Colombian Cumbias and other Music genres
 Cartagena: eTravelPhotos.com |
One of Colombia's principal forms of music and dance is the Cumbia, with a lively rhythm that is a combination of African, indigenous and european influences, having developed from the Cumbe music of the African Guinean slaves during the Spanish colonization of the New World. Instruments used by Cumbia groups include the African Tambora, a large, bass wooden drum stretched with animal skins, the Tambor Alegre that carries the basic rhythm, the Llamador, a small and narrow drum with a higher tone, the Flauta de Millo, or flute made of wood or cane, Claves, a pair of thick round wooden sticks that are stuck against eachother, and the Guache, a metal tube filled with seeds or stones, or the Maraca, a gourd filled with seeds or stones.
Cumbia dancers typically are dressed in colorful attire. The women are typically and colorfully decked out in a blouse with a wide, frilly skirt, adorned with colorful necklaces and flower garlands. The men wear white shirt and pants, straw hats and a red neck scarf that figures prominently throughout the dance.
Other popular rhythms from Colombia include the Cumbión, Gaita, Son Sabanero, Fandanguillo criollo, Bullerengue, Fandango, Merengue and Joropo.
