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The Music of Colombia contains different genres, traditional and modern in consistent with the features of each region. The diversity in musical expressions found in Colombia is the result of a mixture of African, European (especially Spanish) influences, as well as more modern American and Caribbean musical forms, such as Trinidadian, Cuban and Jamaican.
The traditional music in Colombia is an oral tradition. Singers may extend their repertoire using broadsheets, song books or CDs, but these secondary enhancements are of the same character as the primary songs experienced in the flesh. This music derives from, or is related to, a commemorative character. On certain days of the year, particular songs celebrate the yearly cycle. Weddings, birthdays and funerals may also be noted with songs, dances and special costumes.
In a globalised world, many musicians are fusing traditional music with other styles (usually styles from the popular music genres). While this is no bad thing, it is also not traditional music; it's no longer related to any particular culture, but to the culture of the music being fused with. The points above mean that traditional music rose in a pre-commercial setting. While traditional music continues to evolve today, but generally as a continuation of the music from a pre-globalised era.
Dance forms
Styles like Bambuco, Vallenato and Porro were especially influential. When the Waltz became popular in the 19th century, a Colombian version called Pasillo was invented.
Some of the most popular genres of traditional music in the Caribbean coast are Vallenato and Cumbia. One of the most recognized interpreters of traditional Caribbean and Afro-Colombian music is Totó la Momposina.
Cumbia
Cumbia is a mixture of Spanish and African music. The style of dance is modeled on the shackles worn around the ankles of the slaves. In the 19th century, slavery was abolished, so Africans, Indians and other ethnic groups got integrated into the Colombian culture.
It is a complex, rhythmic music that arose on Colombia's Atlantic coast. In its original form, Cumbia bands included only percussion and vocals; modern groups include saxophones, trumpets, keyboards and trombones as well. It evolved out of native influences, combining both traditions. Some observers have claimed that the dance originally associated with iron chains around the ankle. Still others believe it is a direct import from Guinea, which has a popular Cumbe dance form. Cumbia's form was solidified in the 1940s when it spread from the rural countryside to urban and middle-class audiences. Mambo, big band and Porro brass band influences were combined by artists like Lucho Bermúdez to form a refined form of Cumbia that soon entered the Golden Age of Cumbia during the 1950s. Discos Fuentes, the largest and most influential record label in the country, was founded during this time. Fruko, known as the Godfather of Salsa, introduced Cuban salsa to Colombia and helped bring Discos Fuentes to national prominence by finding artists like La Sonora Dinamita, who brought Cumbia to Mexico, where it remains popular.
Colombian Salsa
Salsa music was born among Puerto Ricans and Cubans but soon spread to Colombia. Native salsa groups like Fruko y sus Tesos and Discos Fuentes emerged. Artists like Joe Arroyo followed, inventing a distinctively Colombian form of Salsa. Other influential Colombian salsa musicians include Cristian Del Real "Timbal Genius", Grupo Niche, Alquimia, La Misma Gente, Los Titanes, Los Nemus del Pacífico, Orquesta Guayacán and Grupo Galé. It was in the city of Cali in South-West Colombia that Salsa had the greatest impact. In the 1980's many local Salsa bands and special bars and clubs dedicated to playing classic Salsa records began to flourish the most popular of which beign 'Juanchito', where the best dancers would show off their new moves. Also the way Salsa is danced in Colombia is very different from their Cuban and Puerto Rican counterparts adopting a side-side basic step as opposed to a forward and back type the islanders use.
Champeta and African-diasporic music
Some Colombian communities, such as Chocó, Cartagena and Providencia Island, have large African-descendant communities. Unlike most of the country, cultural mixing with native and European influences have been rare, and, especially in El Chocó, music has changed little since being imported from West Africa. Providencia Island is also home to a type of folk music which is closely related to mento, a Jamaican folk form. Most influentially, however, is the city of Cartagena and its Champeta music that has been influenced by Soukous, Compas and Reggae. Champeta musicians have included Luis Towers, El Afinaíto, El Sayayín, El Pupy and Boogaloo, while others, like Elio Boom, have incorporated Jamaican raggamuffin music to Champeta.
Porro
Porro bands are an enthusiastic form of big band music that came from Sucre, Córdoba and Sabana de Bolívar. The brass ensembles are modeled after European military bands. Influential Porros include La Orquestra Lucho Bermudez, Matilde Diaz, Pacho Galan, Banda de 11 Enero,La Sonora Cordobesa, La Sonora Cienaguera, Orquesta Climaco Sarmiento and Pedro Laza y sus Pelayeros.
Vallenato
Vallenato arose in Valledupar on Colombia's Atlantic Coast and only gained popularity elsewhere in the country in the 1980s. Its origins are shrouded in mystery but are said to have begun with Francisco el Hombre, who allegedly defeated Satan in a musical contest. Based around the accordion, Vallenato has long been connected with Cumbia. Influential artists include Alejo Duran and, more recently, Alfredo Gutiérrez and Lisandro Meza. In addition to the accordion, the bass guitar has been a common part of Vallenato ensembles since it was introduced by Caliya in the mid-1960s.
