A tambora is a bass drum that appears in various forms in various parts of Latin America. It is usually a double-headed drum, sometimes carried and sometimes fixed on a stand, sometimes with cymbals attached to provide for varying types of sound.
COUNTRY: Colombia, Dominican Republic, Peru
KEY GENRES: Cumbia, Merengue, Vallenato
A guacharaca is a Native American percussion instrument originated by the Tairona people of Colombia that has come to be part of contemporary Colombian genres like cumbia and vallenato. The instrument is fashioned from the ridged trunk of a small palm tree and is played with a hard wire fork attached to a wooden handle.
COUNTRYColombia
KEY GENRESCumbia, Vallenato
Vallenato (“born in the valley”) music is a popular Colombian folk music that originated in Colombia’s Caribbean region. The genre developed when musical Colombian farmers, traveling from village to village with their cattle in an era before mass communication, became important to local communities as the bearer of important news. While many vallenato performers still share stories of Colombian daily life through intimate song, pop-music superstars like Carlos Vives have brought the genre to the masses. Watch Vives perform “La Gota Fria.”
COUNTRY: Colombia
KEY INSTRUMENTS: Accordion, Bass, Caja Vallenata (tambora), Guacharaca
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