A song-and-dance tradition led by Afro-Colombian women singers, with drums, clapping and a circle of dancers.
Bullerengue belongs to Afro-descendant communities of the Caribbean coast, from the Bolívar and Córdoba lowlands to the Gulf of Urabá. A lead singer — very often an older woman, the cantadora — calls out verses, the chorus answers, and drums and palms hold the rhythm while dancers enter the circle. Songs speak of daily life, love, the river and the community. Festivals such as the Festival Nacional del Bullerengue in Puerto Escondido help transmit it to young people, and the great cantadoras are respected as keepers of memory.
