Colombia: The birthplace of cumbia

Gaitero teams, dancers and most people parade to the cemetery in San Jacinto, Colombia, on Aug. 14, 2022.

Karla Gachet

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Karla Gachet

That is a part of a particular sequence, Cumbia Throughout Latin America, a visible report throughout six nations masking the folks, locations and cultures that maintain this music style alive.

All dance was seen as rebellious throughout colonial occasions. The Caribbean coast of Colombia witnessed the delivery of cumbia within the river system of the Mompos Melancholy, an immense wetland, and in a small mountain vary often called Montes de María. Throughout the colonization of America within the sixteenth century, hundreds of enslaved people arrived from the African continent on the port of Cartagena. Pressured to depart their homeland, they introduced their music, spiritual drums and spirituality. These drums have been additionally used to ship secret messages in the course of the maroonage course of.

De izquierda a derecha, Diomar Trigos, Esneider Páez, Humberto Cañizares y Sebastián Suárez se encuentran en la calle después de participar en el Desfile Pocabuyano en El Banco, Magdalena, Colombia, durante el Festival Nacional de la Cumbia, el 15 de octubre de 2022.

Diomar Trigos (from left to proper), Esneider Páez, Humberto Cañizares and Sebastián Suárez stand on the street after taking part within the Pocabuyano Parade in El Banco, Magdalena, Colombia, in the course of the Nationwide Competition of Cumbia, on Oct. 15, 2022. They’re representing the city of San Alberto, Cesar, and are carrying conventional cumbia clothes.

Ivan Kashinsky

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Ivan Kashinsky

Workers unload sand at the El Cesar dock in El Banco, Colombia, on August 8, 2022. In the distance, a fishing boat is also seen returning to the dock. El Banco and its surroundings along the Magdalena River are considered by many to be the birthplace of cumbia. The National Cumbia Festival, which takes place at El Banco Magdalena, was founded in 1968, in honor of the legendary composer José Benito Barros Palomino. Trabajadores descargan arena en el muelle de El Cesar en El Banco, Colombia, el 8 de agosto de 2022.A la distancia se ve a un barco pescador tambien regresando el muelle. Muchos consideran que El Banco y sus alrededores a lo largo del río Magdalena son la cuna de la cumbia. El Festival Nacional de Cumbia, que se lleva a cabo en El Banco Magdalena, fue fundado en 1968, en honor al legendario compositor José Benito Barros Palomino.

Staff unload sand collected farther down the river and delivered to El Cesar’s dock close to El Banco, Magdalena, Colombia, on Aug. 8, 2022.

Karla Gachet

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Karla Gachet

José Benito Africano Mendoza sings cumbias to people hanging out along the Magdalena River in El Banco, Magdalena, Colombia, on August 7th, 2022. Africano composes and performs cumbias, Including “Nostalgia de me Tierra,” a song about El Banco. Although Africano is talented, his songs are unpublished and his dream of playing at the Festival Nacional de Cumbia, which takes place in El Banco,has not been realized. He plays music on the streets for tips. Many consider El Banco and the surrounding areas along the Magdalena River to be the birthplace of cumbia. The Festival Nacional de Cumbia, which takes place in El Banco Magdalena, was founded in 1968, in honor of the legendary composer José Benito Barros Palomino.

José Benito Africano Mendoza sings cumbias to folks hanging out alongside the Magdalena River in El Banco, Magdalena, Colombia, on Aug. 7, 2022.

Ivan Kashinsky

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Ivan Kashinsky

The swamp area was dwelling to many Indigenous cultures, now known as amphibious as a result of their proximity to water. These cultures are stated to have used flutes constituted of bone in ceremonial rites. Within the Montes de María, the place further Indigenous teams lived, small statuettes of human figures with devices resembling gaitas (Indigenous flutes) — also called chuanas — have been discovered. The clothes utilized in conventional dance, trova, and couple dancing, and the language of the songs exemplify European affect. The musical devices of this area are crafted from the earth, mimicking birds that fly alongside the banks of rivers, the sound of rain or the beating of a coronary heart.

COLOMBIA - Carlos Casas Serrano makes a tambor alegre, a traditional drum used in cumbia, in the workshop of Colilo Lara, on August 12th, 2022, in San Jacinto, Bolivar, Colombia, during the Festival Nacional Auntóctono de Gaitas. Colilo, also without a shirt, chats with another man. Colilo is the son of one of the original Gaiteros de San Jacinto and has been making drums for over fifty years. Gaita is a traditional instrument made from a cactus and is tied to the origins of cumbia. COLOMBIA - Carlos Casas Serrano fabrica un tambor alegre, tambor tradicional usado en cumbia, en el taller de Colilo Lara, el 12 de agosto de 2022, en San Jacinto, Bolívar, Colombia, durante el Festival Nacional Auntóctono de Gaitas. Colilo, también sin camiseta, charla con otro hombre. Colilo es hijo de uno de los Gaiteros de San Jacinto originales y lleva más de cincuenta años fabricando tambores. La gaita es un instrumento tradicional elaborado a partir de un cactus y está ligado a los orígenes de la cumbia. Colio Lara No shirt blue shorts Contact: 320 7825823 304 6704107

Carlos Casas Serrano makes a tambor alegre, a standard drum utilized in cumbia, within the workshop of Colilo Lara on Aug. 12, 2022, in San Jacinto, Bolivar, Colombia, in the course of the Competition Nacional Auntóctono de Gaitas.

Ivan Kashinksy

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Ivan Kashinksy

Portrait of Orlando Jose Blanco Alvarez and his tambor alegre on Aug. 12th, 2022, during the Festival Nacional Autóctono de Gaitas in San Jacinto, Colombia. A conjunto de gaitas, an ensemble featuring flutes of indigenous origin and Afro-Colombian drums, plays rhythms such as cumbia in its most traditional setting. Retrato de Orlando José Blanco Álvarez y su tambor alegre el 12 de agosto de 2022, durante el Festival Nacional Autóctono de Gaitas en San Jacinto, Colombia. Un conjunto de gaitas, formado por flautas de origen indígena y tambores afrocolombianos, toca ritmos como la cumbia en su ambiente más tradicional.

A portrait of Orlando Jose Blanco Alvarez and his tambor alegre on Aug. 12, 2022, in the course of the Competition Nacional Autóctono de Gaitas in San Jacinto, Colombia.

Karla Gachet

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Karla Gachet

Hundreds of participants, dancers, musicians, empresses, parade through the city of El Banco, Magdalena, Colombia during the Festival Nacional de la Cumbia José Barros Palomino 2022.

A whole bunch of individuals, dancers, musicians and cumbia queens parade by the town of El Banco, Magdalena, Colombia, in the course of the Competition Nacional de la Cumbia José Barros Palomino on Oct. 15, 2022.

Karla Gachet

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Karla Gachet

Yojan David Laguna Ospino and Jakelin Guillen Epalza, both age 11, from the dance group, Costa Azul Danza Indio Manzos, pose in the community of Playa Blanca (Guamal), near El Banco Magdalena, Colombia, on August 6th, 2022.

Yojan David Laguna Ospino and Jakelin Guillen Epalza, each 11, from the dance group Costa Azul Danza Indio Manzos, pose locally of Playa Blanca in Guamal, close to El Banco, Magdalena, Colombia, on Aug. 6, 2022.

Ivan Kashinskhy

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Ivan Kashinskhy

Melgen Melendez Baena, a cumbia dancer from Barranquilla, holds up his hand, as Cristobal Perez santos, 72, in a wheel chair, watches the parade of gaitero groups and dancers move through the town and then to the cemetery to pay tribute to the late gaiteros on August 14th, 2022, in San Jacinto, Bolivar, Colombia, during the Festival Nacional Auntóctono de Gaitas. Gaita is a traditional instrument made from a cactus and is tied to the origins of cumbia.

Melgen Melendez Baena, a cumbia dancer from Barranquilla, holds up his hand as Cristobal Perez Santos, 72, watches the parade of gaitero teams and dancers from his wheel chair as they transfer by the city after which to the cemetery to pay tribute to the late gaiteros on Aug. 14, 2022, in San Jacinto, Bolivar, Colombia.

Ivan Kashinksy

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Ivan Kashinksy

The gaita ensemble, Son de Quitasol, practice on August 13th, 2022, during the Festival Nacional Autóctono de Gaitas de San Jacinto. One of the local schools was used by the musicians coming from other places, as a place to sleep.

The gaita ensemble Son de Quitasol observe on Aug. 13, 2022, in the course of the Competition Nacional Autóctono de Gaitas de San Jacinto. One of many native colleges was utilized by musicians from different locations as a spot to sleep.

Karla Gachet

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Karla Gachet

COLOMBIA - Yieson Landero, grandson of the legendary cumbia composer, Andrés Landero, records a cumbia song in Estudio Mastil Récords, on August 12th, 2022, in San Jacinto, Bolivar, Colombia, during the Festival Nacional Auntóctono de Gaitas.

Yeison Landero, grandson of the legendary composer Andrés Landero, information a music at Estudio Mastil Récords on Aug. 12, 2022, in San Jacinto, Bolívar, Colombia, in the course of the Competition Nacional Autóctono de Gaitas.

Ivan Kashinsky

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Ivan Kashinsky

José Benito Africano Mendoza fishes in the Magdalena River, poses with his guitar in his house and cleans fish in El Banco Magdalena, Colombia, on August 7th, 2022. Africano composes and performs cumbias, Including “Nostalgia de me Tierra,” a song about El Banco. Although Africano is talented, his songs are unpublished and his dream of playing at the Festival Nacional de Cumbia has not been realized. Many consider El Banco and the surrounding areas along the Magdalena River to be the birthplace of cumbia. The Festival Nacional de Cumbia, which takes place in El Banco Magdalena, was founded in 1968, in honor of the legendary composer José Benito Barros Palomino.

José Benito Africano Mendoza poses for a photograph along with his guitar in his dwelling in El Banco Magdalena, Colombia, on Aug. 7, 2022.

Ivan Kashinsky

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Ivan Kashinsky

Emilia Reyes Salgado, often called “la Burgos la Meya,” is among the greatest bullerengue singers from San Basilio de Palenque, the primary free city in America. Half an hour away, in Arjona, resides Petrona Martinez, the winner of the 2021 Latin Grammy for greatest folks album, with Ancestras. In María la Baja lives Pabla Flores, who comes from a lineage of singers and has established a college in honor of her mom, who taught her to sing. The African roots of cumbia are expressed not solely by its percussion devices — the tambor alegre, the llamador and the tambora — but in addition by the voices of ancestors mirrored within the sung dances of the area. Black and Afro-descendant girls in Colombia are on the coronary heart of those songs, transmitting this legacy from era to era.

Portrait of Ana Regina Ardila Matos, in her town of San Martin de Loba, Bolivar department, Colombia on August 5th, 2022. Ardila is a cantadora of a rhythm called “Tambora” which uses the same instruments and is related to cumbia. Ardila comes from a tradition of cantadoras, women who compose songs of their daily life. It is passed down through oral tradition. Most of the cantadoras in the region have grown up in areas of poverty, conflict and displacement. Many consider El Banco and the surrounding areas along the Magdalena River to be the birthplace of cumbia. The Festival Nacional de Cumbia, which takes place in El Banco Magdalena, was founded in 1968, in honor of the legendary composer José Benito Barros Palomino. Retrato de Ana Regina Ardila Matos, en su pueblo de San Martín de Loba, departamento de Bolívar, Colombia el 5 de agosto de 2022. Ardila es cantadora de un ritmo llamado “Tambora” que utiliza los mismos instrumentos y está relacionado con la cumbia. Ardila proviene de una tradición de cantadoras, mujeres que componen canciones de su vida cotidiana. Se transmite a través de la tradición oral. La mayoría de las cantadoras de la región han crecido en zonas de pobreza, conflicto y desplazamiento.

Ana Regina Ardila Matos poses for a portrait in her hometown of San Martín de Loba, Bolívar, Colombia, on Aug. 5, 2022. Ardila is a cantadora of a rhythm known as tambora, which makes use of the identical devices as cumbia and is intently associated. She comes from a convention of cantadoras — girls who compose songs about every day life and cross them down by oral custom.

Karla Gachet

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Karla Gachet

Elida Cañates braids extensions on Suleidis Villegas’ hair on Aug. 4th, 2022, in Palenque de San Basilio, Colombia. The specific style is called “caminos”. Afro-colombian women wear different hairdos depending on the occasion. This is a part of the culture and history. San Basilio de Palenque is known for being the first free town in America. Slaves escaped and created their own towns such as Palenque in Colombia in the 17th century. Of the many palenques of escaped enslaved Africans that existed previously, San Basilio is the only one that survives. Women used to have escape maps on their braided heads.

Elida Cañates braids extensions on Suleidis Villegas’ hair on Aug. 4, 2022, in Palenque de San Basilio, Colombia. The particular fashion is named “caminos.”

Karla Gachet

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Karla Gachet

A fiesta in barrio El Cesar in El Banco, Colombia, on August 7th, 2022. This was the day the new president of Colombia was inaugurated, so the people in the neighborhood got together to celebrate and dance in front of the dock. The people in the photos are dancing Cumbia. Many consider El Banco and the surrounding areas along the Magdalena River to be the birthplace of cumbia. The Festival Nacional de Cumbia, which takes place in El Banco Magdalena, was founded in 1968, in honor of the legendary composer José Benito Barros Palomino.

Dawn illuminates the dock and the Magdalena River in El Banco Magdalena, Colombia, on August 9th, 2022. The culture of the area, including cumbia, is deeply tied to the river and the fishermen. Many consider El Banco and the surrounding areas along the Magdalena River to be the birthplace of cumbia. The Festival Nacional de Cumbia, which takes place in El Banco Magdalena, was founded in 1968, in honor of the legendary composer José Benito Barros Palomino. Contact: Juan Jose Perez: +57 311 4157158

Daybreak illuminates the dock and the Magdalena River in El Banco Magdalena, Colombia, on Aug. 9, 2022. The tradition of the realm, together with cumbia, is deeply tied to the river and the fishermen.

Ivan Kashinsky

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Ivan Kashinsky

San Jacinto, situated within the Montes de María, is the epicenter of gaita music, well-known for the Gaiteros de San Jacinto and the cumbia of Andrés Landero, some of the beloved accordionists in Latin America. Traditionally, this area was additionally the territory of the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Entrance of Colombia). It’s stated that guerrillas would permit musicians to cross in the event that they displayed their devices. Amid a civil warfare lasting over half a century, the gaita — a pre-Hispanic flute constituted of the center of a cactus and a duck’s feather — turned an emblem of peace. These Indigenous sounds breathe life into cumbia.

Jose Benito Barros, initially from El Banco, Magdalena, wrote “La Piragua” and “El Pescador,” iconic Colombian cumbias. Early in his profession, Barros didn’t carry out the normal rhythms of his area. This music, rooted within the experiences of fishermen and individuals who recite lyrics on the banks of the Magdalena River, was not initially accepted by the center and higher lessons of that point. Nonetheless, upon realizing the recognition of those rhythms, Barros shifted his musical path. In 1970, he held the primary cumbia pageant in El Banco, serving each as a choose and participant. His daughters, together with native elites, proceed to host this pageant yearly. Whereas the primary port is embellished to impress the invited authorities, just some blocks away, probably the most marginalized neighborhoods proceed to face extortion from small armed teams.

Ingrid cifuentes, dances with candles, as people play gaitas and drums and dance cumbia in the main plaza on August 13th, 2022, in San Jacinto, Bolivar, Colombia, during the Festival Nacional Auntóctono de Gaitas. Gaita is a traditional instrument made from a cactus and is tied to the origins of cumbia.

Ingrid Cifuentes dances with candles as folks play gaitas and drums and dance cumbia in the primary plaza on Aug. 13, 2022, in San Jacinto, Bolivar, Colombia, in the course of the Competition Nacional Auntóctono de Gaitas. Gaita is a standard instrument constituted of a cactus and is tied to the origins of cumbia.

Ivan Kashinksy

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Ivan Kashinksy

This protection was made with the help of the Nationwide Geographic Society Explorer program.

Karla Gachet and Ivan Kashinsky are photojournalists primarily based in Los Angeles. You may see extra of Karla’s work on her web site, KarlaGachet.com, or on Instagram, at @kchete77. Ivan’s work is offered on his web site, IvanKphoto.com, or on Instagram, at @ivankphoto.