1 April 2020
One of the most rewarding aspects about studying Spanish is the opportunity it offers to engage with Hispanic cultures from across the world. Let Naira, one of our staff from Colombia, tell you all about 'Champeta' - a dance style that burst onto the world stage in February this year. As you find yourself spending more time inside and in need of new exercise ideas, why not try the Champeta Challenge at home!
Have you heard the word champeta recently? Or maybe you have seen videos going viral of people doing the #ChampetaChallenge on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok and you've asked yourself, what's all the hype? Test your Spanish with this parallel text in which you discover more about the origins and meaning of this dance that is taking the world by storm!
Primero, voy a llevarte a un breve recorrido sobre los orígenes de la champeta.
La champeta es un tipo de baile originario de la costa Caribe de Colombia, el cual combina ritmos de África y El Caribe. La champeta se volvió popular en la región Caribe de Colombia en los años setenta. De hecho, la presencia de este ritmo en el país colombiano se remonta a la época de la colonia. Llegó a los puertos del Caribe a través de los barcos llenos de esclavos africanos entre los siglos XVI Y XVII.
El pasado 2 de febrero, Shakira al final de su presentación en la final del Super Bowl bailó champeta junto a sus bailarines. Fueron solo 28 segundos, pero fueron suficientes para despertar furor en los colombianos y un gran interés en las redes sociales en las personas que nunca antes habían escuchado de este baile.
First of all, let me tell you a little bit about the origins of champeta.
Champeta is a style of dance originating in the Caribbean coastal region of Colombia combining styles from Africa and the Caribbean. While champeta first became popular in this region in the 1970s, its originas can be traced back to the colonial period. It was brought in by African slaves when they arrived between XVI and XVII century
On February 2 of this year Shakira was one of the entertainers for the grand final of the Super Bowl and at the end of her show she and her dancers danced champeta. It was only 28 seconds, but it was enough time to make Colombians go crazy and have the rest of the world – who have never heard of champeta – to become curious.
De hecho, el baile de Shakira no fue estrictamente champeta sino soukous(rumba africana). El sonido de la champeta está directamente relacionado con el de la rumba congoleña y de Zaire y al soukous de África central. En todo caso, y bajo el nombre que sea, refleja la historia africana y los caminos que tomó al llegar al Caribe colombiano.
La champeta hoy suena en los barrios caribeños cada fin de semana y por mucho tiempo ha sido estigmatizado como un baile vulgar que sólo se escuchaba en los barrios populares y exclusivamente en la región Caribe. Hoy en día la champeta se escucha en las discotecas de otras grandes ciudades como Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, entre otras.
In fact, Shakira’s choreography wasn’t 100% champeta, it was Soukous (African music). The sound of champeta is directly linked to Congolese rhythms, music of Zaire and the Soukous of central Africa. In any case, what really matters here is not the name but that it tells about African history and all it took to make its way to the Caribbean coastal of Colombia.
Today, champeta is played in the Caribbean neighborhoods every weekend and after being stigmatized for a very long time as a “rabble” music that was only played in underprivileged communities and exclusively in the Caribbean, today it can be heard in other big cities of Colombia like Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, among others.
Aunque la champeta como género musical ha sido aceptada en los últimos años, aún queda mucho trabajo por hacer para borrar el estigma negativo que siempre la ha acompañado. La palabra “champetúa” por ejemplo, aún hoy en día se usa de forma despectiva para referirse a alguien. Una persona “champetúa” es claramente alguien que baila champeta, pero también se usa para hacer referencia a una persona de un barrio popular sin educación.
Es por esto que cuando vimos a Shakira bailar champeta en la final de uno de los eventos deportivos más importantes del mundo, los colombianos, especialmente los costeños, nos volvimos locos, gritamos de emoción y queríamos que todos supieran lo que realmente significa para nuestro pueblo que la cantante más grande de Colombia bailara champeta frente a millones de espectadores. Es un baile que representa nuestras raíces, nuestra resistencia y esa alegría particular que es lo que en realidad nos permite superar todas nuestras penas, por eso tanto bombo.
Even though champeta has been accepted in the last years as musical genre, there is still a lot of work to do to erase the stigma that has always defined it. The word “champetua” for example, is still used today as a derogatory term to refer to someone. “Champetua” is literally someone that dances champeta, but the word is also used to make reference to someone that has poor or no education at all.
That’s why, when we Colombians, especially costeños, saw Shakira dancing champeta at the Super Bowl - one of the biggest sporting events in the world – we went crazy and screamed with excitement. We really wanted everyone to know what it really means to our people that the biggest Colombian star danced champeta in front of millions of viewers. This is a dance that represents our roots, our endurance and our particular joy that help us to overcome all of our sorrows.
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