The cumbiadoor to the rhythm and color of Colombian Caribbeanis the living heritage of one of the most representative genres of its folklore which now has a route to make this music and its dance known to the world.
The Route of Cumbia and Caribbean Musicrecently inaugurated by the Ministry of Culture of Colombia, is a tribute to this musical genre that groups in its sounds seven departments to value the rhythms of this region with the drums and bagpipes that characterize them.
The initiative runs 1,300 kilometers of the Caribbean in a total of 23 municipalities that share a common sound tradition derived from indigenous and Afro-descendant sounds.
“This project means a lot to us, because it is the root and essence of Colombian cumbia, which makes us proud, which we bring to the world. We are leaving the children this beautiful tradition that our grandparents left us”, he explains. Gabriel Torregrosa, director of the Pipers of San Jacintoone of the main exponent groups of this musical genre.
Yes OK cumbia is present in different Latin American countriesin Colombia has a particular sound, as well as a characteristic dance, which is derived from the instruments with which it is played and lived.
Traditionally, cumbia is danced in pairs in open placesturning around the group of musicians while the dancers rotate on themselves.
living culture
the cumbia is “magical, you fall in love, it makes you return to the rootsreturn to the town, get to know all our culture, the mountains, how the towns live”, says Torregrosa, now at the head of a group that was born in 1954 and that, “although all its pioneers have died”, continues “with the tradition and the Heritage”.
In addition to having the responsibility to continue with the legacy of cumbia, the pipers want “that the new generations do it too”, let them soak up the cumbia to continue with this living heritage.
It is the case of Sofía Landero, who at the age of 9 He already goes on stage to play the accordion and delight the public with the steps of the cumbia. Sophia says that “She taught herself to dance cumbia”although it is something familiar, since his brothers are also imbued with this Caribbean genre.
It’s a family thing, explains Rober Landero, director of the Andrés Landero Foundation and the International Cumbia Festival, and also Sofia’s father. “It runs through our veins, we inherited it from master Landero, the King of Cumbia, and now we teach the heirs, responsible for continuing with our legacy to preserve it”, since “cumbia is magic, it is the most beautiful thing that could bring God.”
music tradition
“Preserve the legacy and fight for a genre that identifies us”asserts Torregrosa about the focus of his efforts.
Cumbia is a exponent of “how people eat, how they live”; In addition, the bagpipe, the quintessential cumbia instrument, is “indigenous, made from a cactus, with a wax head, with a duck feather, and it brings out all the tradition that always accompanies us.”
“We want to continue with this and without mixing it with any instrument to follow the tradition”Explain.
What’s more, cumbia is something that accompanies those who live it throughout their livesLike Juana Mendoza, who has been dancing for 70 years inherited from her father, or Pedro García, who is about to turn 88 and continues to move to the rhythm of the bagpipe and the accordion.
Both from San JacintoThey assure that it is a “old family ancestry” that they intend to continue as long as they live.
The Cumbia Route therefore has before it a task as important as it is valuable: to continue promoting and supporting the genre that for centuries has set the pace in the Caribbean of Colombia so that the inheritance and the legacy remain alive.
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
