Cumbia is a musical style from Colombia and Panama that has spread to other Latin American countries such as Venezuela, Mexico, El Salvador, Ecuador, Peru and Argentina.
The dance is a synthesis of the rhythms inherited from the three cultures that make up the Colombian population, that is indigenous, African and Spanish.
Very sensual, the cumbia takes many features from African dances such as drums that will mark the pace accompanied by instruments of indigenous origin such as maracas, bongos, ocarinas, reed flutes or
According to specialists, the word “cumbia” has two origins: one from the Bantu living on the island of Bioko in Equatorial Guinea and who danced the “Cumbé”, the other deriving from a word used in Cuba, ”Cumbancha“ which designates a popular festival.
What is certain is the African origin of this dance. That it had to be born where black slaves found themselves seeking to externalize their concerns and to put themselves in touch with the natives and the Spanish colonists.
According to the famous Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the first Cumbia would be the “Cumbia Sampuesana” composed by José Joaquín Bettín Martínez, a song that has been much appreciated by the Colombian writer.
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Gustala !!!