Cumbia

Culture, Culture and Arts

By Lorena Fernández

The purest representation of African, Indigenous and Spaniard fusion and Colombia´s most significant musical art form, Cumbia originated in the Caribbean coast as instrumental music created with drums, bagpipes and maracas. The word cumbia is a derivate of the African “cumbé”, which means party or celebration.

Cumbia is considered by many the queen of Afrocaribbean rhythms, yet to get to what it is today, this musical genre has transcended races, cultural backgrounds and social classes. During the 30s cumbia rose from the working classes to the urban high society of Colombia, validating itself as an authentic art form and gaining popularity along with lyrics and incorporated instruments such as the accordion. Today three types of cumbia prevail: Classic cumbia, which is instrumental, modern cumbia, with various drums and animated lyrics, and cumbiamba, differing from cumbia in both musical instruments and dance rituals. With Spanish inspired clothing – long skirts for women and hats and red handkerchiefs for men, – the dancing portion of cumbia is a courtship ritual that follows the beat of African drums with a style of Indigenous movements.

The rhythms of cumbia have spread all through Latin America, and countries like Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Peru have developed a taste for creating and dancing the Colombian sounds.