REBOLU (Colombia / USA)
Updated: 1 day ago
REBOLU is an Afro-Colombian ensemble basedin Queens, New York, and co-founded almost two decades ago by vocalist & composer Ronald Poloand percussionist Morris Cañate, who grew up together in Barranquilla, Colombia. Vocalist Johanna Castañeda, raised in Bogotá and rooted in the joropo tradition of Colombia’s eastern plains is also one of the group’s core members. Cañate comes from a lineage of Afro-Colombian drummers tracing back to San Basilio de Palenque, the first town in the Americas founded by formerly enslaved Africans. The band blends cumbia, gaita, tambora, chandé, and bullerengue with contemporary rhythms such as reggae and funk. REBOLU has performed at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival, and NPR’s Tiny Desk, and has released 5 studio albums, including 2022’s Mi Herencia (My Heritage) on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.
Featured Song:
“Se Llama Cumbia” (It’s Called Cumbia), written by Ronald Polo, was recorded live over an intense three-day session at La Torre de Lata, the legendary Bogotá studio owned by Colombian musical icon Carlos Vives. The song is an homage to the music and dance genre that put Colombian music on the map.“Cumbia is its name, it’s named for the Magdalena / My cumbia has sun, my cumbia has sand.”
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