nato" ("I am a native of the valley"). A fusion of "cultural expressions from northern Colombia, songs of the cowboys of the Magdalena Grande, songs of African slaves and the rhythms of the traditional dances of the indigenous peoples of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta," as described by Unesco, which included the genre in the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2015, the vallenato has a strong narrative character, melancholic and joyful, telling stories of love or describing characters. It is played on the accordion combined with instruments of indigenous origin: the caja (a kind of bongo in the shape of a box) and the guacharaca (a hollowed-out calabash with transverse grooves on the outer surface, which is scraped with a stick). The vallenato is composed of four basic rhythms: the paseo, the son, the merengue and the puya. Rafael Escalona, Alejo Durán, Emiliano Zuleta, Enrique Díaz, or Diomedez Díaz are among the main composers and interpreters. Carlos Vives democratized this genre by merging it with more pop sounds. Among the new wave of vallenata, more commercial, we can mention Silvestre Dangond, Jorge Celedón, or Iván Villazón. For fans of the genre, the Festival de la Leyenda Vallenata has been held every year since 1968, in April, in Valledupar. For a nice appetizer before heading to the Costa, try to see the beautiful 2009 filmLos viajes del viento (The Journeys of the Wind ), by Ciro Guerra, where the accordion and the Vallenato are the main protagonists of this road movie
The champeta also originated in the Caribbean region. Very popular in all the Caribbean, it was born in the popular districts of Cartagena in the years 1960. Sailors disembarked at the port with vinyls of soukous, highlife, mbquanga, juju from Africa, and other Caribbean music, such as zouk, soca, calypso or compas. Exotic music that was played at full volume on gigantic mobile sound systems, the famous picos, and which gradually became "creolized" (champeta criolla) in San Basilio de Palenque in the 1970s and 80s, merging with Afro-Colombian rhythms from the coast (bullerengue, mapalé, zambapalo and chalupa). In the years 1990-2000, the champeta became urbanized, incorporating reggaetón, dancehall or rap
From the same region, we also find the porro with similar origins to the cumbia, with a faster and more joyful rhythm despite a certain monotony, today played by "las bandas papayeras", using wind instruments
The bullerengue, born in the Maroon communities (and still performed by its descendants), this dance sung and performed exclusively by women - and accompanied by two drums and clapping whose rhythm has its roots in the African continent - symbolizes female fertility and pays homage to the deceased. The great interpreter of bullerengue is Petrona Martinez (born in 1930), who has greatly contributed to the worldwide popularity of the genre thanks to her success and her tours in Europe and the United States. It is worth noting that every year in October a festival dedicated to the genre is held in Necocli. Originally from the Atlantic coast, let's not forget to mention this little bomb of joy that is the chandé, a festive folklore, fusion of indigenous rhythms and African music, interpreted with drums, maracas and flutes
In the Pacific region, land of African slaves during the colony, the specific art of currulao was developed, the most representative dance of this part of the country, originating from African culture and rhythms and whose name refers to the cununao, a drum that plays an important role in the folklore of the region. All in percussion, the currulao is a dance of nuptial parade, naturally executed in couple and exacerbating the feelings of love. Performed with the same instruments as the currulao, the bunde (or bunde chocoano) differs from the former in its choreography. Although it is a funeral rite, its dance is meant to be joyful. Another dance of the region, the chirimia , is a popular and festive fanfare of which the instrument of the same name (a kind of oboe) arrived with the Spanish military during the Conquista. The region is also famous for its use of the marimba. Celebration of life, form of worship of the saints or farewell to the deceased, "marimba music, songs and traditional dances, musical expressions integral to the fabric of the community of Afro-descendants in the Colombian South Pacific region " are part of the list of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO since 2010. The Festival de música del Pacífico Petronio Álvarez in Cali, every year in August, gathers the best artists of the genre, such as Grupo Gualajo, Grupo Bahía, Saboreo, Rumba Chonta, Socavón, Herencia de Tirimbiqui, or Nidia Góngora, among others
Let's move on to the Andean region. Here too, of course, many traditional aesthetics flourish. The music here is often of peasant origin and soaked with Andean rhythms. The guabina is a very popular dance in the rural world. It is performed in couples and varies according to the community (sometimes it is danced with joined hands or with a cane). A faster version of the guabina called torbellino is also very popular in the region. Meaning " whirlwind" , it can be performed in groups and contains many complex choreographic games. The pasillo is also danced here, an adaptation of the Austrian waltz, full of joy, faster and sometimes even dizzying. This dance is very popular and is celebrated every year in Aguadas through the Festival Nacional del Pasillo. Note that the pasillo is the national music of neighboring Ecuador, where the genre, more than a dance, has become a very melancholic and popular variety. "Popular" is an adjective that could also qualify the bambuco, the most characteristic genre of the region and one of the most famous and ancient traditional music of the country. Of Quechua origin and having integrated European contributions, the bambuco is a very rhythmic dance, where one generally makes a step in front of the other, then, on the tip of the foot, one slides while moving backwards of a small jump. The genre is performed on the tiple, a twelve-string guitar widely considered the national instrument. The genre is so important that it has a dedicated event, the Festival folclórico y Reinado nacional del Bambuco in Neiva, with parades and bambuco demonstrations
In the region of the Plains and Orinoco, the joropo, the characteristic music of the llaneros, the inhabitants of the llanos (the eastern Great Plains), resounds. Very festive, the joropo is a descendant of the Spanish fandango - of which it is a more straightforward and raw heir - to which it has incorporated African elements. It is played with the cuatro, a harp and the capachos of small maracas. It sometimes takes the form of sung duels, the contrapuntos. Also popular here, the galerón and the paseo are variations of the joropo that are listened to during agricultural work and danced during the festivals. Every year, for five days at the end of June, this traditional music of the Llanos is honored in Villavicencio at the Torneo Internacional del Joropo and at the Casa Del Joropo
In the Colombian Amazon, Brazilian influences can be felt in the presence of dances such as the carimbo, very sensual, or the forró . This last one, very popular and travelling, is really the aesthetic of the Brazilian Nordeste. Typically played with accordion and percussion, the forró is based on Africanized European dances and is declined in several genres, some more cadenced than others.
Current music
The current Colombian music is not limited to Shakira, fortunately. If the pop-rock diva embodies the country on the international scene, alongside other stars like Carlos Vives or Juanes, the country is a buzzing hive of creativity. One of the names to watch out for is Kali Uchis, an artist as eccentric as she is exciting in contemporary pop, piloting a hyper acidic universe. And although the country did not invent reggaetón - this boiling mixture of rap, dancehall and Latin American aesthetics born between Panama and Puerto Rico -, Colombia has largely contributed to popularize it by offering some of its leaders, such as J. Balvin, Maluma, or more recently Karol G
As far as rap is concerned, for a long time, the genre was a niche music in Colombia. It was not absent, but it was not one of the dominant cultures. Then, all of a sudden, a powerful movement was formed. Although all aesthetics are represented, the Colombian scene seems to cultivate a penchant for "boom-bap," old-school rap, where nothing matters more than seductive rhythms, incisive punchlines, and memorable wordplay. While it has not yet caught the attention of the public and the international media, this scene is full of talent, including La Etnnia, a pioneer of the 1990s, Alcolirykoz, a duo from Medellín, and more recently Doble Porcion, who has helped shape the new wave of Colombian rap. And in the latter, the latest stars are undoubtedly Trueno or El Menor. Also, interestingly, rap is a megaphone for indigenous communities in Colombia, which find it an ideal medium to relate their daily lives and experiences as victims of forced displacement. Among them, Embera Warra, Linaje Originarios or Wera Fono are the best known entities
In the electronic field, the country is just as dynamic. The pioneers are called Sidestepper, and have gained great success in the country by mixing electronic with Colombian sounds and have opened the way for many groups such as Bomba Estéréo, Lido Pimienta and labels like TraTraTrax or Insurgentes. Electronic again, but more experimental, let's also mention Ela Minus and Lucrecia Dalt. Two local entities not to be forgotten. First, AAINJAA, a committed batucada group, as well known for the quality of its performances as for the strength of its commitments. Then, Bomby, great defender of the Afro-Colombian culture that he celebrates in a traditional Colombian music - like the chirimía - in which he invites reggaetón, dancehall, or rap
Among the unclassifiable music, mixing the Colombian folklore of the Pacific, the Caribbean or elsewhere, with fanfare, electro, rap or dub, here are some of the essential groups that you will probably hear: ChocQuibTown, Cyntia Montaño, Systema Solar, Puerto Candelaria, Papaya Rublick, Kartel Pacifico, Pernett, la Mojarra Electrica, la Mambanegra.. or the Ondatropica, a big band gathering great names of Colombian folklore, led by Mario Galeano, AKA Frente Cumbiero, in collaboration with the prolific English DJ and producer Quantic (Will Holland) who has worked a lot in Colombia (collaborations with Nidia Góngora, Esteban Copete, Pernett...). To finish in these creative musics which are exported well, do not hesitate to view the excellent documentary (in French) Que Pasa Colombia - www.quepasacolombia.fr - which describes well the contemporary universe of the Colombian alternative scene.
Finally, among the imported and Colombianized styles, we cannot forget salsa. Originally from Cuba, Puerto Rico and New York, it was introduced in the cumbia's homeland in the 1960s and 70s. Joe Arroyo was able to distinguish the local salsa from the one that was then being played in the Caribbean by creating his own style, the joesón. Other Colombians are inscribed in the pantheon of salsa: Fruko y sus Tesos, Grupo Niche, Los Latin Brothers, Orquesta Guayacán, and more recently Grupo Galé, Son de Cali, La Suprema Corte, Orquesta Yambao, Yuri Buenaventura, La 33... Since the 1980s, salsa has been a popular phenomenon, especially in Cali, which has become the "salsa capital of the world"!
Classical music
Colombia has some great international talents such as the young pianist and conductor Ricardo Araújo and renowned philharmonic orchestras, including the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra, the most important in the country, which performs at theAuditorio Leon de Greiff
. Bogotá is also one of the few cities in the world to have a female philharmonic orchestra, the Orquesta Filarmónica de Mujeres. Colombian orchestras also bring originality to the world of classical music, regularly incorporating elements of national folklore to produce unique works.The most anticipated event is the International Festival of Classical Music of Cartagena, which attracts music lovers from all over the continent every year in January. Fabulous concerts and encounters in a setting that lends itself perfectly to it, in the middle of old stones.
Some classical personalities to watch: bass Valeriano Lanchas, the country's most important lyrical personality, pianists Blanca Uribe and Teresita Gómez, by far the most outstanding, as well as composers Guillermo Uribe Holguín (1880-1971), who founded the national orchestra of Colombia, Blas Emilio Atehortúa (1943-2020), somewhere between Baroque and experimentation (dodecaphony, atonality, etc..), Jacqueline Nova (1935-1975), a pioneer of contemporary classical music in Colombia, and Francisco Zumaque, who mixed electroacoustic and traditional music.
Let's not forget to mention the conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada, a great name in conducting, who has been appointed music director of the prestigious Vienna Symphony Orchestra from the 2021/22 season.
