Toto La Momposina

To many people, Colombia is the country of the ultraviolent Medellin drug lords. But it's also the home of many rhythms and dances, including the historic cumbia. And it's those that singer Toto La Momposina has dedicated herself to preserving. Her latest U.S. release, Carmelina, (Indigo) originally released in Europe in 1996, is a showcase of how tradition can stay vitally alive.

"The traditional music I sing is what's been in my own family for generations and generations," she explained. "These days a lot of people have forgotten about traditional music, especially in Colombia. They want what's now. But you have to remember the past."

"The traditional music I sing is what's been in my own family for generations and generations."

In her 60s, Momposina grew up in Talaigua, on the island of Mompos in the Magdalena River, where it flows into the Caribbean on the northern Colombian coast. Originally inhabited by Indians, "when the Spanish arrived, the people who lived there had to go into the forests," she said. "Then the slaves from Africa who ran away lived there, and the two people began living together and marrying."

The isolation allowed the music to flourish without outside influences. The courtship dance between the two races became the cumbia, but, Momposina said, "there are many different types of music that are part of my tradition; they all go back to the drum to clapping your hands to make a rhythm."

The drumming patterns were what the Africans brought, and their hypnotic polyrhythms are the basis of Momposina's folkloric music. The Indians contributed the gaita (so called by the Spanish because of its tonal similarity to Galician bagpipes), a cactus wood flute. The combination of the two can be heard on the traditional dance "Indios Farotos."

The Spanish influence came later, and the musicians show it in their use of brass and the colonial musical forms, such as the bolero of "Agua" (Real Audio excerpt), with its strong Cuban influence.

Momposina learned music from her family, and also from Ramona Ruiz, a local woman who kept the old music and songs alive. As a teenager, she went around the coast, absorbing the musical heritage.

By 1968 she'd formed her own group, playing the music of el pueblo that she knew and loved, recording for the first time in 1985.

"I play traditional music because that's made me who I am. I'm the sum of everything that's gone before. I'm just continuing the story and passing it on. It's important to have respect for tradition."

Nowadays her group is very much a family affair; her children and even grandchildren are part of the band. But, to her, that is as it should be.

"I'm the sum of a little different influences and cultures, all the information gathered and passed down through the years and generations. And now I pass it on. It will all stay alive."

This article first appeared on Sonicnet.com

Toto La Momposina

"The traditional music I sing is what's been in my own family for generations and generations."

Related Articles in the 'South American Artists' Category...