Cumbia rebajada is a musical subgenre derived from Colombian cumbia and

Mexican cumbia Mexican cumbia is a type of cumbia, a music which originated in Colombia but was later reinvented and adapted in Mexico. Origins The cumbia has its origins in Colombia going back at least as far as the early 1800s, with elements from indigeno ...

that emerged in

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

(

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

History

Due to

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

n immigration to Monterrey in the second half of the 20th century and the importation of records from

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, various musical genres from the South American country became popular, such as cumbia,

vallenato Vallenato () is a popular folk music genre from Colombia. It primarily comes from its Caribbean region. ''Vallenato'' literally means "born in the valley". The valley influencing this name is located between the ''Sierra Nevada de Santa Mar ...

, and

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 ballr ...

. This popularization through parties would give rise to the phenomenon known as " Kolombia" in places like the Independencia neighborhood. According to Gabriel Duéñez, a sound engineer for four decades and a collector of Colombian music from Monterrey, the rebajada originated accidentally when the beats-per-minute control on his Sonido Duéñez music player broke down and began to play Colombian music at a slower speed, resulting in a "more ''rebajado'' (slowed-down), more watery" rhythm. Those attending his dances began to request that Duéñez play the ''rebajada'' music than at its normal tempo. Gabriel and other vendors in Monterrey began selling cassettes and later CDs of reduced versions of popular cumbias. Given the popularity of the music, Colombian music groups in the city began to compose and perform at that tempo. Cumbia rebajada would remain in Monterrey, becoming part of the cultural phenomenon known as cholombiano. The reduced aesthetic would also influence the sonidero, where groups such as Sonido La Changa and Sonido Siboney continued the style by manipulating the tempo of old Colombian songs, turning them into hits in Mexico and

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

. According to DJ and music producer

Toy Selectah Antonio Hernández, better known as Toy Selectah, is a DJ, producer and Mexican musician. He began his career as a member of the group Control Machete and has collaborated with artists such as MIA, Cypress Hill, Thievery Corporation, Café Tacuba ...

, cumbia rebajada is "the

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken ...

of cumbia." DJs, producers, and musicians of different nationalities have mixed cumbia rebajada with other rhythms such as dubstep and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

Characteristics

Since cumbia rebajada emerged from technological manipulation outside of its live performance, it emulates the classic rhythms and instrumental compositions of Colombian cumbia (percussion, bass, and trumpets) and vallenato (snare drum, guacharaca, and accordion), but at a slower tempo, approximately 76 beats per minute. This results in a slower rhythm, with the brass instruments (trumpets and saxophones) and accordions having a deeper sound and the singer's voice lowering.

References

External links

''The Evolution of Cumbia Music in Monterrey''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cumbia rebajada Cumbia Mexican styles of music Music in Nuevo León