The Buenos Aires music scene has been exploding for the past couple of years. Particularly known for it’s cumbia and Electronic scene, artists from Buenos Aires are consistently getting more international recognition, and the music scenes, both the underground (called under in spanish) independent scene as well as the mainstream music spreading across the globe. Participants of our Mente Argentina DJ program have been able to experience both these scenes, and have told us of the importance in the crosssection between the two. This brand of fusion has been hitting the urban beats scene, allowing cumbia and electronic to mix, meddle, meld, and mingle into a new form of dub-cumbia or cumbia-electronica. This music can be found in bars, boliches, live music venues, and across the city, so while you’re here on your study abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina, dont miss out on this music that’s sweeping the city.
Cumbia music started in Colombia on the west coast, and is deeply rooted in folkloric rythems and dances from the carribean and african origens. Cumbia has spread all aross latin america and with each move it takes on different adaptations, different forms. Cumbia Argentina integrates tango, chamamé, and flamenco rythems. Recently, cumbia villera, a subgenre of cumbia argentina, has taken precedence in the cumbia scene. Originating in las villas miseria (impoverished neighborhoods), it was popularized by Pablo Lescano and his group Damas Gratis. Still associated with grittier, lower class street music, Cumbia was most popular in 2o00 and 2001 during the argentine economic crisis, played in local dance clubs.
Electronic Music in Buenos Aires is hard to trace. Hundreds of clubs, plenty of festivals, one of which is Creamfields, one of the most important electronic music festivals in the world with more than 100 artists, DJs, producers, and groups. Electronic music is popular in the urban street scene and boliches (argentine dance clubs)
A popular argentine record lable company called ZZK Records has been a growing source of production for this digital, local, cumbia, and mostly FUSION music. Thier group Zizek Club serves as a showcase for new, upcoming, and particularly under music that is breaking into the more professional scene playing all over the city. Checking out their websites is great to get information and discounts by emailing their organizers and putting your name on the list! So after you get off working your internship in buenos aires, when you pass your spanish exams, after class with your friends from you argentine universities, celebrate by checking out the other half of the study abroad argentina experience through the local music scene!
Rachel Sherman