Cumbia is a type of music and traditional dance from Latin America. It combines musical and cultural influences from Indigenous American peoples, Europeans, and Africans during the time of European colonization. Cumbia is believed to have originated from funeral traditions in the Afro-Colombian community.

Traditional cumbia music uses three drums: tambora, tambor alegre, and llamador. It also uses three types of flutes: gaita hembra and gaito macho, which are kinds of Colombian flutes, and flauta de millo. The rhythm of cumbia often includes a simple "chu-chucu-chu" sound made by the guacharaca. The genre commonly includes brass instruments and piano. To fully understand cumbia's origins, its spread across the Americas and the world, and its different styles, it is important to consider the diverse cultures and regions of Colombia.

20th century

Many countries in Latin America have created their own local versions of Cumbia, each with unique features.

During the 20th century, Cumbia spread beyond Colombia because of people moving to new places, music being shared through media, and musical collaboration between countries. In Mexico, Cumbia evolved into several subgenres and became an important part of both city music and the cultural identity of Mexican American communities. In Texas, a style called Cumbia Tejana developed. This version was created by Chicano musicians who mixed Colombian music with Tejano, Conjunto, and pop styles. Experts say Cumbia’s ability to change and blend with local traditions is why it has become popular worldwide. When Cumbia reaches new areas, musicians add instruments, rhythms, and performance styles from their region while keeping the drum patterns that define the genre. Today, Cumbia continues to be a musical style that connects people across generations and borders in the Americas.

History of Colombian cumbia

Cumbia originated in the coastal region of Colombia. Its dance style developed from the traditions of this area, which included influences from different cultures. A major part of its history comes from African traditions brought to the region by enslaved Africans during Spanish colonization. Another influence was the Spanish people, whose folk songs mixed with traditions from Indigenous groups, blending different cultural elements.

Over time, cumbia changed from a street dance to a ballroom dance. It has many subgenres from different countries, leading to various dance styles. Cumbia is considered a folk dance and is also known as a street dance worldwide. To understand how cumbia is danced, it is helpful to know its basic form. The dance is performed in pairs, with a man and a woman. This style is important because, in the dance from the Atlantic coast, the woman holds a candle in her right hand. This action has two meanings: one is to light the way for the dancer, and the other is a symbolic representation of the woman defending herself against her partner’s advances.

Since the 1950s, cumbia has become more artistic, with music and lyrics added. However, this style changed over time, and the dance briefly lost popularity during the 1970s.

Expansion into Latin America

As the music changed over time, it spread across Latin America. This spread led to new versions of the music. People around the world began to recognize and appreciate the genre more. In the 1970s, cumbia nearly disappeared in Colombia after salsa became popular. However, cumbia found stability in other countries like Central America, Mexico, and Peru. In these places, the music changed to match the tastes of people with different cultural backgrounds, which were very different from the African-influenced coastal culture where cumbia first began.

Cumbia came to be seen as a symbol of the blending of different races and cultures. This helped change how people viewed the mestizo working class, who were often treated unfairly. In many areas, people began to see mestizos in a more positive light because of cumbia's influence. However, in Argentina, cumbia is still considered vulgar and offensive by many middle-class people. As a result, it has mostly reinforced negative stereotypes about the lower class in that country.

Regional adaptations of Colombian cumbia

• Argentine cumbia
• Cumbia villera, a type of Argentine cumbia that started in poor neighborhoods
• Cumbia santafesina, a music style that developed in Santa Fe, Argentina

• Bolivian cumbia

• Chilean cumbia
• New Chilean cumbia

• Colombian cumbia
• Bullerengue
• Porro
• Cumbia vallenata, a mix of cumbia and vallenato, both from Colombia
• Merecumbé, a mix of Colombian cumbia and Dominican merengue

• Costa Rican cumbia

• Ecuadorian cumbia
• Turbocumbia

• Salvadoran cumbia
• Cumbia marimbera, a type of cumbia popular in Southern Mexico and Central America

• Guatemalan cumbia
• Cumbia marimbera, a type of cumbia popular in Southern Mexico and Central America

• Honduran cumbia
• Cumbia marimbera, a type of cumbia popular in Southern Mexico and Central America

• Mexican cumbia
• Southeast cumbia or chunchaca, a version of Mexican cumbia
• Northern Mexican cumbia or cumbia norteña, a version of Mexican cumbia developed in northeastern states of Mexico and parts of Texas (a former Mexican territory)
• Cumbia sonidera, a version of Mexican cumbia popular in Mexico City and central Mexico
• Cumbia marimbera, a type of cumbia popular in Southern Mexico and Central America
• Cumbia pegassera, a version of Mexican cumbia popular in Northern Mexico and the United States
• Tecnocumbia, a type of cumbia that mixes cumbia with electronic music
• Cumbia rebajada, a style that began in Monterrey but is now popular worldwide, using slowed-down versions of accordion-based Colombian cumbia records

• Nicaraguan cumbia
• Cumbia chinandegana
• Cumbia marimbera, a type of cumbia popular in Southern Mexico and Central America

• Panamanian cumbia, a subgenre that combines Panamanian folk dance with cumbia, created by enslaved African descendants during Spanish rule in Panama and later blended with Indigenous and European traditions

• Cachaca, a mix of cumbia sonidera, norteña, vallenato, and cumbia villera

• Peruvian cumbia, also called chicha or psychedelic cumbia
• Chicha, also called Andean cumbia or Andean tropical music
• Amazonian cumbia or jungle cumbia, a popular type of Peruvian cumbia created in the Peruvian Amazon
• Cumbia piurana, a group of styles and subgenres linked to cumbia developed in Piura, a region on the north Peruvian coast since the mid-1960s
• Cumbia sanjuanera, a type of cumbia piurana
• Cumbia sureña, a type of Peruvian cumbia that mixes Andean cumbia with techno

• American cumbia
• Tex-Mex cumbia
• Tejano or Tex-Mex music, a music style that mixes cumbia with other Mexican and American music styles developed in Texas and Mexico in the 20th century
• Cumbia rap, a version of cumbia popular in the United States and Latin America that includes hip-hop and rap

• Uruguayan cumbia

• Venezuelan cumbia