Music

Colombian music can be divided into four musical zones:

The Atlantic coast, the Pacific coast, the Andean region and Los Llanos.

The Caribbean (Atlantic) music vibrates with hot rhythms, such as the cumbia, porros and mapalé.

The music from the Pacific coast, such as the currulao, with a strong use of drums, is tinged with Spanish influence.

The Colombian Andean music has been strongly influenced by Spanish rhythms and instruments, and differs noticeably from the Indian music of Peru or Bolivia. Among the typical forms are the bambuco, pasillo guabina and torbellino, played with string instruments like tiple guitarra, and also with piano.

The music of Los Llanos, "música llanera", is usually accompanied by a harp, cuatro (a sort of four-string guitar) and maracas. It has much in common with the music of the Venezuelan Llanos.

Apart from these traditional forms, two newer musical styles have conquered large parts of the country. These are "la salsa" which has spread throughout the Pacific coast, and the "vallenato", which emanated from La Guajira and Cesar (northern part of the Caribbean coast). The latter is based on the European accordion.