The porro is a musical style and dance from the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

region of

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

. It is a Colombian

cumbia Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, enslaved Africans during colonial times, and Europeans. Examples include: ...

rhythm that developed into its own subgenre. It was originally a folkloric expression from the

Sinú River Sinú River (), is a river in northwestern Colombia that flows mostly through the Córdoba Department and into the Caribbean. The river is the third most important river after the Magdalena River and the Cauca River in the Caribbean Region. It ...

area that evolved into a ballroom dance. It is played mostly by brass bands or orchestras, and danced in couples. This genre influenced some of the greatest Latin American bands of the 1960s, with songs such as "Pachito E'ché" (originally from Wolfgang Alejandro Tovar García, then interpreted by

Benny Moré Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré Gutiérrez (24 August 1919 – 19 February 1963), better known as Benny Moré (also spelled Beny Moré), was a Cuban singer, bandleader and songwriter. Due to his fluid tenor voice and his great expressivity, he was k ...

), "Se va el Caimán", and "Me voy pa'Cataca" (originally from José María Peñaranda, then interpreted by La Sonora Matancera.)

Types

The two types of folkloric porro are porro palitiao and porro tapao.

Porro palitiao

The term "palitiao" is derived from the way the bombo drum is struck along its rim to produce the sound of a cowbell. This type of porro is associated with the Sinú River, and its surrounding cities and towns. Most would agree on San Pelayo, Colombia, Córdoba as its place of birth. This is the reason why it can also take the name of porro pelayero. In orchestrated variants, porro palitiao or pelayero is known as gaita. See ''La Sonora Cordobesa'' and Pacho Galán for exemplary orro palitiao and gaita music.

Porro tapao

The porro tapao is associated with the savannas around

Cartagena, Colombia Cartagena ( , also ), known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias (), is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region, bordering the Caribbean sea. Cartagena's past role as a link ...

. Its birthplace is believed to be the town of

El Carmen de Bolívar El Carmen de Bolívar is a municipality in the department of Bolívar, Colombia, 114 km southeast of Cartagena de Indias. It is located in the orographic system of the Montes de María, being the largest population, as well as the one th ...

, Colombia. In orchestrated forms, this type of porro is called porro sabanero. See

Lucho Bermúdez Luis Eduardo Bermúdez Acosta (January 25, 1912 – April 23, 1994) better known as Lucho Bermúdez, was a Colombian musician, composer, arranger, director and performer. He is considered to be one of the most important performers and composers of ...

or Toto La Momposina for samples of porro sabanero.

In contemporary culture

Today, orchestrated porro has lost the widespread popularity it had during the 1940s-1970s in Colombia. However, since the 1980s in Medellín, Colombia, the genre has seen a revived interest among younger audiences. Dozens of schools in the city specialize in teaching porro moves as well as

mambo Mambo most often refers to: *Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music * Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particula ...

pasodoble Pasodoble ( Spanish: ''double step'') is a fast-paced Spanish military march used by infantry troops. Its speed allowed troops to give 120 steps per minute (double the average of a regular unit, hence its name). This military march gave rise ...

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

, and chachachá) where participants learn complex turns to compositions by such artists as Lucho Bermúdez and Pacho Galán. The Festival del Porro in San Pelayo and the Festival del Porro in Medellín hold ballroom and folkloric dance competitions.

Notable artists

* Toto La Momposina * Wolfgang Alejandro Tovar García * La Combo d'Lido * Lucho Bermúdez y su Orquesta * Orquesta Sonoritmo * Orquesta Manuel J. Posada * Jesús Nuncira Machado * Pacho Galán * José María Peñaranda * María Gareña * Pedro Laza y sus Pelayeros * Tarry Garcés

References

Ritmo Musical "El Porro"

El Espectador.com - Porro, ¿para bailar o para fumar?

External links

* The ''Dictionary'' of the Royal Spanish Academy has definitions for ''

porro The porro is a musical style and dance from the Caribbean region of Colombia. It is a Colombian cumbia rhythm that developed into its own subgenre. It was originally a folkloric expression from the Sinú River area that evolved into a ballro ...

'' Colombian styles of music Cumbia music genres {{Colombia-stub