What it is, what to hear first, and what sits next to it.
Cumbia [ˈkumbja] is a music genre popular throughout Latin America. The Cumbia originated in Colombia's Caribbean coastal region and Panama, from the musical and cultural fusion of Native Colombians and Panamanians, slaves brought from Africa, and the Spanish during colonial times in the old country of Pocabuy, which is located in Colombia's Momposina Depression and in the northeast of Panama, in the ancient palenques of the Congo nation. Cumbia began as a courtship dance practiced among the African population .