Marimba Music of the Colombian Pacific

The music of the southern Pacific is built around the marimba de chonta, a xylophone of hard palm slats hung over bamboo resonators and usually played by two men at once. With it go the cununo and bombo drums and the guasa, a cane tube filled with seeds. The singing is call and response, led by women, and the repertoire divides between currulao for dancing and the arrullos and alabaos sung at births, saint's days and wakes. It remains a living practice in river villages rather than a stage act, though the Petronio Alvarez festival in Cali each August gathers hundreds of musicians and is the easiest place to hear it.

What you actually see

• The marimba de chonta - palm-slat keys over bamboo tubes, played by two people at once.
• Cununo and bombo drums - the paired hand and stick drums that carry the rhythm.
• Currulao dancing - the couple dance with handkerchiefs and quick shuffling steps.
• Alabaos and arrullos - unaccompanied funeral and saint's-day singing led by women.

When to go

The Petronio Alvarez festival in Cali runs for several days in August and is much the best chance to hear a range of groups in one place; accommodation in the city books out for it. In the coastal towns the music follows saint's days, births and wakes rather than a published schedule, so hearing it there is a matter of being present when something is happening.

Honest expectations

Outside the August festival you cannot reliably buy a ticket for this, and performances arranged for visitors can feel thin and short. The coastal towns are expensive and awkward to reach, with small flights that are cancelled for weather. The festival itself is very loud, extremely crowded, and sold as much on its food and drink stalls as on the music.

Nearby

Buenaventura is the main port on this coast; Cali hosts the August festival.