S2 Track 7: Yo Me Llamo Cumbia / My Name is Cumbia

Mix(ed)tape

In this episode we visit host Andrés' beloved motherland: Colombia! We travel all the way to South America to talk about Cumbia! This rhythm, child of the Colombian Caribbean, has expanded to many countries including Mexico, Argentina, and Perú. Its diffusion has been so widespread that cumbia enthusiasts are sometimes unaware of where the rhythm is from and which cultures created it.

In our journey to Colombia we explore the Black and Amerindian roots of cumbia, how it's danced and its original instruments, its relation with the bullerengue rhythm, and cumbia's whitening and expansion outside of Colombia.
For this track we have a battery of great guests: Nelda Piña is a bullerengue cantaora (singer) and lead voice of folkloric ensemble Nelda Piña y Sus Tambores; Rosita Lozano is a former dancer of Totó la Momposina's and Delia Zapata's ensembles and is currently a cultural manager and the director of the Foundation Rosa Agustina Medina Pérez; Edelmira Massa Zapata is a folklorist, choreographer, visual artist, and director of El Palenque de Delia; Héctor Fernández L'Hoeste is a Professor in the Department of World Languages in Georgia State University and author of the book Cumbia! Scenes of a Migrant Latin American Music Genre; Carmen Dence is a retired professor and the founder and choreographer of folkloric dance company Grupo Atlántico in St. Louis MO; and Santiago Andrés Rojas Lozano is a connoisseur of the traditional music of the Colombian Caribbean and vice-president of the Foundation Rosa Agustina Medina Pérez.

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Host/Producers: Andrés Hincapié, PhD; Melissa Villodas, PhD Candidate
Graphic Content Creator: Susan Mykalcio