Cumbia

Monument to the dance and music of cumbia in El Banco.

Cumbia is originally a Colombian folk dance and dance music and is Colombia's representative national dance and music along with vallenato. The Cumbia is an autochthonous dance and music from the Caribbean Coast of Colombia, with variants of equally folk in Panama.

Cumbia began as a courtship dance practiced among the slave population that was later mixed with the European instruments and influence. It was also used during Colombia's struggle for independence as an expression of resistance against Spain.

Origins

Cumbia is a variant of the African Guinean cumbe music. Cumbia started in the northern region of Colombia, mainly in or around Cartagena during the period of Spanish colonization. Spain used its ports to import African slaves, who tried to preserve their musical traditions and also turned the drumming and dances into a courtship ritual. Cumbia was mainly interpreted with just drums and claves.

The slaves were later influenced by the sounds of Amerindian instruments from the Kogui and Kuna tribes, who lived between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Montes de María. Millo flutes, Gaita flutes, and güiros were instruments borrowed from these Native American tribes. The interaction between Africans and Amerindians under the Spanish caste system created a mixture from which the gaitero (cumbia interpreter) appeared, with a defined identity by the 1800s. (These gaiteros are not the same the Venezuelan Zulian gaiteros.) The European guitars and accordions were added later though Spanish influence.

Cumbia as a Courtship Ritual

The danced courtship ritual was rhythmically performed with music played by groups of men and women couples; women playfully waving with their long skirts and holding a candle, while the men danced behind the women, with one hand on his back and the other one holding his hat, putting it on and off and waving it. Men also carried a red type of handkerchief which they either wrapped around their necks, waved in circles in the air or handheld together with women. Until mid-20th century, cumbia was considered a vulgar dance, practiced only by the lower classes.

Style

The basic rhythm structure is 4/4. Due to its origins, both African and Amerindian influences can be felt in cumbia.

Musical Instruments

Traditional instruments used in cumbia:

• Drums: Cumbia drums were of African origin and were brought along with slaves to the Americas by the Spanish conquerors. Africans used wood, ropes made out of sisal (Agave sisalana), and animal dry skins to make their drums. The drums were played either with hands or with sticks. The ends of the sticks were sometimes wrapped with dry skin to prevent wearing of the drums. Cumbia interpreters produce variations of the sound emitted by the drum by hitting it on almost every area of the wooden base and dry skin. Today, modern deep-toned drums are used in cumbia as well.
• Claves: These percussion instruments are a pair of hard thick sticks and usually set the beat throughout the song.
• Instruments of European origin used in cumbia today include the guitar, the accordion, the bass guitar, and the modern flute.

Modern Cumbia

Cumbia has generally been enjoyed by the lower classes of the American continent due to its simple sound and lyrics. Due to the diversity in Latin America, the music has undergone changes as it mixed with the regional music styles. Therefore, there are several variations of the music.

Colombia

Today traditional cumbia is preserved and considered representative of the Colombian identity, especially in the northern Caribbean coast. It is associated with the Carnival of Baranquilla and the Vallenato Legend Festival. Modern forms of cumbia are are also combined with other genres such as vallenato or rock. This mixing of genres is found in some of the music of Carlos Vives, for example.

Argentina

Main article: Argentine cumbia

The music tends to be appreciated more by the lower social classes, and is often scorned by the upper classes. In Argentina, for example, this social divide is exemplified by the cumbia villera phenomenon that represents and resonates with the poor and marginalized dwellers of villas miseria, (shanty towns, and slums). Argentinian cumbia lyrics typically glorify theft and drug abuse, much like Northern American hip hop. However, it must be noted that a lighter form of cumbia enjoyed widespread popularity in Argentina during the 1990s (see Argentine cumbia).

Chile

Popular with the lower social classes, it is often ridiculed by the middle and upper classes. Nevertheless, it is widely danced at parties and gatherings.

Mexico

Main article: Mexican cumbia

Cumbia music in Mexico is very diverse, with a variety of styles emerging from different regions. In the south, Puebla City, is the center of the Cumbia Sonidera, a rebirth of Mexican Amerindian tribal sounds with modern electronic rhythms and textures. In the northern city of Monterrey, Latin Grammy nominee Celso Pina y Su Ronda Bogata have popularized Cumbia Vallenato, and fused it with electronica, hip-hop, reggae, and dub. The emigration of Mexicans to the United States has also increased the popularity of Mexican cumbia in the USA.

More recently, the term "cumbia" has taken on an even more diverse meaning of a radio format that emphasizes traditional popular and folk music.

Tecnocumbia

Starting in Mexico and gaining popularity later in Peru and Bolivia, the style came from the synthesis of Andean "Chicha" and modern Mexican cumbia with the addition of synthesizers and other electronic instrumentation. Due to this technological change to the music, it is known as "tecnocumbia." The popularity of the tecnocumbia has been increasing over the years, and many countries such as Argentina and Chile have adapted it to their particular likings.

Peru

Peruvian cumbia is generally known as "Chicha." It is a subgenre of cumbia, and it is very popular with the lower social classes. Peruvian cumbia started in the 1960s with groups such as Los Destellos, and later with Los Mirlos, Los Shapis, Cuarteto Continental, and Los Diablos Rojos. The higher classes generally view the music with contempt, though this subgenre is starting to become accepted among them, which is a sign of its increasing popularity. Some musical groups that play Chicha today are: Agua Marina, Armonia 10, Agua Bella, and Grupo 5.

El Salvador

"Chanchona", found in cities such as Sonsonate, follows a cumbia rhythm and uses instruments such as the accordion, electric bass, conga, guira, and the occasional keyboard. This genre is popularized by artists such as La Chanchona de Tito Mira and La Chanchona del Arcadio. Chanchona sometimes also features a marimba, made famous in the genre by Fidel Funes.

Orchestras such as Los Hermanos Flores also perform cumbia with basic instrumentation, replacing accordion with brass instruments and woodwinds, and using traditional percussion and electric bass.

United States

Selena, The Kumbia Kings, The Kumbia All Starz, The Super Reyes, Grupo Fantasma, La Internacional Sonora Show and the Very Be Careful are famous musicians based in the United States that have performed and/or specialize in cumbia.

See also

• Colombian music
• Vallenato
• Totó la Momposina
• Diana Mercado from Barranquilla, Colombia Objetivo Fama 5