Tuesday, July 12, 2022
Mysteries of the Marimba Devil
By Russ Slater
Bomba Estéreo’s Simón Mejía has announced a new short film, El Duende, exploring the myths, traditions and significance of the marimba in the Colombian Pacific
![Marimba 6](/media/5617/marimba-6.png?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=1200&height=600&rnd=133021107540000000)
Simón Mejía, one half of Colombia’s Bomba Estéreo, has announced a new documentary, El Duende, which looks into the myths, traditions and significance of the marimba. The documentary begins with a caption: ‘In the Colombian Pacific, the marimba is learned, built and played in the jungle. Here, the marimberos [marimba players] encounter a mysterious being, something between an elf and a demon, who teaches them how to assemble and play it. The Torres brothers are among the last bearers of this jungle legend.’
![](/media/5618/marimba-colour.png?width=850&upscale=false)
It’s these three brothers (featured in Songlines #161, as Dinastía Torres) who lead the story, sharing their belief that the ability to play the marimba is passed on by the duende, a part-elf, part-devil spirit. Mejía directed the film, with Lucas Silva (head of the Palenque Records label, and an accomplished film-maker) and Simon Hernandez, who Mejía will be collaborating with on another forthcoming documentary, Yuma, Rio Sonoro (Yuma, Sonic River) about the origins of cumbia on the Magdalena River.
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It would seem that Afro-Colombian music is having its moment after long being ignored outside its homeground. Discos Pacifico have released ‘Rumba pa’ Gozar’, the first single from Ruca & El Quinde, the group of school teacher Ruth Elena Cabezas who has reportedly written over 1,000 songs during the last 20 years. This single, with an album due later this summer, represents a rare release of marimba music from the small town of Barbacoas.