Why LA might be the best city for cumbia lovers

“The people were dancing crazy. I couldn't believe what I was seeing,” recalled Pedro Canale — better known as Chancha Via Circuito — of his first Los Angeles show. “It looked like a party in Buenos Aires or Bogotá. I was surprised.”

The digital cumbia pioneer returns this weekend for a late-night DJ set at a secret downtown venue hosted by ZZK Records, an independent label that was founded in Buenos Aires in 2008 and moved to L.A. in 2019.

“[L.A.] is as Latin American as any city in America,” said ZZK Records founder Grant Dull. “Cumbia has always been here, and there’s a demographic of music lovers here in L.A. that is constantly pushing cumbia.”

Born in 19th-century Colombia from Afro and Indigenous rhythms, cumbia spread across Latin America, absorbing local sounds and styles. Today, it’s global — but L.A. may be the best place to experience its freshest, most exciting edge.

How LA became a hub for cumbia

L.A. became a hot spot for acts like Chancha Via Circuito to perform in for two reasons: the internet and migration.

Chanca’s Pedro Canale was part of a new generation of digital cumbieros who, in the aughts, started mixing electronic music with the Afro-Indigenous rhythms of cumbia and sharing it online through platforms like MySpace. This allowed the music to spread more quickly to diasporic communities across the world, including L.A.

Pedro Pablo Canale, better known as Chancha Via Circuito, is an Argentine electronic cumbia producer.

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Guadalupe Miles

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ZZK Records

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Meanwhile, L.A. of the late aughts saw the evolution of another kind of digitally enabled cumbia: cumbia sonidera. Sonideros are a mix of DJ and MC — they talk over the music they’re playing from large and powerful sound systems.

Cumbia sonidera was brought by migrants from Mexico City and Puebla to Los Angeles. Audiences on both sides of the border would live stream these sets and pass messages to loved ones through the sonidero.

Documentarian Alvaro Parra chronicled L.A. sonidero culture in his film Sonidero Metropolis.

“You can literally tap into YouTube and see what sonidero parties are like in Puebla instantaneously,” Parra said.

Sharing the history behind the rhythm

Because of people like documentarian Parra and Dull of ZZK Records, L.A. isn’t just a good city to hear cumbia live but also to learn about its history.

Parra has screened his documentaries at places like the Hammer Museum and LACMA.  And ZZK has started Reina de Cumbia — a series of panels, film screenings and exhibits that showcase the history of Cumbia.

“ In the end, you want people to know where this is coming from,” Parra said. “This is coming from a long tradition. Cumbia in Los Angeles has really been a reflection of the migratory waves of people that come to live in Los Angeles.”

Angelenos to follow to stay in the know

Alvaro Parra, @delaparraproductions
Parra is an Emmy-winning documentarian and one of the preeminent chroniclers of cumbia. He announces screenings through his social media pages.

ZZK Records, @zzkrecords
ZZK doesn’t just announce upcoming shows on its Instagram page, it also provides the context behind the acts that come through.

DJ Sapo, @dogtoad 
DJ Sapo hosts a regular cumbia night at Cha Cha Lounge in Silverlake.

Gary Ganas Garay, @og_ganas 
Gary Ganas Garay hosts a radio show for dublab called “Mas Exitos” on which he features a lot of cumbia. He also hosts a regular dance party at Footsies in Cypress Park.

Cumbiatón, @cumbiaton_la
Cumbiatón is a collective of DJs that throws parties centering queer, femme and undocumented folks.

Upcoming shows

If you want to experience the joy of cumbia live there are multiple upcoming shows:

• Saturday, Chancha Via Circuito, Undisclosed downtown location 

The Argentine digital cumbia pioneer will return to Los Angeles for a special late-night DJ set. Opening for him will be Turbo Sonidero, Cruzloma and L.A.’s Canyon Cody.

• Monday, Noche de Cumbia, Hollywood Bowl 

KCRW is hosting three of the all-time-biggest cumbia bands — Grupo Cañaveral, La Sonora Dinamita and Los Hermanos Flores. The night also will feature the L.A.-based all-women DJ collective Cumbiatón spinning between artists.

• Oct. 31st, Cumbiateca, Undisclosed downtown location 

ZZK and Misterpsychedelia are putting on a Halloween party headlined by Mexican producer and composer Ima Felini — Amantes del Futuro.