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Mexican cumbia is a type of cumbia, a music which originated in Colombia but was later reinvented and adapted in Mexico.
The cumbia has its origins in Colombia going back at least as far as the early 1800s, with elements from indigenous and black music traditions. In the 1940s, Colombian singer Luis Carlos Meyer Castandet emigrated to Mexico, where he worked with Mexican orchestra director Rafael de Paz. In the 1950s, he recorded what many believe to be the first cumbia recorded outside of Colombia, "La Cumbia Cienaguera". He recorded other hits like "La historia". Thus Cumbia gained popularity in Mexico.
In the 1970s Aniceto Molina also emigrated to Mexico, where he joined the group from Guerrero, La Luz Roja de San Marcos, and recorded many popular tropical cumbia songs like "El Gallo Mojado", "El Peluquero", and "La Mariscada". In the 1970s, Rigo Tovar enjoyed success with his fusion of cumbia music with ballads and rock.
Mexican cumbia is similar to other adaptations of Colombian music [1] such as Salvadorian cumbia, Peruvian cumbia or Argentinian cumbia, among others. It is not a unification of a single genre, but a mix of styles that are very diverse and wide ranging, from province to province, from era to era. They have styles that once they are assimilated by the public and the musicians of Colombian cumbia, giving birth to new subgenres, such as northern cumbia, southern cumbia, mariachi cumbia or Sonidera cumbia. These national variations are a fusion of adapted Colombian folk stories with the national styles like northern music, mariachi, band music, romantic music, huapango, Son Huasteco, and also with ancient and modern rhythms from abroad like Cuban Son, salsa, merengue, reggae, and ska among the Afro-Caribbean rhythms, as well as the Bolivian, Ecuadorian, Vals and Peruvian folk styles, in addition to later influences from rock & roll, hip-hop, rap, disco, dance, and electronica. These trends have varied according to the popularity of every one of the rhythms and era with what has merged. Mexican cumbia has diffused throughout Central America. [2]
The Mexican cumbia has adapted versions of Colombian music like Peruvian cumbia or Argentine cumbia, among others. This diversity has appeared in different ways. For example, originally the northern cumbia (cumbia norteña) was usually played with accordion and consists of tunes with few chords and slower speed than original cumbia. This musical subset of cumbia includes artists such as Ramón Ayala, Acapulco Tropical, Bronco, Límite, and Los Barón de Apodaca. In southern cumbia, however, the accordion is replaced by piano or organ, and the pace is faster and more elaborated both harmonically and instrumentally than in the original cumbia. Notable artists of this style include Los Sonnors, Socios del Ritmo, and Chico Che.
Other subgenres of Mexican cumbia include Cumbia Mariachi, Cumbia Andina Mexicana, and Cumbia Sonidera. Orchestral Cumbia is another variant represented by big orchestras like Pablo Beltrán Ruiz, Orquesta Tampico, Orquesta Coatzacoalcos, Roy Luis among others, who popularized many cumbia songs accompanied by a full big band sound.
From the 1940s until the mid-1960s, Colombia experienced what was called the “Golden Age of Cumbia'' which characterized the country's musical identity for decades with hits such as the well-known cumbia song, La Pollera Colorá (“the red skirt”). Due to various social factors, cumbia receded in popularity as rhythms and music from abroad - mainly from the north - gained in popularity. Mexican music in all of its variants, Afro-Caribbean rhythms like salsa and merengue, and the rise in popularity of Vallenato folk music seemed to displace cumbia in Colombia. In Colombia, cumbia ceded ground to Vallenato as a centerpiece of Colombian national music, relegating cumbia only to national events and association with the historical past. [1] [3]
In its era of magnificence in the 1940s and 1950s, Colombian cumbia spread to several Latin American countries and was especially popular in Peru, Mexico, and Argentina. [4]
The circumstances around the adoption of the Colombian cumbia rhythm has varied. For example, in Argentina the rhythm was adopted transparently because tango music utilized the accordion. The same happened with Mexico: the accordion plays a central role in northern music, so the fusion with the Colombian rhythm occurred naturally. Later, cumbia saw the adoption of the “accompaniment” of the bajo sexto from northern music, that in turn was taken from the accompaniment of Carmen Rivero’s conga drum, which would be replaced by the guitar and in orchestrated cumbia songs, would be replaced by keyboards, mainly by Venezuelan orchestras such as Nelson Henríquez and his Combo. [5]
In the mid-1950s in Mexico, the group called “Los Cometas”, enjoyed success with various rhythms of bolero music, Cuban tropical music, among other Cuban rhythms and the foxtrot in their songs. This group recorded for the company CBS (today Sony Music) various classic hits.
Their particularity lies in using the accordion in all of their songs as the basis of its rhythm. Thus they remain in the memory of the Mexican people of the time. The hits that mix bolero and tropical music with an accordion like “Jugando poker,” “Chupando caña,” “¿En dónde está mi saxofón?”, “Que se mueran los feos,” among others. The assimilation of cumbia with its accordions made its adoption easier. [5]
The first Colombian musician to venture to the north was Luis Carlos Meyer who decided after having a huge success in Colombia, to take a tour of different neighboring countries including Mexico. He was one of the first musicians who introduced of cumbia to the country, leaving a sample of the new “tropical” music in Mexico. This continued with the orchestras of Rafael de Paz and Tony Camargo, and in turn Lucho Bermúdez contributing other Colombian rhythms like the porro style. Other musicians a few years later would assimilate to the new Colombian rhythm. Meyer continued spreading his influence to the United States, where he would ultimately reside. [6] [7]
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The emergence of the original Mexican ensemble for performing cumbia emerged in the early 1940s in the orchestras of Rafael de Paz and Tony Camargo. [8] Rafael de Paz and Tony Camargo added the metallic sounds from Cuban music into cumbia music when Luis Carlos Meyer (native of Colombia) migrated to Mexico carrying the cumbia songs and dances and porros (folk dances) of his country. Cumbia originated in Colombia, and variations have been made in various countries based on the original Colombian style. [9] There have been various writers who have analyzed the cross-country spread of Cumbia and both its effects on listeners. [10] Both styles of ensembles were merged due to Meyers not having the traditional Colombian instrumentation. This is shown in the recordings of RCA Víctor Mexico by 1945 when they were already popular. [11]
The traditional Bolero music in Mexico of Cuban and Puerto Rican trios included maracas, and the predominant Cuban music of the time as shown in films of the time, giving an account of the adoption of these instruments.
In Colombia, Lucho Bermúdez already was playing cumbia songs starting in 1940. He used an orchestra with a greater number of instruments that differed with the ones used in Mexico, being based mainly on saxophones and clarinets that are used to play the melody, along with an orchestral base. His music appeared in national films, but in the Mexican style. [12] One reason why Lucho Bermúdez decided to leave Colombia was because there were not many quality recording studios, so he was invited to Argentina to record in studios of superior quality (such as RCA Víctor). [13] It was not until 1963 that his works were truly dispersed at the inauguration of Inravisión. [14] Carmen Rivero in 1962, integrated not only these instruments but also the timpani (drum), marking the stops, starts, and exits of the orchestra within the same musical theme. This was a style not seen in the Colombian recordings. [15] This conductor is supported by the musical arrangements of the renowned and international Mexican author Fernando Z. Maldonado who accentuated the use of trumpets as well as the musical stops of the Cuban dances derived from the Danzón.
The music of Latin America refers to music originating from Latin America, namely the Romance-speaking regions of the Americas south of the United States. Latin American music also incorporate the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Due to its highly syncretic nature, Latin American music encompasses a wide variety of styles, including influential genres such as cumbia, bachata, bossa nova, merengue, rumba, salsa, samba, son, and tango. During the 20th century, many styles were influenced by the music of the United States giving rise to genres such as Latin pop, rock, jazz, hip hop, and reggaeton.
The music of Mexico is highly diverse, featuring a wide range of musical genres and performance styles. It has been influenced by a variety of cultures, primarily deriving from Europeans, Indigenous, and Africans traditions. Occasionally, there are also influences from Asians and Arabs cultures, as well as other Hispanic and Latino influences. Music became an expression of Mexican nationalism starting in the nineteenth century.
The music of Colombia is an expression of Colombian culture, music genres, both traditional and modern, according with the features of each geographic region, although it is not uncommon to find different musical styles in the same region. The diversity in musical expressions found in Colombia can be seen as the result of a mixture of Amerindian, African, and European influences, as well as more modern American.
Panama is a Central American country, inhabited mostly by mestizos. The music of Panama is heavily based on the folk music of Spain, particularly that of Andalusia and was influenced first by the indigenous populations of Kunas, Teribes, Ngobe Bugle and others, and then by the black population who were brought over, first as slaves from Africa, between the 16th century and the 19th century, and then voluntarily to work on the Panamanian Railroad and Canal projects between the 1840s and 1914.
Vallenato, is a popular folk music genre from Colombia. It primarily comes from its Caribbean region. Vallenato literally means "born in the valley". The valley influencing this name is located between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Serranía de Perijá in north-east Colombia. The name also applies to the people from the city where this genre originated: Valledupar. In 2006, vallenato and cumbia were added as a category in the Latin Grammy Awards. Colombia’s traditional vallenato music is Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, according to UNESCO.
Argentine cumbia is an umbrella term that comprises several distinct trends within the same tradition: the dance and music style known as cumbia in Argentina.
The porro is a musical style and dance from the Caribbean region of Colombia. It is a Colombian cumbia rhythm that developed into its own subgenre. It was originally a folkloric expression from the Sinú River area that evolved into a ballroom dance. It is played mostly by brass bands or orchestras, and danced in couples. This genre influenced some of the greatest Latin American bands of the 1960s, with songs such as "Pachito E'ché", "Se va el Caimán", and "Me voy pa'Cataca"
The güira is a percussion instrument from the Dominican Republic used as a percussion instrument in merengue, bachata, and to a lesser extent, other genres such as cumbia. It is made of a metal sheet and played with a stiff brush, thus being similar to the Haitian graj and the Cuban guayo and güiro. Güira, guayo and güiro all have a function akin to that of the indigenous native maracas or the trap-kit's hi-hat, namely providing a complementary beat.
This page is a glossary of Colombian music.
Luis Eduardo Bermúdez Acosta better known as Lucho Bermúdez, was a Colombian musician, composer, arranger, director and performer. He is considered to be one of the most important performers and composers of Colombian music in the 20th century. He adapted traditional Colombian musical styles such as cumbia and porro into modern rhythms that would become symbols of national identity from the 1930s. His work had a substantial impact around Latin America. His musical work was influenced by the porros and fandangos of the Sabana de Bolívar and the coastal towns of northern Colombia.
Tropical music is a term in the Latin music industry that refers to music genres deriving from or influenced by the Spanish-speaking areas of the Caribbean. It includes the islands of Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and the Caribbean coastal regions of Colombia and Venezuela.
Francisco Zumaqué Gómez is a Colombian musician and composer of rich Colombo-Caribbean rhythms. Defined as a contemporary musician with great part of his compositions oriented to Electroacoustic music, doing important research that contributed in the creation of new rhythms mixing traditional Colombian music with orchestral compositions. His music is considered avant-garde and refreshing, bright, flexible and with a personal worrisome of his cultural mark, all of these are reflected in several compositions that were a hit and are part of Colombian musical history. His compositions include symphonies, chamber music, vocals and works for non-conventional musical groups.
Celso Piña Arvizu was a Mexican singer, composer and accordionist, mainly in the genre of cumbia, being one of the most important musicians in the style of "cumbia rebajada".
Tropipop is a music genre that developed in Colombia in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It is a blend of traditional musical forms of the Caribbean Region of Colombia, mainly vallenato, with foreign Latin genres such as salsa and merengue, and pop and pop rock. The term "tropipop" comes from the synthesis of the words "tropical" and "pop music" describing the genre's mix of Latin tropical roots with American popular music.
"Déjame Entrar" is a song released by Colombian recording artist Carlos Vives as the first single from his fifth major studio album of the same title in 2001.
"Peligro De Extinción" (English: Danger Of Extinction) is a Latin pop song by Puerto Rican reggaetón recording artist Ivy Queen, from her eighth studio album, Musa (2012). It was composed by Queen, Francisco Saldaña, and Víctor Delgado, produced by Noriega alongside the help of Predikador and released as the lead single off the album on March 24, 2012. The recording gained mainly positive to mixed reviews from critics, many praising the use of Edison Rey's accordion in the song. Lyrically, the song talks about how she doesn't want to be in danger of extinction, and that if there are no Romeos to sing to Juliets that the Juliets will take the role of the Romeos.
Cumbia is a folkloric genre and dance from Colombia.
"Colombia Tierra Querida" is a song written by Lucho Bermúdez in the Colombian cumbia genre. It is also the name of the 1970 album by Bermúdez, released on CBS Records, that introduced the song.
Los Corraleros de Majagual is a Colombian music group from the Caribbean coast. The group, which has recorded songs in the cumbia, porro, vallenato, and other Latin genres, has received over 30 gold records.
"La Pollera Colorá" is a Colombian cumbia song. It was composed in 1960 as an instrumental by clarinetist Juan Madera Castro. Singer-songwriter Wilson Choperena composed the lyrics in 1962.
