Bomba Estereo’s Beat Disneyland

By Maria Hinojosa, Latino USA

Simon Mejia, bassist from the Colombian electro-cumbia band Bomba Estereo, talks about going independent, aligning traditional Colombian rhythms with hip hop, kuduro and other sounds, and about helping an Afro-Colombian community record its rich musical history.

 

Simón Mejía is the bassist of the Colombian band Bomba Estéreo, a psychedelic cumbia group self-described as “electro vacilón” that began in 2001. Their music merges folk sounds from the Colombian Caribbean coast like cumbia, bullerengue and champeta with electronica, reggae and hip-hop. The band’s latest album, Elegancia Tropical, is available now through Polen Records.

 

This article was first published in Latino USA.

For 25 years, Maria Hinojosa has helped tell America’s untold stories and brought to light unsung heroes in America and abroad. In April 2010, Hinojosa launched The Futuro Media Group with the mission to produce multi-platform, community-based journalism that respects and celebrates the cultural richness of the American Experience. She is the first Latina to anchor a Frontline report. “Lost in Detention” about deportation and immigration detention aired in October 2011 and sparked public engagement and conversation from Capitol Hill to mainstream media to the Spanish language media. Hinojosa interviewed dozens of notable Latinos for Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ “The Latino List” which premiered on HBO in October 2011.

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