BarranquiJAZZ

One thing I’ve discovered is that everyone here in Colombia is genuinely friendly. The very first weekend after meeting everyone at Altamira, the other North American teachers and I had lots of invitations. We were able to spend time with our new co-workers as well as check out the music scene in Barranquilla. We went to a Battle of the Bands and also to a Jazz club. This weekend I went to the BarranquiJazz Festival.
The festival was made up of local and regional bands. One band was all 12-15 year-olds and the keyboardist had 3 plastic lawn chairs stacked together to sit on! I also really enjoyed all the different flutes being played. There were several different wooden flutes including one called a gaita. The gaita is a long wooden flute that is held like a recorder. It looks like it would be fun to play….
Supposedly, there is a bigger jazz festival in September. I was not expecting to find jazz in Colombia, but I’m glad I did! Actually, it is not just jazz, but also cumbia. Although I don't particularly know much about jazz, I did learn a little about cumbia:
· It is from the Caribbean coast of Colombia
· It originated from African slaves in Cartagena
· It includes European instruments as well as:
a tambora- similar to a marching bass drum
an alegre- similar to a djembe (jem-bay)
a llamador- smaller than the alegre
a gaita or flauta de millo