cumbia – World Music Central

Guachinangos - Vol. 1 cover artwork. A cover featuring abstract neon line art and geometric patterns in purple, blue, pink, yellow, and green. Lime-green text across the center reads “GUACHINANGOS,” with “VOL 1” underneath.

Album reviews

Guachinangos Amalgamate Son Jarocho, Cumbia and Champeta on Debut Album

Guachinangos – Vol. 1 (Jalopy Records, 2026) New York seven-piece Guachinangos (the red snappers) released its debut album, Vol. 1, earlier this year. The ensemble…

Laura Itandehui - photo by Diego Velázquez. Portrait photo with a duplicate effect.

Events

Laura Itandehui to Make NYC Debut at Public Records

World Music Central News Room August 19, 2026 No Comments bolero cumbia Latin American music Laura Itandehui Mexican music salsa vallenato world music

Laura Itandehui is set to perform at Public Records on September 25, 2026. Originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, Laura Itandehui has emerged as a distinctive voice…

Mexican Institute of Sound & Meridian Brothers — Ruido Tovar cover artwork. A retro-style cover with oversized red block lettering spelling “RUIDO TOVAR” over a black-and-yellow striped backdrop, framed by repeated black artist names on a cream halftone background.

Charts

Mexican Institute of Sound and Meridian Brothers Claim No. 1 on Transglobal World Music Chart

World Music Central News Room August 1, 2026 No Comments Aàgut Ablaye Cissoko Aïtawa Antti Paalanen Bahar Movahed Berima Amo Cocanha Constantinople: Kiya Tabassian cumbia electrofolk Elif Sanchez with O Kwarteto Fågel Roc Fatoumata Diawara folktronica Gipsy Kings feat. Tonino Baliardo Hilal Kaya Ibrahim Maalouf Jonny Greenwood and The Rajasthan Express Kitka Lucas Santtana Mah Damba Medusa Quartet Mexican Institute of Sound & Meridian Brothers Mübin Dünen & Raoul Moretti Naked & Lakatos Mónika FolkTrió Nana Osei Twum Barima Natacha Atlas & Samy Bishai Nuevos Ríos Nuhara Odd Okoddo & Ogoya Nengo Paolo Angeli & Tenore Murales de Orgosolo Patrick Graham Remon Nakanishi Seu Jorge Shye Ben Tzur Sofia Rei Souad Massi Stelios Petrakis Tamikrest The Klezmatics Tinariwen uni uni world fusion world music Zuco 103

Ruido Tovar, the collaborative album by Mexican Institute of Sound and Meridian Brothers, has reached No. 1 on the Transglobal World Music Chart for August…

Orquesta Failde Cumbia de los Amigos cover artwork. a photo of six band members, four men and two women smiling saluting each other.

Music videos Single reviews

What Friends Are For

Tom Orr June 29, 2026 No Comments Cuban music cumbia Orquesta Failde world music

“Cumbia de los Amigos” by Cuba’s Orquesta Failde is as joyous an example of the classic Colombian-born style as one could ask for, complete with…

Brooklyn World Wide Comes to Queens banner. A yellow banner with photos of the two artists.

Events

Flushing Town Hall to Present Global Mashup: Brooklyn World Wide East

World Music Central News Room April 6, 2026 No Comments cumbia Global Mashup Guachinangos Mexican music Shiva Lakha son jarocho Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad music world fusion world music

Flushing Town Hall will present Global Mashup: Brooklyn World Wide Comes to Queens on Saturday, April 11, with a double bill led by Guachinangos and…

Album reviews

Taking the Fifth

Tom Orr February 13, 2026 No Comments Benjamin Charras César Bouteau cumbia François Escojido La Cumbia Chicharra Maxime Marachélian Olivier Boyer Pati Gajardo Romain Davidico Sébastien Ruiz Levy world fusion world music

La Cumbia Chicharra – Quinto Mundo (Music Box Publishing, 2025) Two of the innumerable things I’m no good at are defining what exactly is meant…

La Cumbia Chicharra - Quinto Mundo © Clémentine Candela -Guillaume Parent. A neon-bright figure with a stylized human form sits against a dark, swirling backdrop, its hair exploding upward in electric blue flames.

Album reviews

Cumbia Chicharra Blasts Off With Quinto Mundo

Iliana Cabrera December 29, 2025 No Comments Colombian music cumbia La Cumbia Chicharra world fusion world music

La Cumbia Chicharra – Quinto Mundo (Music Box Publishing / L’Autre Distribution, 2025 La Cumbia Chicharra, a France-based band deeply influenced by Colombian cumbia, recently…

Anunciaçǎo by big beet . a live performance still from the music video.

Music videos Single reviews

Dual South American Sizzle

Tom Orr November 10, 2025 No Comments big beet Brazilian music Colombian music cumbia forró world fusion world music

Should you be in need of a pulsating, exhilarating mix of Brazilian forró and Colombian cumbia, “Anunciaçǎo” by the USA’s big beet will handily satisfy…

The cover of Calle Mambo’s Retumba la Tierra features a surreal image of an ancestral figure seated at the center of a cracked, arid landscape. Dressed in traditional Andean attire and wearing a colorful ceremonial mask, the figure’s body merges into tree roots that extend deep into the earth. Behind them, towering mountains and dramatic skies.

Music videos

Earth, Wind, and Firepower: Calle Mambo Shakes Things Up with “Retumba la Tierra”

World Music Central News Room May 17, 2025 No Comments Calle Mambo Chilean music cumbia flamenco rumba funk world fusion world music

Chilean quintet Calle Mambo returns with “Retumba la Tierra,” a single that doubles as both a wake-up call and a celebration. Released ahead of their…

Beppe Delre L’anguria cover artwork. A photo of the artist wearing a tropical shirt and hat, holding a slice of watermelon.

Music videos Single reviews

Joyful Cumbia by Italy’s Beppe Delre

Tom Orr September 21, 2024 No Comments Beppe Delre cumbia world music

Beppe Delre is an Italian with a lengthy musical resume, so I’m guessing that the Latin/cumbia style of his track “L’anguria” is only a sampling…