An urban Afro-Caribbean dance from Cartagena and Palenque, born at neighbourhood ‘picó’ sound-system parties.
Champeta grew in the Afro-Colombian neighbourhoods of Cartagena and in San Basilio de Palenque, where giant painted sound systems called picós played African records — soukous, highlife, mbaqanga — at street parties. Local artists then created ‘champeta criolla’, singing in Spanish and in Palenquero, the Spanish-based creole language of Palenque. The dance is close, playful and full of hip and footwork. Once looked down on, champeta is today a proud symbol of Afro-Caribbean identity and is danced across Colombia.
