Cumbia NYC and Vallenato NYC are Colombian Afro-Indigenous folk music and dance traditions that have been updated with many fusions.
- Colombian cumbia is more African Diaspora.
- Colombian vallenato is more Indigenous Andean.
- Mexican cumbia has its own vibe.
- There’s a Dutch house DJ who plays cumbia in Argentina.
In New York City, you can listen and dance to Cumbia at Barbès, La Boom, SOBs, Terraza 7, and Sabor Latino. The Thalia Spanish Theatre hosts Cumbia stage shows.
Cumbia & Vallenato Venues
These venues present some Cumbia. Sabor Latino presents a lot.
- Barbès, a French-owned nightclub in Park Slope, Brooklyn is the NY home of Peruvian Psychedelic Cumbia. 🇫🇷🇵🇪
- La Boom nightclub in Woodside, Queens. 🇲🇽
- Sabor Latino restaurant in Elmhurst, Queens. 🇪🇨
- SOB’s Sounds of Brazil nightclub in Hudson Square. 🇧🇷
- Terraza 7 is a Colombian-owned bar and nightclub in Elmhurst, Queens. 🇨🇴
Community Theaters
- ID Studio Theater in Mott Haven, The Bronx. 🇨🇴
- Thalia Spanish Theatre in Sunnyside, Queens. 🇪🇸
Cumbia & Vallenato in NYC
La Boom NY is a Popular Latin Night Club with Latin, Urban, Rock, and Mexican Nights
Depending on the night you can dance Urban dem bow, hip-hop, reggaeton, trap; Latin bachata, cumbia, merengue, salsa; or Regional banda, cumbia grupero, or norteño
WOODSIDE, QUEENS
🇨🇴 🇩🇴 🇲🇽 🇵🇷
Afro-Andean Funk, featuring Araceli Poma & Matt Geraghty, Plays Cumbia for Dancing
BRYANT PARK DANCE PARTY
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
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Bryant Park Dance Party 2023 gives Free Dance Lessons Followed by Live Music for Dancing!
Talia Castro-Pozo hosts bachata, cumbia, salsa, swing, and tango dance lessons followed by live music for dancing. FREE!
La Excelencia salsa, Wed, May 3
Pedro Giraudo tango, Thu, May 4
Afro-Andean Funk cumbia, Wed, May 10
Charenee Wade’s Band of Swing, Thu, May 11
Valerio bachata, Wed, May 17
Santiago y la Orquesta salsa, Thu, May 18
🇺🇸 🇦🇷 🇨🇺 🇨🇴 🇩🇴 🇵🇪 🇵🇷
Carnegie Hall is One of the World’s Great Concert Halls and Citywide
Classical, jazz and pop music in Midtown, and all kinds of music citywide.
Indian global in Brooklyn 🇮🇳
Saturday, May 6, 2023
South African jazz in Brooklyn 🇿🇦
Sunday, May 21, 2023
Colombian cumbia & vallenato in Times Square 🇨🇴
Friday, June 9, 2023
Mexican children’s music at Carnegie Hall 🇲🇽
Sunday, June 11, 2023
Son Cubano in West Harlem
Saturday, June 17, 2023 🇨🇺
Juneteenth Celebration 🇺🇸
Monday, June 19, 2023
January 2023
Locobeach plays psychedelic cumbia rock at the Sultan Room in Bushwick, Brooklyn on Friday, January 13, 2023 at 11pm. $20. 🇻🇪
Gregorio Uribe celebrates the release of his third cumbia, vallenato, jazz album “Hombre absurdo” (Absurd man); in the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center; on Thursday, January 19, 2023 at 7:30pm. FREE! 🇨🇴
February 2023
Internacional Carro Show plays Mexican cumbia at La Boom in Woodside, Queens on Friday, February 17, 2023 at 9pm. 🇲🇽
December 2022
Locobeach plays Psychedelic Cumbia Rock for the World Music Institute at BAM Café in the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Fort Greene, Brooklyn on Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 9pm. bam.org 🇻🇪
November 2022
Locobeach, and its own Cheo Pardo (DJ Afro), play Psychedelic Cumbia with Underground System (Afrobeat) for the World Music Institute at Nublu 151 in Manhattan’s East Village on Thursday, November 10, 2022 at 8pm (7pm doors). From $20. 🇻🇪
Binomio de Oro plays Colombian Vallenato at Sabor Latino in Elmhurst, Queens on Friday, November 25, 2022 after midnight. From $64. 🇨🇴
Los Ángeles Azules De Iztapalapa Para El Mundo Tour brings Mexican Cumbia to the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in Chelsea on Saturday, November 26, 2022 at 9pm (8pm doors). From $102. 🇲🇽
The Gran Baile (big dance) features Grupo Exterminador, El Chapo de Sinaloa, and Los Yaguaru playing Mexican Cumbia, Regional Mexican, and Norteño at La Boom in Woodside, Queens on Sunday, November 27, 2022 at 9pm. $67. 🇲🇽
September 2022
The Bazurto All Stars, the iconic Colombian Champeta band, make their New York debut with a performance preceded by a Champeta dance workshop at Flushing Town Hall in Flushing, Queens on Friday, September 30, 2022. Dance Workshop at 7pm. Show at 8pm. $18. ovationtix.com 🇨🇴
April 2022
Daniel Calderon y Los Gigantes play Colombian Vallenato, and Arelys Henao sings Colombian Rancheras for dancing at La Boom in Woodside, Queens on Fri, Apr 8 at 10pm. From $48. 🇨🇴
Cumbia River Band plays Colombian Cumbia at Terraza 7 in Elmhurst, Queens on Fri, Apr 29 at 7pm. $15. 🇨🇴
March 2022
Binomio de Oro plays Colombian Vallenato at Sabor Latino in Elmhurst, Queens on Fri, Mar 4 after midnight (9pm doors). From $50. 🇨🇴
Wilmer Manga sings Colombian Vallenato at Sabor Latino in Elmhurst, Queens on Fri, Mar 11 after midnight (10pm doors). $20. 🇨🇴
Ricky La Voz tributes Venezuelan Salsero Pastor Lopez, and La Sonora Dinamita plays Colombian Cumbia at Sabor Latino in Elmhurst, Queens on Fri, Mar 18 after midnight (10pm doors). From $35. 🇻🇪🇨🇴
Latin DJs spin the Señora Cumbia dance party at Sabor Latino in Elmhurst, Queens on Sat, Mar 19 after midnight (10pm doors). $25.
Azucena Aymara “La Jefa” sings Ecuadorian Cumbia at Sabor Latino in Elmhurst, Queens on Sat, Mar 19 after midnight (10pm doors). $40. 🇪🇨
Grupo Kual? plays Mexican Cumbia for dancing at La Boom in Woodside, Queens on Sun, Mar 20 at 10pm. $60. 🇲🇽
La Cumbiamba eNe Yé celebrates their “Resplandor” album release of Colombian Cumbia at Terraza 7 in Elmhurst, Queens on Fri, Mar 25 at 9pm. $20. 🇨🇴
February 2022
Jean Carlos Centeno & Ronal Urbina play Colombian Venezuelan Vallenato at Sabor Latino in Elmhurst, Queens on Sat, Feb 12 after midnight (10pm doors). From $50. 🇨🇴🇻🇪
Los Kiero plays Mexican Cumbia and La Sonora Dinamita play Colombian Cumbia for dancing at La Boom in Woodside, Queens on Sun, Feb 20 at 10pm. $40.🇲🇽🇨🇴
Cumbia River Band plays Colombian Cumbia at Terraza 7 in Elmhurst, Queens on Fri, Feb 25 at 9pm. $15. 🇨🇴
Los Karkiks, from Guerrero, play Mexican Cumbia for dancing at La Boom in Woodside, Queens on Sun, Feb 27 at 10pm (9pm doors). $50. 🇲🇽
January 2022
Tamy Sol & Grupo Acustica play Ecuadorian Cumbia Pop at Sabor Latino in Elmhurst, Queens on Sat, Jan 8 after midnight (9pm doors). From $20. 🇪🇨
The Cumbia River Band plays Colombian Cumbia at Symphony Space in the Upper West Side on Fri, Jan 21 at 7:30pm. $30. 🇨🇴
December 2021
Grupo 5 plays Peruvian Cumbia at La Boom in Woodside, Queens on Fri, Dec 10, 2021 at 10pm. From $65. 🇵🇪
Los Cumpleanos play Colombian Psychedelic Cumbia at Barbès in Park Slope, Brooklyn on Fri, Dec 17 from 11pm – 1am. $20. 🇦🇷🇨🇴
Wilmer Manga y Las Musas del Vallenato play Colombian Vallenato at Sabor Latino in Elmhurst, Queens on Fri, Dec 17 after midnight (9pm doors). From $40. 🇨🇴
Agua Bella, Jaime Enrique Aymara and Harin El Indio play Colombian and Ecuadorian Cumbia Pop at Sabor Latino in Elmhurst, Queens after midnight (9pm doors). From $35. 🇨🇴🇪🇨
La Sonora Dinamita celebrates New Year’s Eve with Colombian Cumbia at Sabor Latino in Elmhurst, Queens on Fri, Dec 31 after midnight (9pm doors). From $35. 🇨🇴
Cumbia Roots
Cumbia is originally from Caribbean Colombia. It is popular in Mexico and across Latin America. La Sonora Dinamita was one of the first Cumbia bands to go global.
Vallenato is sort of Cumbia of the mountains. It is more Andean and Indigenous. It’s very Colombian. The city of Valledupar in an Andean valley in Cesar Department, Colombia is Vallenato’s spiritual home. Andrés Landero of San Jacinto, is one of the great Vallenato musicians. We listen to him a lot in the morning. Carlos Vives built his career around Vallenato.
Peru and Venezuela have Psychedelic Cumbia Rock traditions that are pretty cool. Chicha Libre sounds like Cumbia surf guitar. Some Venezuelan bands like Los Crema Paraiso and Locobeach bring Venezuelan Modern Art visual traditions into the mix.
Dutch DJ Dick Verdult created Cumbia House music in Argentina.
Like all culture, the traditions began as family expressions of faith and community in small towns.
Cumbia is coastal folk music and dance from Colombia and Panama. It was popularized in the 1940s by Colombian record companies.
Andres Landero (1932-2000) was an early composer who is known as “El Rey de la Cumbia” (The King of Cumbia). Chicha Libre out of Barbès in Park Slope, Brooklyn play a psychedelic version of Peruvian Cumbia which is a lot of fun.
Vallenato is Colombian mountain cowboy music. It’s a troubadour type of tradition. Rafael Escalona (1926-2009) was an important early composer. A 1991 Colombian telenovela about his life starred Carlos Vives. Vives fused Vallenato and Rock which broadened the audience. He is now the icon of modern Vallenato. Gregorio Uribe is New York City’s version.
