French world music label Ocora turns its attention to Colombia with a reissue album titled Colombia – Vallenato. This festive hybrid style incorporates European accordion, African percussion (caja vallenata) and Indian scraper (guacharaca).
Vallenato includes Amerindian roots, black rhythms as well as a form of singing based on the tradition of the Spanish romance, with a strict metric for versification (four to ten lines).
This musical style flourished in Colombia after three and a half centuries of intermingling in the Magdalena Grande region on the Atlantic coast of Colombia.
The album provides a detailed overview of vallenato’s history and subgenres.
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central