Mulato Bantú (Colombia)

Randy Gutiérrez Zimmerman, known artistically as Mulato Bantú, is an Afro-Colombian singer-songwriter from Colombia’s Caribbean coast whose work is deeply rooted in memory, ancestry, and the African diaspora. His music blends poetic songwriting with Afro-Caribbean rhythmic traditions, drawing on both lived experience and historical reflection. Trained in classical and jazz guitar at the University of the Atlantic, Mulato Bantú has worked as an instrumentalist and arranger in a wide range of projects before emerging as a solo artist. His debut EP, Caribe Negroide (2015), established his focus on Afro-descendant identity, while Enjambre (2024) expanded his sound. His work often bridges contemporary songwriting with ancestral themes tied to resistance, survival, and cultural continuity.

Featured Song:

“Benkos” is a powerful homage to Benkos Biohó, the African-born leader who escaped enslavement in the early seventeenth century and founded Palenque de San Basilio, one of the first free Black towns in the Americas. Sung with reverence and resolve, the lyrics recount a history of bondage, escape, and defiance: “More than four centuries ago / The Africans arrived / They brought with them the essence / Of Black Africa in my song / That man did not obey / He cast off his yoke.”

Artist Website

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