Colombia’s folk beat has African roots. Follow the Vox Borders watch page: https://www.facebook.com/VoxBorders/ Follow Johnny on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnnywharris/ Sign up for the Borders newsletter: http://www.vox.com/borders-email Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO With original music by Tom Fox: https://m.soundcloud.com/user-416166523 Cumbia is a growing staple of Latin American music. Its driving beat can be heard all over the continent, from Argentina to Mexico to the US. Cumbia’s catchy rhythms can be traced back to the villages along the river banks of Colombia’s Rio Magdalena where mostly African and American indigenous musical elements fused together to create a whole new style of music. And cumbia keeps evolving. Today DJs and pop stars are bringing cumbia into the electronic realm. But no matter how much it evolves, it always comes back to Colombia. Vox Borders is an international documentary series by Emmy-nominated producer Johnny Harris exploring life at the edge of nations. For more, visit vox.com/borders. Watch the full season of Vox Borders: Colombia Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU0RqwweuWY Episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_ViOLgvsuY Episode 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55mpzrRHmFA Episode 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDa_SpvbeCQ Bonus episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq7qbXcmba0 Note: The headline for this video has been updated since publishing. Previous headline: How this African beat spread through Latin America Become a member of the Vox Video Lab for more Borders behind-the-scenes content: http://www.vox.com/join Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/IZONyE Follow Vox on Twitter: http://goo.gl/XFrZ5H Or on Facebook: http://goo.gl/U2g06o