Columbian Maroons: African Culture Alive in San Basilio de Palenque

One of the places I have to see in this life is a region about 60 km from Cartagena, on the Caribbean in Columbia, called San Basilio de Palenque.  This amazing place has maintained a vibrant african culture in South America despite attacks from the outside and social isolation.  The people of this region are actually Cimarrons or Maroons, descendants of fierce escaped slaves that fought to remain free in the 1600s.   Something really interesting about this area besides the fact that descendants practice african drum, dance and many other practices that are clearly old world in origin, but the people of this region actually speak their own tongue, Palenquero. It’s a language that is said to be the only Spanish creole found in Latin America.  It’s known locally simply as Lengua (tongue) and is so distinctly different from the local Spanish that those outside of the 3000 remaining speakers, hardly understand a word.   The language shares aspects of the  Kongo-Angola region of Africa’s language as well as Portuguese influences given their role in bringing slaves to South America.   Despite being a very impoverished and isolated culture that apparently faces a great deal of prejudice , especially surrounding language differences as well as cultural and ethnic, the people of this area have maintained a beautiful and rich tradition passed on from their ancestors that continues to tell the story of all they’ve been through and survived.

Here is a sweet video of some dance in the area of Cartagena by folks from this region

Afro-Columbian Cumbia Music and Dance

Cumbia dance and music in Columbia came to be through a fusion of the influences of African drum and rhythm and the Spanish rulers’ musical traditions.    Practiced by slave populations on the Caribbean coastal region of Columbia, Cumbia was originally considered a dance of courtship.  It is believed  that Cumbia came from  the Guinean cumbé dance though rhythmically comparisons can be made to the music of the Yoruba people of Nigeria, a huge cultural influence in the Americas and Caribbean.  Initially Cumbia was performed with drums and clave and later began to merge with European instrumentation.       Over time, Native American instruments of the region, namely the Kuna tribe became a part of the ensemble.

Cumbia is played in Columbia, Panama as well as Mexico though the rhythmic structure varies in each region.

Here is an example of a lovely Cumbia dance

Here is one of my favorites by the lovely jewel from Columbia, Toto La Momposina

Ai Curura!