Take a Musical Trip: A Quick Study of Traditional Colombian Music and Dance

  When we consider classic dancing, some things that tend to come to mind are grace, precision, or maybe just beauty in general. Some of the most famous dances that embody these principles are derived from Latin American culture, and the deep roots of the indigenous groups that began several of these traditions, paired with the influence of western culture during the colonization period. What has survived has developed into a unique and mesmerizing way of movement that we refer to as classical dancing. While it is prevalent in much of Latin America, I feel that Colombian dance is especially noteworthy for its distinct sound and tragic, yet expansive, history.

Sound

The noteworthy reasons that this music has gotten globally recognized are its remarkable rhythm, unique percussion, and idiosyncratic use of a vocal chorus. One such song that embodies these qualities is La Pollera Colorá, as composed by Wilson Choperena & Juan Bautista Madera in 1960, in Colombia with the accompaniment of the folclórico del Consulado General de Colombia, in their performance of the Colombian Cumbia.

This stirring performance highlights a vibrant rhythm encapsulated by the enthusiastic 2/4 meter. In most Latin American music, the rhythm is selected to establish the timing for a dance, as a way of allowing a community to partake in the celebratory motions together. Music is used as a unifying facet to nurture community engagement, and it is written so that the community can resonate with the lyrics, as well as the dance that correlates with the song. Elizabeth Schwall addresses this in “Performance in Latin America” by asserting music “structures movement, social hierarchy, and improvisation” (Schwall, 2021). This embodies the importance of a strong rhythm as it defines the dance, and, therefore determines how the song will be received. In order for the song to connect with its Latin American listeners its rhythm must reach and inspire them.

The percussion of the music plays another strong part in this. This song features a prominent percussion line, as does much of Latin American music, and this is what cements the rhythm. The use of percussion instruments, such as the Tambora and Marracas, establishes the song's vibrancy and structures the song enough to allow groups to perform dances, as displayed in the video, with near perfect synchronization. By maintaining this steady beat, the song emphasizes Schwall's interpretation of percussion in Latin American music as a whole from her statement that it “produces a sonic space that moves bodies and shapes collective feeling” (Schwall, 2021). Percussion is the very pulse of the song, and its effective usage keeps the very essence of the song alive and relevant to listeners.

The final aspect that demonstrates the community involvement within the song itself, is the supporting chorus, whose voices reflect that of the community involved in the dance. These songs feature refrains, such as in La Pollera Colorá’s “Ay mi pollera colorá!”, which encourages a response from the audience. In the video, you can hear as the voices swell for this refrain, and this is what Schwall refers to as “call and response” vocals, where the community of listeners seamlessly joins the performers in this segment of the song. In modern western music, artists do this frequently, one of the most notable examples being in “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond, as audiences boisterously reply to the lyric “Sweet Caroline” with the onomatopoeia of “bom, bom, bom”. It may seem insignificant, but audiences look forward to this moment where they can respond to the performance, and the same can be said for the audience in the video. This is the epitome of community engagement in Latin American music as these songs “create communal sound spaces where performers and observers blur” (Schwall, 2021). In this moment, everyone is fully engaged, and it generally helps to get the message of the song to listeners who are actively listening for their cue. This beautiful moment typifies the vivacity of Latin American dance music, and it leaves listeners with their own sense of fulfillment vicariously through the emotions elicited by their part in the song.

Cultural/Social

Much like the Colombian people, their music is a blend of the cultures that have collated in this region. Mark Small describes the music as a “fusion of Indigenous, African, and European influences,” to exemplify the rich cultural history and the vast number of influences that make Colombian music so special. Furthermore, it carries these traditions through the lyrics and messages of the songs as they relay stories and engage listeners with the aforementioned musical techniques. Socially, this music demonstrates the cultural identity, history, and intentions of the performers and composers, as further typified by Celso Piña in his performance of Cumbia Sampuesana, originally composed by José Joaquín Bettín Martínez in 1952 in his hometown of Sampués, Sucre, Colombia.

The primary focus of this genre that is built into almost every song is the expression of pride for one's heritage. The bold percussion line pays homage to the African roots of the Colombian people through its rhythms and drumming patterns, while including the melodic lyricism of the indigenous peoples from the region alongside European instrumentalization. Cumbia Sampuesana is an excellent demonstration of this through the percussion patterns, indigenous euphony, and unique choice of instruments including the accordion,which is of European descent. This is the standard for music of this genre, as exemplified by the crowd's jubilant engagement and the overall acceptance of the song by the audience. 

The song itself features a call to dance as it encourages its listeners to dance the cumbia to honor their roots. This engaging story line accomplishes one of the most basic elements of Colombian music: crowd engagement through story telling. The instructions to dance are written for Martínez muse, however, the song is intended to share their story and encourage the audiences to do the same. The themes that Small acknowledges through his study of the genre concludes that most songs contain, “cultural narratives of work, migration, and celebration.” (Small, 2017). This is a feature of Colombian music that I missed because these songs are written to remind individuals why they dance by nodding to these themes that I had not understood before reading a translation of the lyrics. Colombian music reinforces their national identity with every lyric as they convey the stories of how such diverse populations developed into the Colombian people, which supplies an overall purpose of reminding listeners that they dance as a tribute to the customs of the cultures that fused together to form the Colombian culture. 

Finally, the largest purpose of songs in this genre is to get the crowd moving in unison. This dates back to the tribal dances and their service in unifying people for cultural celebrations and acknowledgements. These dances are a cultural standard for the present day people that now inhabit Colombia, and Small’s study on this supports my claim in “Colombian music is a communal experience that invites dancing, singing, and audience participation” (Small, 2017). This beautiful scene is conveyed in Celso Piña’s live performance by the crowd's enthusiastic reactions and relatively synchronized movements. I have been to several modern western music concerts, and they do not begin to parallel the coordination of the crowd pictured. They are engaged and their movements carry meaning and intention so vastly different from the lackluster dancing that I have seen at Pop concerts that took place in sold out stadiums. This immediately seized my attention as the audience itself adds to the beauty of the performance, and that is why I chose this genre in the first place. The focus on movement in a fashion that correlates easily from one individual to the next provides the foundation for unity that this genre prides itself on accomplishing amongst its various origins.

My Opinion:

Ultimately, I thoroughly enjoyed not only listening to the music and watching the professional dances, but watching the crowd. The tenacity of the individuals putting their all into their movements was bewitching. I was enthralled from the moment I found it, and seeing the unique history of Colombia was especially interesting to me as I love learning about history. This research has redefined Colombian music for me as I no longer solely associate it with Shakira, but now also with the unique sounds, stories, and dances of these people.

Antioqueño Montañero. “🇨🇴💃🏻 🎶 La Pollera Colorá 🎶💃🏽🇨🇴 Cumbia de Colombia 🇨🇴 Les Invito a Mi Nuevo Canal Montañero Andariego.” YouTube, 9 Dec. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNGd5sx4LdU.  Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.

Celso Piña Oficial. “Celso Piña - Cumbia Sampuesana (En Vivo).” YouTube, 11 Dec. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwthVKd8DJ0. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.

Schwall, Elizabeth. “Performance in Latin America.” Latin American Research Review, vol. 56, no. 3, 2021, pp. 739–750, https://doi.org/10.25222/larr.1548. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.

Small, Mark. “A Celebration of Colombian Culture | Berklee.” Www.berklee.edu, 1 May 2017, 

www.berklee.edu/Berklee-today/summer-2017/celebration-of-colombian-culture. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.