Cumbia

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The cumbia is a style of music and the associated couple dance from Colombia .

history

The cumbia mixes complex rhythmic structures of African origin with Spanish-influenced melodies and lyrical forms.

The name is derived from cumbé , a popular African circle dance from the Batá region in Guinea . "Cum" means drum and "ia" means to move, to shake. During the colonial days, slaves brought him to Colombia. Starting from the Atlantic coast, where these were concentrated, it spread as a folk dance from the middle of the 20th century. In the course of time, the cumbé mixed with Indian and Spanish elements and thus transformed into the cumbia, which is danced in pairs.

The cumbia bands initially consisted of drummers and a flute playing the melody. Only later were lyric verses added, which were sung by one of the drummers. Instruments from the culture of the Indian population are often used, such as the 'flauta de millo', a flute made from millet, as well as other flutes and percussion instruments. Contemporary band instrumentation consists of saxophones, horns, keyboards, synthesizers and various percussion instruments.

Numerous modern salsa bands around the world include the cumbia in their repertoire. One of the Colombian artists who has achieved significant international success in this field is Alfredo Gutiérrez. Pastor López , who comes from Venezuela, is often mistaken for a Colombian, is also internationally known . The Colombian label Discos Fuentes publishes the classics of the dance hall orchestras.

Musical characteristics

Traditionally, the “ gaitas ” ( flutes made of cactus or bamboo cane), the accordion , the guiro and various (trump) drums play a central role in the cumbia . In the modern, commercialized orchestras, there are of course also pianos , electric guitars , electric basses , clarinets and brass instruments .

Cumbia is played in 4/4 time at a medium tempo (80–110 bpm ), while - unlike salsa - the basic beats on the 1 and 3 are clearly marked, often with the help of a marching drum. The style-defining instruments here are the guiro and the conga (as an offbeat). The second and fourth beat is usually divided into eighths, which can be accented differently. Some Colombian musicians like to mix a few bars of cumbia into their salsa arrangements in live performances to illustrate the proximity of the two types of music.

The characteristic scheme is as follows:

1st verse: interlude (instrumental) - refrain - interlude
2nd verse: refrain - repetition - refrain

This scheme is often varied, but few cumbias have more than two stanzas.

distribution

The origin of cumbia music is Barranquilla on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. One of the most important Cumbia festivals takes place annually in June in El Banco on the Rio Magdalena . From the Caribbean coast of Colombia, the Cumbia quickly made its way inland along the course of the river. In the present, the music has spread in Latin America more and more and is now internationally successful - from Argentina and Chile to Mexico.

The Spanish guitarist Santiago de Murcia published, among other things, a composition for guitar with the title Cumbées in 1732 , which is derived as a dance piece from the song form Cumbé brought to Mexico by West African slaves .

Cumbia revival of the 1990s and 2000s

The cumbia has been experiencing a revival across Latin America since the early 1990s , and numerous new currents have emerged. It should be mentioned here:

  • the Cumbia Romántica , a more commercial style from Argentina, which produces many successes with pop influences and synth melodies. Performers: Ráfaga, Amar Azul, La Nueva Luna.
  • the cumbia rapera , a cross between cumbia and hip-hop , especially popular in Argentina and Mexico. Performers: Celso Piña, La Cuarta Cuadra, Bajo Palabra, Ozomatli.
  • Nu-Cumbia or Cumbia Digital. Here the DJs take on the cumbia and shoot it into the future. Musicians such as Chancha via Circuito, Frikstailers, Toy Selectah, Faauna, Andrés Digital, Lido Pimenta, El Hijo de la Cumbia and many more give the traditional songs a new sound and raise it to a new level with their own productions. Net labels like Latino Resiste, El Flying Monkey, Cabeza, Folcore, Konn, Caballito, Bersa Discos, Kumbale etc. spread the music in their channels. A well networked scene is formed.

literature

  • Darío Blanco Arboleda: This is what Spanish America sounds like. Overview of the origin and further development of the cumbia in Latin America . In: ila. Latin America Observatory Journal, No. 353 (March 2012). ISSN  0946-5057 . Pp. 4-6.
  • Leonardo D'Amico: Cumbia. La musica afrocolombiana . Udine 2002. ISBN 978-88-6163-003-1 .

Web links

Commons : Cumbia  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Frank Koonce: The Baroque Guitar in Spain and the New World. Mel Bay Publications, Pacific, Mon. 2006, ISBN 978-078-667-525-8 , pp. 85 f. and 96-98.