Salsa Mundo: Colombia – Music Born of Conflict

While the Colombian tourist board is intent on fostering an image of the country as a safe haven for visitors (‘The only risk is wanting to stay,’ say the billboards), there’s no getting away from the stark facts of history. When you consider the Civil War of 1860-1862, the Civil War of 1876, the Thousand Days War of 1899-1902, the Civil War of 1948¬1958 and the armed conflict that persists today, there’s no disputing that Colombia is no stranger to a scrap. When salsa music sashayed its way into Latin America from the melting pot of New York City, it was chewed on and seasoned according to region: tensions in Colombia irritated this good-time genre in the same way that sand irritates an oyster. The result – a louder, more aggressive and sinewy music – found an enthusiastic conduit in the legendary Discos Fuentes label.

Established in 1934, Discos Fuentes started off recording African-based cumbia and porro music but soon moved into assembling groups, the most notable being La Sonora Dinamita, with bass player Pedro Laza, and Laza’s own La Sonora Pelayeros, which added brass and jazz improvisation to cumbia and came up with smoking dance numbers like ‘Lindo Magdalena’. Down the track, Michi Sarmiento and Michi y su Combo Bravo reworked New York salsa classics such as Cheo Feliciano’s ‘Anacaona’; singer Joe Arroyo busted out to record anthems such as ‘Rebelión’. The hallowed Fruko worked magic on Colombian salsa as a whole, aided by a gangsterish image and a seminal, montuno-heavy sound that embraced experimentation. This is an album on which Colombian salsa more than gets its due.