Cali will be celebrating the second Annual Marimba festival on December 18, 19 and 20. The festival, preceeding the great Feria, will be a gathering of art, food, folklore and Pacific music.
The Secretary of Culture announced that this year’s panel of judges will include Senator Piedad Cordoba, musicians Hector Javier Tascon and Emeris Solis, journalist Umberto Valverde and singer Begnina Solis.
The event features one of Colombia’s traditional instruments, the marimba, which is made from chonta, a palm tree found only in the Pacific coast.
“For us, it is a pleasure to be able to say to Colombia and the world that the black man came from Africa to America, he arrived empty handed, and with his feelings, his knowledge and the materials he found, he constructed the marimba [made of] chonta, which identifies the Colombian Pacific,” said Nino Caicedo, the Valle Secretary of Culture.
Innovative rhythms from the Pacific coast include the Bambuco Viejo, Patacore, Bereju, Bunde and the Juga.
This year, the festival will be held at the Plaza de Toros in order to accommodate the event’s popularity.