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

Traditionally, cumbia uses three drums: tambora, tambor alegre, and llamador. It also uses three flutes: gaita hembra and gaito macho (both types of Colombian flutes) and flauta de millo. The music often follows a 2 or 4 meter. A simple rhythm called "chu-chucu-chu" is created by the guacharaca. Brass instruments and piano are often included in cumbia music. To fully understand cumbia’s origins, its spread across the Americas, and its different styles, it is important to consider the complex mix of cultures in Colombia.

20th century

Most Hispanic American countries have created their own local version of Cumbia, each with unique features.

During the 20th century, Cumbia spread from Colombia to other countries because of people moving, media, and music shared across borders. In Mexico, Cumbia developed into many different styles and became an important part of both city culture and the identity of Mexican American communities. In Texas, a style called Cumbia Tejana formed when Chicano musicians combined Colombian music with Tejano, Conjunto, and pop sounds. Experts say Cumbia’s ability to change and include new elements is why it has become popular worldwide. As Cumbia reaches new areas, musicians add local instruments, rhythms, and traditions while keeping the genre’s basic drum patterns. Today, Cumbia continues to connect 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 traditional culture of this area, which included influences from multiple ethnic groups. A major part of its history comes from African traditions brought to the region by enslaved Africans during Spanish colonization. These influences were connected to the costeño dance. Another important influence was the Spanish people, whose folk songs combined with indigenous traditions created a mix of 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 both a folk dance and a popular street dance worldwide. To understand cumbia’s dance style, it is helpful to know its basic features. The dance is performed by pairs, where a man and a woman move together. This is important because, in the Atlantic coastal version of the dance, 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, such as a tool used by the woman to show she is protecting herself from her partner’s movements.

Since the 1950s, cumbia has been made more artistic, with music composed and lyrics added, unlike its traditional form. Over the years, the style has changed, and the dance briefly lost popularity during the 1970s.

Expansion into Latin America

As the genre developed, it spread across Latin America. This growth led to new styles of the music, and its popularity worldwide changed how people viewed it. In the 1970s, cumbia nearly disappeared in Colombia after salsa became popular there. While this was harmful, some argue that cumbia found new stability in Central America, Mexico, and Peru. In these regions, cumbia changed to match the tastes of people with different cultural backgrounds than the African-influenced coastal communities where it began.

Cumbia is often seen as a symbol of harmony between different races and cultures. This helped shift public attitudes toward the mestizo working class, who faced discrimination. In some areas, people began to view mestizos more positively because cumbia influenced their perspectives. However, in Argentina, cumbia is still mostly considered vulgar and offensive by much of the middle class, which has reinforced negative stereotypes about the lower class.

Regional adaptations of Colombian cumbia

• Argentine cumbia
• Cumbia villera, a type of Argentine cumbia that developed in poorer areas
• Cumbia santafesina, a musical style that began in Santa Fe, Argentina

• Bolivian cumbia

• Chilean cumbia
• New Chilean cumbia

• Colombian cumbia
• Bullerengue
• Porro
• Cumbia vallenata, a type of music that combines cumbia and vallenato, both from Colombia
• Merecumbé, a type of music that combines 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 style of Mexican cumbia
• Northern Mexican cumbia or cumbia norteña, a style of Mexican cumbia developed in northeastern states of Mexico and parts of Texas, which was once part of Mexico
• Cumbia sonidera, a style 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 style of Mexican cumbia primarily popular in Northern Mexico and the United States
• Tecnocumbia, a type of cumbia that combines cumbia with electronic music
• Cumbia rebajada, a style of music that originated in Monterrey but is 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 type of music that combines Panamanian folk dance with cumbia, developed by enslaved people of African descent during Spanish rule in Panama and later combined with Indigenous and European cultural elements

• Cachaca, a type of music that combines cumbia sonidera, norteña, vallenato, and cumbia villera

• Peruvian cumbia, also known as chicha or psychedelic cumbia
• Chicha, also known as Andean cumbia or Andean tropical music
• Amazonian cumbia or jungle cumbia, a popular style of Peruvian cumbia created in the Peruvian Amazon
• Cumbia piurana, a set of styles and subgenres linked to cumbia produced 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 combines Andean cumbia with techno

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

• Uruguayan cumbia

• Venezuelan cumbia