Colombia’s folk beat has African roots.
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Cumbia is a growing staple of Latin American music. Its driving beat can be heard all over the continent, from Argentina to Mexico to the US. Cumbia’s catchy rhythms can be traced back to the villages along the river banks of Colombia’s Rio Magdalena where mostly African and American indigenous musical elements fused together to create a whole new style of music. And cumbia keeps evolving. Today DJs and pop stars are bringing cumbia into the electronic realm. But no matter how much it evolves, it always comes back to Colombia.

Vox Borders is an international documentary series by Emmy-nominated producer Johnny Harris exploring life at the edge of nations. For more, visit vox.com/borders.

Watch the full season of Vox Borders: Colombia

Episode 1:    • Why Colombia has taken in 1 million V...  
Episode 2:    • How this drug lord created a hippo pr...  
Episode 3:    • Why Shakira loves this African beat  
Episode 4:    • Why Colombia is losing the cocaine war  
Bonus episode:    • Tasting Some of the Wildest Fruit at ...  

Note: The headline for this video has been updated since publishing.
Previous headline: How this African beat spread through Latin America

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