How REBOLU’s Afro-Infused Rhythms Bridge New York City and the Colombian Coast

REBOLU at the 2022 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Photo by Pruitt Allen, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives.

Say rebolú out loud, and you’ll find the word carries as much rhythm as its many meanings imply. Though it signifies a coming together, exact definitions range from “carnaval” to “chaos” depending on who, or where, you ask.

“Different countries use it in different ways,” explained vocalist Johanna Castañeda of the band REBOLU. “But in Colombia, it’s like a party. And that’s the way we’ve kept it.”

It’s a well-deserved title for the Latin-fusion group, whose latest album, Mi Herencia, was released by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings earlier this year. The Queens-based band is a party as promised, one charged by the dynamic energy of their Afro-Colombian rhythms.

REBOLU (formerly Grupo Rebolú) formed in New York City, where Castañeda first crossed paths with the ensemble’s co-founders: composer (and now husband) Ronald Polo and percussionist Morris Cañate. Castañeda, who was raised in the Colombian capital of Bogotá, felt immediately drawn to their sound.

“I remember I was like, ‘Wow, I want to sing this type of music!’” she told me. “It wasn’t from my region, but I wanted to know more.” Castañeda’s own roots were in joropo, the traditional folk music of Colombia’s eastern plains that served as the soundtrack for her childhood. By the time she arrived in the United States in 1994, she was fluent in the fiery tempos of joropo dance and played the cuatro, a traditional small guitar native to eastern Colombia. Yet her introduction to Polo and Cañate became a window into a side of Colombia she had little exposure to.

“It’s funny—once you move away from your country is when you really want to learn more about it,” she confessed, laughing out loud.

Polo and Cañate’s journey together began many years earlier. The two were childhood friends in their shared hometown of Barranquilla, Colombia, a vibrant seaport nestled into the country’s Caribbean coastline. Today known for its vibrant arts and music scenes, Barranquilla has served since colonial times as a meeting point for Colombia’s intermixing African, Spanish, and Indigenous heritages.

Both Polo and Cañate were aspiring musicians from a young age, well-versed in the traditional music of Colombia’s northern Caribbean coastal region. The two trained for years at Barranquilla’s Escuela de Música. They performed first for audiences at the city’s carnavaland later at an international level with La Corporación Cultural Barranquilla before moving to New York in the hopes of sharing their joint creative project with the world. The colorful influence of Barranquilla’s converging musical traditions—including cumbia, chandé, and bullerengue—continues to shine through their songs today.

“Barranquilla is home to the second largest carnaval in the world,” Castañeda said. “People who live there prepare for it the entire year. It’s an expression of the culture, the dances, the rhythms, and a time to connect with people. It’s a very interactive environment. In a way, we try to represent that in our shows.”

Read the full story, published December 14 2022, on Smithsonian Folklife.