Cumbia

Originating from Colombia’s Caribbean coastal region, the Cumbia music gained popularity during the mid 20th Century where it spread to different parts of Latin America.

The Cumbia started as a courtship danced that was practiced among the African slave population and later it mixed with Eauropean instruments and gained some of their characteristics. Until the 1980s the Cumbia was more popular than Salsa in some Latin American regions.

Due to the varied history, Cumbia music has both African and new world influences that can be felt in the music. The courtship ritual was traditionally danced with the women in long skirts playfully waving them around while holding candles. The men would dance behind the women with one hand behind their back and the other would either be holding a hat, putting it on, taking it off, or holding a red handkerchief. The handkerchief was either waved in circles, wrapped around the neck or offered to the women . Up until the middle of the 20th Century the Cumbia was considered to be an inappropriate dance that was performed by people from the lower social classes.

Nowadays the Cumbia dance and music forms one of the key elements in Zumba fitness.

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