What is sonidero?

Sonidero is a part of the Mexican culture of DJs who play and create cumbia music. It’s a multi-generational and familial tradition. Though the movement has roots in the 1950s, modern sonidero music is mostly characterized by colorful synth melodies.

Sonidosn (as they’re called) are largely influenced by Colombian cultural expressions. They use cumbia and vallenato (a genre of popular Colombian folk music) as their main rhythms, Colombian cities as their names, and Colombian flags as their symbols. A sonidero can be any size from one DJ playing a private party to a huge community event. Sometimes described as a Mexican Soundsystem, a sonidero is often characterized by DJs shouting messages over cumbia, salsa, and guaracha music at public dancing events.

A Resident Advisor article says, “Some sonideros play more Cuban salsa than Colombian cumbia. Some only play tracks by Mexican cumbia bands. Others play big-room EDM remixes that sample cumbia classics. But as a general rule, the backbone of this tradition is the unmistakable cumbia beat of the guacharaca, a hollow tube that's scraped with a fork to form the genre's rhythmic foundation: chik-chika-chik-chika-chik. The melodies—sweet and potent like a rich dessert—are simple enough to have you whistling the hook after only one listen.”