[ Up-tempo music plays ] Band: [ Singing in Spanish ] [ Instrumental music plays ] ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Edgar: My name is Jacob Edgar.
I'm an explorer.
But I don't search for lost cities or ancient ruins.
I'm on the quest for a different kind of treasure -- music.
Man: [ Singing in native language ] ♪♪ Edgar: As an ethnomusicologist and world-music record producer, I travel the globe, hunting for the best songs the world has to offer, and I suffer through some of the worst so you don't have to.
♪♪ I've got a backstage pass to the world's music, and I won't stop until I've heard it all.
Man: ♪ For the people, and we're talking about God ♪ [ Singing indistinctly ] [ Up-tempo music plays ] Band: [ Singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Edgar: Cartagena de Indias is Colombia's gateway to the Caribbean and the epicenter for Afro-Caribbean music styles that have had a huge influence on the rest of Colombia, Latin America, and the world.
♪♪ Cartagena is an amazingly beautiful city on Colombia's Atlantic coast.
This was the city where much of Latin America's wealth was brought before it was exported to Europe.
So the diamonds, the gold, the emeralds was all brought here, and it was constantly under attack by pirates, by buccaneers.
So Spain spent massive amounts of money fortifying the city.
They built huge stone walls lined with cannons to protect it.
And old Cartagena is remarkably well-preserved.
I mean, you could spend days walking around its little streets, admiring its picturesque balconies.
And while I love it -- it's beautiful -- if you want to hear the real beats of the street of Cartagena, you got to go to where the people are.
You got to go to the barrios.
So you got to go beyond the walls of the Old City.
And of course, that's where I'm gonna go.
♪♪ Over the centuries, African music and dance mixed with native indigenous styles as well as European influences, like the local sancocho stew.
This unique blend of spices and ingredients has resulted in a delicious combination of flavors.
[ Mid-tempo music plays ] It was here, on Colombia's Caribbean coast, that cumbia was born.
This iconic Colombian rhythm, which is traditionally accompanied by a risqué courtship dance, is now popular in nearly every corner of Latin America.
♪♪ More recently, Cartagena is bouncing to the hot sound of champeta, which blends contemporary African styles, like Congolese soukous, Nigerian Afrobeat, and South African Mbaqanga, with Latin and Caribbean grooves.
But before I delve into the modern sounds of Cartagena, first I explore the roots by meeting the legendary Totó la Momposina, one of the most respected figures in Colombian music.
[ Mid-tempo music playing ] ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Edgar: Totó comes from a family whose musical roots stretch back five generations, and she's devoted her life to promoting the music and dance traditions of the Caribbean coast of Colombia.
[ Up-tempo music plays ] ♪♪ Totó first takes me to La Popa, a mountaintop overlooking Cartagena that was once an important location for indigenous and African rituals and is now a Catholic convent.
[ Up-tempo music plays ] ♪♪ Totó: [ Singing in Spanish ] [ Speaking Spanish ] [ Singing in Spanish ] Mm.
Band: [ Singing in Spanish ] Edgar: From there, we head to Las Bóvedas, whose former dungeons now house touristy gift shops.
Mm-hmm.
Sí.
Right.
Sí.
[ Up-tempo music plays ] ♪♪ Sí.
[ Up-tempo music playing ] [ Mid-tempo music playing ] ♪♪ Edgar: Eventually we end up at La Boquilla, a popular beach destination for locals, but a far cry from the wealth of the Old City and the fancy resorts on the other side of town.
As Totó and her band set up to play next to an old fishing boat, local children begin to gather around.
Totó: [ Singing in Spanish ] [ Mid-tempo music plays ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Edgar: Totó sings "El Pescador," a classic cumbia about a poor fisherman who speaks to the moon while waiting for his net to fill.
It's a truly magical moment seeing Totó in action, passing on Afro-Colombian traditions to a new generation as the sun sets over the Caribbean Sea.
[ All singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ Edgar: Sí.
[ All singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Shouts in Spanish ] [ Laughter ] [ Applause ] ♪♪ Edgar: While cumbia dates back hundreds of years, the African influences on Colombian music continue to this day.
Champeta is a style of music that originated here in Cartagena, and it's fascinating because it draws a lot of inspiration from contemporary African dance music.
It's really rare in Latin America to see modern African music being so popular, and I wanted to learn more about this unique champeta sound.
So I invited my old friend Lucas Silva, a music producer and filmmaker from Bogotá who specializes in champeta and Louis Towers, one of the biggest champeta stars, to meet me at Bazurto, a loud, dirty, busy, totally insane market that has played a central role in the history of the style.
Lucas, where are we?
This is madness.
Yeah, this is -- Bazurto market is kind of the Mecca of champeta.
Everything started here.
And Luis Towers was one of the first singers doing African music covers of soukous, highlife, Afrobeat.
So, little by little, champeta takes its own identity, and now it's a really -- like a big movement.
[ Champeta music plays ] [ Singing in Spanish ] Edgar: Like many of the top champeta stars, Louis Towers is originally from the nearby village of Palenque, where African traditions are still going strong.
He Anglicized his name from "Luis Torres" to Louis Towers, and it's appropriate because he towers over me and most other people.
[ Singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ [ Speaking Spanish ] Okay.
[ Speaking Spanish ] Uh-huh.
Ah, okay.
Man: [ Singing in Spanish ] Tell me -- what is a picó?
Tell me what that means.
Yeah, a picó is the local version of the sound system.
Like what you would see in Jamaican dancehall, these big speakers.
Yeah, really pretty much like Jamaican sound systems.
There's a lot of huge speakers all around a closed area... Yeah.
...putting a heavy sound.
Like, you shake your whole body.
You feel like...
It's taking over, just goes into your -- ...like a huge earthquake.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
For all this music, there's also a lot of dancing, right?
I mean, what's the champeta dancing like?
I mean, this sounds like music to dance to.
Yeah, man, the champeta dancing is really like -- really hot, erotic dancing for real.
[ Chuckling ] Erotic dancing.
For real.
Well, this market is beautiful, and it looks like they have a lot of good food here, no?
I imagine they've got some great food.
Yeah, greatest food in Cartagena, and the cheapest.
The cheapest?
Alright.
I like cheap and good.
That's a good combination.
Should we go take a look at what they've got?
Let's go, yeah.
Alright.
[ Record scratches ] [ Up-tempo music plays ] Man: [ Speaking Spanish ] [ Conversing in Spanish ] Mmm.
[ Speaking Spanish ] [ Laughter ] Man: [ Singing in Spanish ] This looks good.
The best of Cartagena.
Yeah.
The best of Colombia.
[ Laughter ] Man: [ Singing in Spanish ] Edgar: After exploring the sights and flavors of the Bazurto market, we head over to one of the many record shops, which carry local artists, as well as a wide selection of CDs direct from Africa.
"Zulu Hits."
I have this one.
This is an old -- This is a classic.
Oh, he looks nice.
"Yo Soy el Bárbaro de la Champeta."
Hernando -- "Champetas Del Perreo."
I think I'm gonna go home with all of these probably.
Cool.
I'm gonna do some shopping.
Louis and his guitarist, Franklin, set up in the middle of the market for a stripped-down version of "El Liso en Olaya," one of Louis Towers' most popular songs.
[ Singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Rhythmic clapping ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Edgar: You know, here in Bazurto, you can do lots of things.
You can get food.
You can get your hair cut like this gentleman here.
I don't know.
I'm thinking about getting a haircut.
Eh, what do you think?
Towers: [ Singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ [ Rhythmic clapping ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Mid-tempo music plays ] Edgar: Cartagena is famous for being a great party town, and at night, the city's clubs light up with the sounds of salsa, cumbia, and electro tropical beats.
Lucas agrees to show me around some of the local hotspots.
So, here we are.
It's one of our last nights here in Colombia.
And you can see our ground team over there is working hard, but I have this sneaking suspicion that they're just texting each other.
Band: [ Singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ So, Lucas, I hear that Cartagena is known for its nightlife.
Is that true?
Yes, Cartagena has been always a great place for -- from the '50s till today for cumbia, parties, salsa parties.
Today, a very special place for electronic parties in the beach.
Oh, yeah?
Wow.
Well, for champeta parties, of course.
So, there's a lot of nightclubs around here.
Is there a bar or a club around here that you recommend?
Yeah, I recommend Bazurto Social Club.
It's a new kind of place in downtown in Cartagena.
You can hear some champeta, some reggae or new salsa, new cumbia.
There is not much places like Bazurto in Cartagena.
It's one of a kind.
Let's go check it out.
Yeah, man, let's check it out.
Alright, man.
Band: [ Singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Woman: [ Singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ I think I hear some salsa.
[ Singing continues ] ♪♪ Band: [ Singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Edgar: Well, Lucas, that was fun.
I can tell why they call Cartagena a party town.
Well, Cartagena is an amazing city, great nightlife, great day life, everything about it.
I love it.
I wish I had more time.
But I'm definitely going to come back here someday.
It's been a lot of fun.
[ Speaking Spanish ] Man: [ Singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Edgar: For the biggest, most intense, and most unique party in Cartagena, you've got to get off the beaten path and check out a picó, one of the dozens of massive champeta sound systems that blast out incredibly loud music that's guaranteed to get your mind off any troubles you may have while shattering your eardrums in the process.
I've heard some loud music in my time, but nothing equals the earth-shaking, hair-blowing, heart-stopping bass of the Rey de Rocha picó, one of the most popular in Cartagena.
Man: [ Singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ Edgar: My companion at the picó is Charles King, also a champeta star and well known in the local scene for his hit songs that are filled with bawdy double entendres and stories of daily life that the man in the street can relate to.
♪♪ Man: [ Singing in Spanish ] Edgar: Mm-hmm.
Man: [ Singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Edgar: Cartagena is definitely a place to add to your "must visit" list.
Its magnificent Old City rivals the illustrious colonial ambiance of New Orleans, Havana, Cuba, or San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Its nightclubs, cafés, and restaurants will keep you entertained, comfortably caffeinated, and well fed.
And with its incredibly rich history, culture, and endless depth of great music, Cartagena has earned a spot in my personal list of favorite cities.
[ Up-tempo music playing ] ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Speaking Spanish ] ♪♪ [ Speaking Spanish ] ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Laughs ]