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cumbia

[koom-bee-uh, koom-byah]

noun

  1. a type of Latin American dance music of Colombian origin, similar to salsa and using guitars, accordions, bass guitar, and percussion.

  2. a dance performed to this music.



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Word History and Origins

Origin of cumbia1

First recorded in 1860–65; from Latin American Spanish; origin uncertain
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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Burnt sage filled the air at one intersection, courtesy of a Danza Azteca group, while attendees — some in traditional embroidered dresses and shirts — relished the cumbia song blasting from a nearby radio.

Cumbia pop queen Estevie was raised in Beaumont.

To your point about movement, there’s so much of it here: bachata, cumbia, electronic music … so much to dance to.

As rock en español acts like Los Prisioneros and Soda Stereo swept South America with their takes on new wave, Mexican rock band Caifanes blended post-punk melancholia with folk tradition in their 1988 cover of the Cuban cumbia song “La Negra Tomasa” — a perfect marriage of Latin American and goth sensibilities.

LosGothsCo held its Gothicumbia homecoming party on Aug. 15 at the Regent in downtown L.A., where a grimly fiendish procession of DJs spinning the sounds of cumbia, new Latin alternative, post-punk and rock en español.

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