Evolution of Cumbia: A Clash of Cultures and Times

During the period of colonization, an ongoing process by which a central system of power dominates the land and its components, many music genres adopted a mixture of various culture influences. One of the many genres famous for doing this is cumbia. Cumbia originated from the Caribbean coast of Colombia with African, Amerindian and Spanish influences. Through time, cumbia experienced a drastic change where it historical value and instruments were either replaced or completely eliminated due to the new technology, making it easier to internationalize cumbia. Therefore cumbia went from being traditional to expanding and becoming more modernized. Thus it is with great importance to compare both traditional and modern cumbia to witness the impact this great shift had on cumbia’s historical value and instrumentation.
As colonization of Colombia approached, Spaniards trespassed into Colombia accompanied by African American slaves to take over the lands. Due to that, traditional cumbia began as “folklore dance amongst the black, indigenous and mixed population” (Hernandez 2016).

The Vertical duck flute was the indigenous instrument that had two versions of it; it was either a hembra with five holes (the lead instrument) or a macho with one or two holes and was played along with the rattle (D’amico 2013: 29). These two versions usually functioned as one and are meant to sound like a bird. The cane flute was only played when the vertical duck flute was not (D’amico 2013: 33). The cane flute is considered an African decent instrument along with the rest of the instruments listed, which demonstrates the African influence in cumbia. However, once commercialization begun and the radio grew an interest on this genre, the elements that created traditional cumbia began to be