Argentine cumbia is an umbrella term that comprises several distinct trends within the same tradition: the dance and music style known as cumbia in Argentina. For other uses, see Dance (disambiguation). ... Allegory of Music on the Opéra Garnier Music is an art form that involves organised sounds and silence. ... Cumbia is originally a Colombian folk dance and dance music and is Colombias representative national dance and music along with vallenato. ...

Cumbia has been well-known and appreciated in Argentina for a long time, but it gained nationwide scope and attention when it became popular among the lower-class people in main urban centers, the large cities of the Río de la Plata basin, in the 1990s. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Río de la Plata in relation to Uruguay and Argentina A satellite view of the estuary The Río de la Plata (Spanish: Silver River) — which is often referred to in English-speaking countries as the River Plate (as in the Battle of the River Plate), or sometimes as... For the band, see 1990s (band). ...

Among the most important cumbia bands and singers that popularized the genre are Ráfaga, Los Chakales, Amar Azul, Gilda, and other traditional cumbia bands like Los Palmera, Cali and Trulalá. Chocolate had similar success across the water in Uruguay. Ráfaga is one of the most important bands within the Argentine cumbia. ... Chocolate were a Uruguayan band from Montevideo, specializing in cumbia music. ...

Most bands are composed of synthesizer keyboards as main instruments, electronic sounds and percussion, and a musical score very charged with vocal harmonies, bells, and trumpets (usually electronically synthesized). A synthesizer (or synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument designed to produce electronically generated sound, using techniques such as additive, subtractive, FM, physical modelling synthesis, phase distortion, or Scanned synthesis. ... Piano, a well-known instance of keyboard instruments A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. ... An electronic musical instrument is a musical instrument that produces its sounds using electronics. ... A percussion instrument can be any object which produces a sound by being struck with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration. ... Harmony is the result of polyphony (more than one note being played simultaneously). ... A bell is a simple sound-making device. ... The trumpet is the highest brass instrument in register, above the horn, trombone, euphonium and tuba. ...

History

Originally a Colombian folk dance and dance music, in the 1990s, cumbia first found a place among the lower classes, who attended large dancing locals called bailantas, often to listen and watch live concerts by cumbia groups. Some bands, most notably Ráfaga, chose a glamorous style with theatrically-presented messages about romantic love and sensuality, hope and despair. Others took to more explicit themes, such as sex, alcohol abuse and the cumbia subculture itself, often in a very light, irreverent style, sometimes intentionally humorous. Cumbia is originally a Colombian folk dance and dance music and is Colombias representative national dance and music along with vallenato. ... A social class is, at its most basic, a group of people that have similar social status. ... Ráfaga is one of the most important bands within the Argentine cumbia. ... The original meaning of the word glamour was the act of casting a spell over someone. ... Love is any of a number of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection or profound oneness. ... Sensuality is the attribute, quality, act, effect or state related to one which is sensual. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Alcoholism is the consumption of, or preoccupation with, alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behavior interferes with the drinkers normal personal, family, social, or work life, and may lead to physical or mental harm. ... In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a set of people with distinct sets of behavior and beliefs that differentiate them from a larger culture of which they are a part. ... Look up humour in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The rhythm and themes of cumbia then spread to the whole of society, as its romantic and humorous manifestations were adopted to lighten up parties and other social events.

Around the beginning of the 2000s, probably influenced by the Argentine economic crisis, romantic cumbia drifted slowly away from the spotlight, while the rest of the bands slowly gave way to the much more aggressive cumbia villera ("shantytown cumbia"), which was from the start mostly restricted to the urban lower classes. The 2000s decade refers to the years from 2000 to 2009. ... The Argentine economic crisis was part of the situation that affected Argentinas economy during the late 1990s and early 2000s. ... Cumbia villera (shantytown cumbia, ) is a typically Argentine form of cumbia music born in the villas miseria (shantytowns) around Buenos Aires and then popularized in other large urban settlements. ...

Over 60 years of history, cumbia in Argentina was heavily influenced by other Argentinian folkloric kinds of music, like chamamé, guaracha, and cuarteto. Cumbia songs tell stories about love and experiences of common people. Cumbia in Argentina also has different styles depending on the country region, like norteña, santafesina, cordobesa, sonidera, and other more recent styles like cumbia-rap and cumbia villera. In the present, cumbia bands play electric guitars, bass guitars, electronic percussion and synthesizers, all common instruments of rock bands, and there are also other instruments like bongos, trumpets, accordions, etc... The clothing is also a very important characteristic of cumbia bands. Each bands has its own way of dressing, usually all members of the band wear the same special costume or exclusive clothes.

See also

• Music of Argentina
• Cumbia