THE MAGDALENA RIVER, COLOMBIA
That beauteous photograph you see above was taken from the department of Huila in Colombia. Huila is located at the southern edge of the Colombian Massif, where a clustered group of impenetrable mountains mark the split of the Andes into three cordilleras, and where the Magdalena River, the largest river of Colombia, is born.
Named after Mary Magdalene by the Spanish, the Magdalena River boasts 1612 km in length, drains the largest basin of Colombia (257,438 km2), and discharges on average 7200 m3 s-1 of water!
It extends from this impenetrable Colombian massif, northward between the central and oriental Andes divisions and discharges at the Magdalena Delta on the Caribbean coast.
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History of the Magdalena
The Spanish first entered what is today Colombian territory through the Magdalena River in 1519, in an expedition led by Jeronimo de Melo. A few years later, in 1538, Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada defeated the Muiscas at the altiplano cundiboyacense and founded Santafé de Bogotá, the current capital of Colombia. However, independence from Spain would not come until centuries later (1819), so linking Bogotá with Spain was of primary importance, and hence the Magdalena became the link between this Spanish colony and the outside world.
The Magdalena Watershed
The Magdalena River remained the way most people and goods got in and out of Colombia until the 19th century. As a result, port towns on the watershed, which covers 24% of all Colombian territory, were the first to develop. It is not difficult to argue that without the Magdalena Watershed, Colombia would not have developed nearly to the extent it is today. Here are a few keys statistics that support this claim:
- 90% of all Colombian coffee is grown on the M. basin.
- 86% of Colombia’s GDP comes from the M. basin.
- 70% of Colombia’s hydropower comes from the M. basin.
- 95% of Colombia’s thermoelectric energy comes from the M. basin.
- Over 290 fish species endemic to the river support the fishing industry.
- Most of Colombia’s drinking water comes from the M. basin.
Coloners founded cities like Barranquilla and Santa Marta on the river’s edge as port-towns, but many more settled in the town of Ciénaga, where Chimila and Tairona Indians had for many years populated the area prior to European arrival. It was at Ciénaga where the the rituals and music of the Amerindians met the African rhythms and percussion styles brought over by the slaves, and the gallant European dance genres (such as flamenco, bolero, and fandango), which led to the traditional Colombian genres of today: Cumbia cienaguera and vallenato.
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Music from/about the Magdalena
“El Caimán”
El caimán is the most ancient traditional Colombian song. The Amerindians of Ciénaga would perform rites and sacrifices to the spectacled caimans (Caiman crocodilus) of the Magdalena River. The ritual survived and transformed itself into a dance and festival known as “Festival del Caimán!” The melody can be found here and a video performance byLos Caporalescan be seen here (start at 4:27)! One step forward, three steps back—a man dressed green with a caiman around his waist (usually made of papier mâché) dances with a group of women wearing bright green dresses. In the break intervals, verses detailing stories of people that have found their deaths at the jaws of Magdalena caimans are chanted.
“Cumbia Cienaguera”
Cumbia is a particularly complex music genre born from the intermingling of Amerindians, Europeans, and Africans. Built on a 2/4 and sometimes 2/2 beat, the vocalist is accompanied with a drum ensemble (Yamaro keeps the beat, quitambre flexibly plays with the melody, and tambora provides adornment and characteristic sounds) maracas, guaches, and gaitas! Performers will alternate the song’s control between the vocalists and the gaitas, though more modern groups now incorporate trumpets, saxophones, keyboards, and accordions. Lyrics are almost always of romantic, poetic nature, a characteristic inherited from the Spanish genres. As for how to dance Cumbia, movements vary regionally and are generally complex, though what remains staple everywhere are the sensual hip movements with which the genre is fully enjoyed.
Enjoy, the unofficial Colombian anthem, ”Cumbia Cienaguera!”
Vallenato
“Vallenato” literately means “from the valley” — like cumbia, it is a genre born from the mix of Amerindian, African, and European music in the Magdalena Watershed. In its origin, Vallenato can be described as an adaptation of Spanish son, Spanish paseo, Magdalenese merengue, and puya, a genre of Amerindian origin (links provided are different Vallenatos, each leaning towards the selected linked genre). Wikipedia actually provides a very succinct dissection of the four “aires” of vallenato, check it out! Modern vallenato has three traditional instruments: the caja vallenata, the guacharaca, and the three-line button German accordion. Vallenato lyrics often come in décimas, ten-line stanzas, with repeating verses that are used to bring across memories, legends, stories, or lessons of the emotionally vibrant composers. In “Señora,” Otto Serge and Rafael Ricardo very respectfully sing about the unspoken love Otto feels for the woman of another man. While completely infatuated, Otto as a gentleman, has no intention to come between them — the songs details the unusual ways in which he brings across his innocuous affection to the love of his life. In “La casa en el aire,” Rafael Escalona sings about the ideal house he wants to build for his daughter — a house floating in the sky (Carlos Vives Cover). The purpose behind building a house that floats in the sky is limiting the type of men that can knock at his daughter’s door. In essence, in this lovely song, Rafael finds that only men capable of soaring through the sky like angels are good enough for his daughter.
Enjoy one of the historic vallenato classics, “La Gota Fría!”
Tropipop & Tropirock
More recently, Carlos Vives has given rise to a genre sometimes referred to as tropi-pop and tropi-rock. In its most basic explanation, this is Vallenato mixed with rock & roll! In “Décimas,” using the puya verse style, Carlos Vives sings about all things that are similar in this world, inspired by how much the city of New Orleans is like Barranquilla. Inspired also by Johnny Cash’s Big River and Jamaican Reggae, Carlos Vives wrote “Santa Marta-Kingston-New Orleans,” a song where he dreams of being a sailor of the “Gran Colombiana” (trade-ship corporation of the 50’s). Mixing vallenato, reggae, zydeco, and rock & roll, Carlos Vives details his Caribbean journey in a style that imitates Johnny Cash’s journey down the Mississippi, in “Big River.” A similar style was born from Juanes’ passion for thrash metal, salsa, and vallenato (odd mix, huh?). In “Fíjate Bien,” Juanes sings about the victims of the Colombian Armed Conflict, specifically about the victims of this war, who never took sides, yet were blown to bits by landmines. Much like in colonial times, the most gruesome battles and bloodsheds have taken place along the Magdalena River and its watershed, for whoever controls the river, controls Colombia.
Others
Puente Pumarejo is a 1,500 m long bridge that extends over the Magdalena River to connect the island of Salamanca with Barranquilla, Ciénaga, and to the markets of Venezuela. With its completion in 1974, Pumarejo Bridge was adopted as another of Barranquilla’s symbols. Such was its impact and beauty, that the Venezuelan band known asLos Melodicos, wrote a song to the river and to the bridge, aptly titled, “Puente Pumarejo.”
In his Nobel prize-winning novel, “Love in the Time of Cholera,” Gabriel García Marquez details the early blossoming and eternal lovesickness that binds Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza, born from their love-letter exchange. The setting is an unnamed port city along the Magdalena River. The book has its own film adaptation, of which Shakira served as music producer. She wrote three songs for the book/film, the most legendary being “Hay Amores,” where she confesses that in the same way that the Magdalena River melts upon reaching the Caribbean sands, in such a way does she wish to melt upon finding her loved one.
The Bogotá River is a 375 km long tributary to the Magdalena River that crosses through the capital city, Santafé de Bogotá. Lack of foresight has led to jaw-dropping levels of contamination on the Bogotá River and it has fallen upon local artists such as Aterciopelados to raise awareness about this and other environmental problems through Colombian rock songs such as “Río,” “Agüita,” “Caribe Atómico,” and my personal favorite, “Cruz de Sal.”
The Magdalena River Watershed has thus served as the cradle for Colombian music as much as it has served as the cradle for Colombian industry development. Vallenato and cumbia were born from the intermingling of music genres centuries ago, but it is evident that the musical melting pot that is the Magdalena River Watershed is not finished producing wonderful musical fusions. Thus, if you will indulge in listening to one more fantastic piece, there is, well… “La Fantastica” by Carlos Vives!
This song tells the story of Domingo Benkos Biohó, an African slave brought to Cartagena in the 16th century. He bravely escaped with 10 other slaves from their owners after their boat capsized on the Magdalena River, and subsequently founded Palenque de San Basilio, the first village to be declared free by the Spanish crown after they gave up trying to conquer it. The chorus is as follows: “God bless Cartagena / The fantastic one / Long live Africa / Long live Africa.” In this song Carlos Vives pays homage to the bravery of Domingo Benkos Bioho and to the African cultures that fought for their liberty of life and expression, and in doing so, with all their energy, transformed Cartagena and Colombian music into what they are today.
Fig 1. The Magdalena River Watershed extends from the Colombian Massif (between the Central and Oriental Andes) towards the Caribbean Coast in the north where it discharges. 
Fig 2. The Colombian Massif is found between the departments of Huila, Cauca, and Nariño. It gives rise to the Magdalena, Cauca, Putumayo, and Patía rivers!
song! Enjoy!