Columbia is a place where the Amazon meets the Andes and the Coast - each with its own special traditions and culture. Using the traditional instruments such as the drums, gaitas (indigenous flutes), and woodwinds, La Cumbiamba performs indigenous and traditional music, but infuse it with their own New York style. Rhythms include cumbia, porro, gaita, puya, currulao, and abosao.

La Cumbiamba N.Y. was created in the summer of 2000 with a group of musicians who share an enthusiasm for investigating, performing and advancing musical expressions emanating from the mix of African, Native Indian, and European cultural contributions in the Americas.

Initially, La Cumbiamba N.Y. began performing a repertoire of cumbia related rhythms outdoors in different public areas of New York City. Given this circumstance, La Cumbiamba N.Y adopted its name from the cultural vocabulary of the north western Caribbean coast in South America. In Colombia, ëcumbiambaí is a familiar word that carries the meaning of an outdoors celebration with live cumbia music. La Cumbiamba N.Y. evokes this lively atmosphere with every performance, and has also extended them into different indoor stages throughout the city and beyond.

Recent public performances of La Cumbiamba N.Y include: 116th. Street festival and Vieques Rally, Newyorican Poets Café, Natives Roots Theater, La Cabana, Rhode Island, El Chibcha, WFMU 91.1 FM., EZ Bar.

Members include both Columbian born and New York born children of Columbian parents:

Ih´n Betancourt (alegre, harmonica, coros and musical director)
Wolfgang Barros (tambora, alegre, guache and coros) -- Sergio Borrero (llamador, clarinet and coros)
Richard Córdoba (saxes and coros) -- Sebastián Cruz (gaita macho, maracas and tambora)
Andreas Guarín (lead voice) -- Martín Vejarano (gaita hembra, tambora and coros)

The exact date of this concert is not known, but it occurred in the marked year around this time.