There’s been a ten-year gap between Rio, Aterciopelados’ most political studio album, and their latest release Claroscura. The world has has changed a lot in that time. The Colombian government has signed a peace treaty with the FARC, the music... Read Article
“Accordions Around the World,” a series that brings over 100 accordionists, as well as bandoneón, bayan, concertina, and harmonium-players, to perform at New York City’s Bryant Park has an exciting lineup which includes several Latin American acts. The series... Read Article
La Santa Cecila’s new album, Buenaventura, is a beaming and vibrant road trip through America. Imagine a journey starting in American Dixieland, passing through vivid and colourful Andean towns before reaching the pampa grasslands of the southern cone.... Read Article
It’s a hashtag popular among Colombians these days: #hueleacarnaval. Quite simply, it translates to, “It smells like Carnival.” Indeed, we are just days away from the Battle of the Flowers (La Batalla de Flores), Barranquilla’s main Carnival event,... Read Article
Colombian Loops is an app, an online store and a digital platform designed to allow people from all over the world to access and use ‘Colombian virtual instruments, rhythmns and pre-mixed tracks’. Created by Poliedro, an award winning... Read Article
For his last album, Bailar en la Cueva, the Uruguayan singer/songwriter Jorge Drexler took the bold step of relocating to Bogotá and working with Mario Galeano, the mastermind behind Ondatrópica and Frente Cumbiero, and a new group of... Read Article
It bends but it does not break. You can take cumbia and you can twist it, curve it, flex it but you won’t change its nature. That seems to be the concept behind the first and only recording... Read Article
“No, no, we’re inside the Gran Centro, not next to it!,” Lisandro shouts to me over the buzzy loudspeaker of my pirated cellphone, on a sweltering cab ride in sunny Barranquilla, Colombia. I quickly prompt our grumpy cab... Read Article
You’ve probably heard Mauricio Alvarez’s project, Cero39, before. He’s churned out remixes for a lot of the cumbia digital heavy hitters, from Colombia’s own Bomba Estéreo and Lido Pimienta, to ZZK greats Fauna. Now we get to hear... Read Article
Vallenato kings Very Be Careful are back with a new album and it’s a fun one.
In August 2011 José Hernando Arias – a London resident born in Britain to Colombian parents – was chosen by the BBC for their World Routes Academy series. The programme, which aims to unite young musicians with mentors... Read Article
One of the most important names in twentieth century popular Latin music is the legendary Discos Fuentes record label of Colombia. For almost eighty years, the Medellín-based label has created many of South America’s most famous hits, and... Read Article
