Glossary of Colombian Music - C

C

• caja vallenata - A vallenato drum originally made from goatskin
• calle de las salsotecas - Literally, salsoteca street, referring to Calle 44, a three mile long road in Cali, referring to the numerous salsotecas and tabernas along the street, known for featuring salsa dura and Cuban music during the 1980s and 90s
• caballo - A rhythmic pattern played on the conga
• camaján - An alternate term for the pachuco
• campana - A cowbell
• campanero - A performer of the cowbell, notably played by audience members along with the on-stage performer
• capachos - Maracas
• música caribeña - A rarely used synonym for música antillana
• carrilera - A form of guitar-based music from the Antioquia province, associated "with the urbanizing peasant or working class"
• carrito - Small, streetside vendors of recorded music
• carrizo - A form of Colombian folk flute
• caseta - A dance hall
• cencerro - A timbales cowbell
• champeta - A form of rootsy music from the Pacific coastal city of Cartagena, where an Afro-Colombian population developed the style; an Afro-Colombian style associated with Cartagena and Barranquilla, which combines elements of African pop, soca, zouk, mbaqanga and soukous
• champús bailable - A Caleño tradition of house parties, which began in the 1930s and were usually held on Sundays; champú, a beverage made from pineapple, corn, bitter orange leaves and a fruit called lulo
• chandé - A Costeño form, performed by flute-and-drum ensembles
• chirimía - A kind of ensemble found in the northwest corner of Chocó province
• chucu-chucu - An alternate term for raspa
• cokacolo - A teenage dancer at a agüelulo
• contrapunteo - An improvised, verbal duel
• música colombiana - Colombian music, formerly understood to refer to música andina in the 19th and early 20th century, when that style was perceived as a national music
• baile de cuota - A type of dance party in Cali's working-class neighborhoods during the mid-20th century
• cuatro - A small guitar, used in llanera
• currulao - A marimba-based music found along the southwest littoral Valle, Cauca and Nariño provinces of Colombia, as well as Esmeraldas in Ecuador
• cumbia - A form of nation music, originally from the Atlantic coast and characterized by a "solidly grounded and complex layered rhythm with an airily syncopated melody"