Preserving Latin tradition in the sounds of the counterculture
Tambor drums and large gaita flutes characterized the original Afro-Colombian coastal social dance music of cumbia, along with the later addition of brass, horns, and piano. Jasmine Garsd of NPR said, “Engraved in each vertebra of cumbia is the history of Latin America itself. Brought to Colombia around the time it became a Spanish colony, it was heavily influenced by the instruments of native tribes...Its shuffle spread throughout Latin America.”
Latin American culture has always mastered the art of preserving traditions while injecting innovation and modern influences to craft hybrid sounds. It was a natural sonic and cultural evolution when the region’s counter-culture layered organs and electric guitars - the sounds of surf and psychedelic rock - onto traditional cumbia rhythms to form psychedelic cumbia.
The genre first gained popularity in Peru and later in Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Mexico, and throughout Latin America. As the surfing subculture grew and took hold in these regions, so did its soundtrack. From those times, we were gifted the acid-tinged, laid back rhythms of bands such as Los Wemblers, Chicha Libre, Los Mirlos, Los Destellos, among many others.
Interestingly, the psychedelic cumbia movement influenced the originators of cumbia music in Colombia and made its way as far as Germany. Today, you’ll hear the influence of psychedelic cumbia music in some rap, pop, and indie rock music.
