agüelulo - A teenage gathering, originally held in private homes and then larger spaces; a teenager who frequented such a place was a agüelero or sometimes a cocacolos, after the main beverage drunk at agüelulos, Coca-Cola
música andina - An early national style of the 19th and early 20th centuries, developed from the Andean interior
música antillana - A kind of popular dance music based on Cuban and Puerto Rican styles
audición: literally listening, can refer to a "special musical tribute to the career of a particular artist or group", performed before the beginning of a concert
B
baile - Literally, dance, dances are alphabetized under their descriptor, e.g. baile de cuota is alphabetized under cuota
bambuco - An Andean style of dance music, perceived as a national music in the early 20th century, or an Andean lyric music performed along with pasillo as a common part of the música andina repertoire
balada - In popular music, refers to a kind of "Spanish romantic popular music", found across Latin America
bandola - A stringed instrument similar to a mandolin, used in llanera and musica andina
bandolin - A larger relative of the bandola
bingo bailable - a dance that includes bingo games and salsa music
bombo - A drum used in folklore groups on the Atlantic coast, laid with sticks and used to start a performance by calling on the other drums to perform; a bass drum used in traditional cumbia ensembles
bugalú - An early form of New York salsa, popular in Colombia during the 1960s, a fusion of son with rhythm and blues
bullerengue - A Costeño form, performed by flute-and-drum ensembles
'The Colombian Mambo-the Colombian men would go to clubs and dance with each other until their legs fell off.
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caja vallenata - A vallenato drum originally made from goatskin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
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
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"
E
empanada bailable - An alternate term for champú bailable, referring to the empanadas often served
F
fandango - A Costeño song form, performed by flute-and-drum ensembles
festivales - Community dances in Cali, held in neighborhood dance halls or pavilions
fiesta patronales - Saints days
flauto de millo - See millo, flauto de
G
gaita - A folk flute; a Costeño form, performed by flute-and-drum ensembles; conjunto de gaita is a traditional cumbia ensemble
guache - Rattles made from filling metal or gourd tubes with seeds
guateque - Originally a Cuban word referring to a rural campesino party, which came to refer to a form of salsa dura, characterized by "slow, grinding son montunos with heavy bass and percussion; associated also with El guateque de la salsa (The Salsa Party), a popular radio show from 1989 to 1993
I
música de la interior - An Andean style, often used synonymously with bambuco, characterized by a gentle and melodic sound and a well-developed melody at the expense of rhythmic complexity
J
joropo - Originally a folk dance performed in honor of saints days and other special occasions, such as birthdays and baptism; now more often a generic word for llanera based dance music; a courtship dance associated with central Colombia and that region's cowboy culture, a "dynamic, polyrhythmic mestizo style that fuses Andalusian, African and indigenous elements"
K
kiosco - A community pavilion, used for musical performances
kuisi - an indigenous flute made from a hollowed cactus stem, with a beeswax and charcoal powder mixture for the head, with a quill made from a goose or turkey feather for the mouthpiece. There are male and female versions of the pipe (or gaita in Spanish), the female kuisi bunsi (or gaita hembra) with 5 holes, and the male kuisi sigi (or gaita macho) with two.
L
llamador - A drum, traditionally used in cumbia as well as modern música tropical
flauto de millo - A folk clarinet of the Atlantic coast
melómano - A "music aficionado"
música - Literally music, music forms are alphabetized by their descriptor, e.g. música antillana is alphabetized under antillana
N
música de negros - Literally black people's music, a pejorative term used by the elite to deride musics such as música antillana
nueva ola - Literally new wave, a kind of pop-balada performed by romantic crooners, which peaked in the 1960s and 70s
O
orquesta - A dance band
orquesta femenina - An all-female dance ensemble
orquesta infantile - An all-child dance ensemble
orquesta juvenile - An all-youth dance ensemble
P
pachanga - An early form of New York salsa, popular in Colombia during the 1960s, especially in the city of Cali
pachuco - An iconic figure, a "ruffian and a hustler... an antihero", especially important in the culture surrounding the Zona de tolerancia
parrandero - A typical lyrical focus of the more macho side of popular cumbia, referring to a boasting, aggressive and sexual "party-going man"
pasillo - A lyric song form from the Andean region
el paso Caleño - A traditional dance step from the city of Cali, characterized by a "rapid 'double-time' shuffle on the tips of the toes"
pasta americana - Carritoslang referring to the thicker and higher quality vinyl of American records
picó - Derived from the English pickup, a large sound system among DJs in Cartagena and Barranquilla during the 1980s
pop tropical - A form of mid-1990s pop-salsa
porro - A music genre. A village brass band; a song form performed by the flute-and-drum ensembles of the Atlantic coast region, as well as mid-20th century urban dance orquestas
R
raspa - A simplied form of música tropical which emerged in the late 1960s
refajo - A street slang from the Zona de tolerancia in Cali
rock en español - Spanish language rock music, most closely associated with the cities of Bogotá and Medellín in Colombia
rumba - Partying or merry-making, compare to rumbero, a party
S
salsa - A Spanish Caribbean dance music created in New York City using elements of Afro-Cuban and Puerto Rican music, a combination known in Colombia as musica antillana
salsíbiri - A term coined by Fruko to describe his own style
salsómano - A salsa fan
salsoteca - A venue that plays salsa
serenata - A pan-Latin tradition of street serenades performed by small groups of instrumentalists, especially guitarists
T
tambor hembra - The lead frum of the Atlantic coast drum choirs
tambor macho - A conga-like drum that leads the basic rhythm of the Atlantic coast drum choirs
musica tropical - A form of salsa-based music innovated by Joe Arroyo; a form of dance music based on various Atlantic coast genres
tiple - A small stringed instrument, used in llanera and musica andina
V
vallenato - A form of accordion-based music, related to música tropical and cumbia, and originally associated with the Atlantic Coast
vallenato-protesta - A form of vallenato-based protest song
verbena - Free street parties held during the December Feria and sponsored by the city of Cali
viejoteca - Dance parties, originally appearing in 1993 for senior citizens but later appealing to middle-aged partygoers and finally abandoning any age restrictions; these viejotecas became associated with a revival of the agüelulos and nightclub scenes of the 1960s and 70s; originally from Cali, viejotecas have spread to Medellin and Cartagena
