13 August, 2025
With Petronio Álvarez Festival 2025 fast approaching, it feels like the right moment to pause and look back at some of the most compelling new music coming out of Colombia’s Pacific Coast this year. The region’s deep-rooted marimba traditions continue to evolve, carried forward by artists who balance respect for their heritage with fresh and creative takes.
From Tumaco to Timbiquí and Guapi, these releases reveal the best of new Pacific music, full of ancestral rhythms, powerful vocals, and diverse influences that reflect the complexity of Afro-Colombian culture today. This selection highlights the artists shaping that sound, offering a snapshot of a vibrant and vital musical landscape ahead of the festival season.
Bejuco: Machete
After keeping us patiently waiting since their 2021 debut Batea, Bejuco is back. Hailing from Tumaco, a cultural stronghold of marimba tradition on Colombia’s South Pacific coast, the band has been creating a name for themselves across the global world music scene, touring across Colombia and taking their sound to international stages in Canada, New Orleans and beyond.
Now, they’ve returned with the bold new album, Machete (released May 2025), which feels like both a continuation and a reinvention. Produced by Cerrero (Diego Gómez of Discos Pacífico and Llorona Records) alongside the band’s own Juan Carlos “Cankita” Mindinero, Machete is a refined and rhythmic evolution of the band’s Afro-Pacifican beat, a stylish combination of Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat and traditional marimba music, a sonic bridge connecting the African diaspora across continents.
The recent single “Requintilla” offers an initial window into the African-focused sound of Machete. The accompanying music video celebrates Tumaco itself; its lush jungle backdrops, African-influenced traditional dances and the lived experience of Afro-Colombian pacific coast communities. Watching it, we are transported to the thick heat and exuberant surroundings of Tumaco.
Nidia Góngora: Pacífico Maravilla
An article highlighting the best of new Pacific Coast music wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the queen of the Pacific, Nidia Góngora. The artist’s new release, Pacífico Maravilla, is her first album as a solo artist, without her usual pairings of Canalón de Timbiqí or Quantic. Pacífico Maravilla is a deeply personal and stylistic project, reaffirming that Góngora’s musical journey is far from over.
This 12-track album delves into Góngora’s years of experience in showcasing the music from the Pacific Coast and the artist’s talent of combining the traditional with the modern. Recorded in her hometown of Timbiquí on the South Pacific Coast, the album demonstrates marimba music, African-derived ancestral vocals and snippets of various rhythms from both Colombia and abroad. Take “Mi Bunde”, a song that complements marimba with electronic fusion, a style that Góngora has become synonymous with in the last few years. The album closes with “El Llamado”, where haunting, layered choral voices take centre stage, merging African-derived influences with the beauty of Pacific Coast vocal traditions.
Ana Lu: “Rumba”
Analú, a leading female voice within the Pacific, continues to place Pacific urban music on the map from her base in Tumaco. As a singer, rapper and songwriter, her music blends dancehall, trap, rap, reggaeton and more with distinctive slang, rhythms and the hallmark aesthetic of Tumaco. Chronicling everyday life in Tumaco, celebrating the cultural identity of Afro-Colombian communities, and asserting the strength of women navigating a male-dominated industry, Analú continues to evolve to show the world that Pacific Coast music is not only the traditional.
Her latest track, “Rumba”, released July 2025, marks another step forward in her artistic evolution. Produced by DJ Amézquita and Bejuco’s Juan Carlos “Cankita” Mindinero, the single brings a fresh, global energy to her sound with a catchy, celebratory chorus that is impossible to forget.
Alborada De Timbiquí: “Ofrecele”
“Ófrecele” by Alborada De Timbiquí is an original interpretation of the traditional marimba music of Timbiquí, staying true to the ancestral rhythms and playing styles that have been handed down through generations. The track draws deeply on heritage, offering a respectful and heartfelt continuation of the region’s musical traditions. The accompanying video aesthetically showcases the beauty of the somewhat unknown world of Timbiquí, musicians dressed in traditional attire and the culture of the lanchas, the local boats that are part of daily life on the Pacific Coast.
Central to the music is Diego Balanta, from the Balanta family, who are widely regarded as having the deepest ancestral roots in marimba music in Timbiquí.
Together, the music and visuals provide a vivid window into Timbiquí’s living culture, where music remains deeply intertwined with daily life and identity.
Semblanzas del Rio Guapi: Lindo E’
Semblanzas del Río Guapi’s latest album, Lindo E’ is a patiently awaited follow-up to their 2021 release on Discos Pacifico. As the sole representatives of Guapi in this article, Semblanzas are well-deserving ambassadors for their hometown, beautifully showcasing the rich cultural spirit and natural beauty of Colombia’s South Pacific Coast. Their sound remains rooted in traditional marimba music while incorporating subtle modern touches, a style synonymous with this powerhouse of a band. The album’s nine tracks explore the best of the pacific coast rhythms juga, bunde, bambuco and more.
One of the album’s standout features is the striking vocal performance by the female singers, whose voices are widely regarded as some of the finest in the Pacific region and integral to Semblanzas’ identity. Their song “Negro E”, nominated alongside the album for a Latin Grammy this year, powerfully channels African influences, marrying marimba sounds with a fresh, resonant homage to the African heritage and resilience of Afro-Colombian communities along the Pacific coast. This track, and the album as a whole, underscores Semblanzas’ growing global potential as cultural ambassadors for Guapi and beyond.
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