Coastal Noise or Party Music? - Learning not to Hate Vallenato

My report on my week on the Caribbean Coast of Colombia would not be complete without mentioning the type of music that is so iconic to that region, the Vallenato. It is Colombia's version of coastal or tropical music, so it is generally upbeat, lively, with plenty of accordion. In and of itself it sounds actually quite nice. Unfortunately the way I got to experience it was anything but pleasant, which will most likely be reflected in this post. I don't mean to criticize Colombian culture or its music, I just want to express how I got to perceive it, and share some examples of Vallenato at the same time, hopefully to illustrate that it's not the music's fault that my experience of it was less than ideal.

Unheard of Levels of Volume

My first impression of Colombia, even before I could see anything, was that it was loud! We arrived in Barranquilla at night and got a ride from the airport to Santa Marta. On the way we passed through villages that we could literally hear from afar, and only get louder as we were approaching. In the middle of the town there was one place with people hanging out, and a speaker was blaring music at such a volume that we could not hear each other in the car passing by, though our windows were all rolled up. As it turns out, this was nothing out of the ordinary. And I had honestly thought that Mexico was loud!

Mixed Acoustics from All Around

Up on the 16th floor the apartment was ideally situated. It was nice and hot, but since it was too high to be reached by the mosquitoes, we could leave the windows open to enjoy the balmy ocean breeze. How lovely...! Until night fell, which brought the music alive. We're not talking one or two sources of music, I'd estimate them to be at least six to twenty, maybe more. You could hear them from far and near, all playing different songs, but pretty much of the same genre, which is all they play around there. So we usually went to sleep to a general buzz of Vallenato, with the occasional snippet of accordion tune sticking out for a moment, before being droned out by the rest.

Moving Sounds from the Party Chivas

While the humming background noise of numerous speakers blaring simultaneously is actually kinda relaxing, at times I would be thrown out of my revere (that is I'd be woken up) by one fiercely loud song coming from close by. This would typically only last a couple of minutes, as the source of the music was moving, albeit rather slowly. It came from one of the party buses driving by on a nearby street. The buses are those (stereo)typical "chivas", people tend to associate with Latin America: old school buses painted in bright colors, crammed full of people, the roof rack loaded with all kinds of goods including live animals, winding its way on long Andean roads. I'm sure in real rural areas there may still be some of those in use (as they were common in the last century), but in Santa Marta they were simply there to rent for a mobile party, so called "Chivas de Rumba".

image source

What if the Sound Comes from Next Door?

We did find out, actually. To put it mildly, I'd say it gets damn loud! On our last two nights there someone on the ground level, probably 2-3 blocks down the street, decided to blast their own Vallenato. It started at around 11:00 p.m. and it finally was turned down at 7:00 a.m. the next day. In between it reached such levels that up on the 16th floor having a conversation was challenging. - Though I made note of how local the music was, since it mentioned Cartagena, Barranquilla, and even Santa Marta! - To reduce the noise we could close the windows of course (meaning the AC had to be on), and with earplugs we even attempted to sleep. I kinda managed to pass out at some point, but the next day I didn't feel very rested.

And What about the Music Itself?

So having linked all these videos of Vallenato songs, I hope you may have checked out one or the other. Unlike in my other posts of my Monday Music series, these are not tunes I could introduce per se, since I don't know them myself. I am not even certain that I have heard them, though since these came up first in my quick search, I'd assume they are the most popular ones, so chances are they were played at some point during my Colombian stay. At first the music sounded a lot like Mexican Norteña, or maybe one of the many types of Cumbia. I know, real experts are probably shocked by my crude comparison, so please remember, I'm not too familiar with Vallenato myself. If anything, I am trying not to let it have a lasting trauma on me. I'd even go as far as saying, this music has potential to grow on me... just not at 89 decibels.