ABSTRACT
Nine countries make up Hispanic South America, all of them sharing cultural elements inherited from their background as Spanish colonies. They can be broadly divided into three areas: the north, which includes Colombia and Venezuela; the Andean region, which encompasses Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador; and the Southern Cone region, which includes Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, and Argentina. Colombia's original inhabitants included hundreds of native tribes, most prominently the Choco, the Kuna, the Quimbaya, and the Chibcha. The most important style from Colombia's interior was bambuco, a rural folk dance that was heavily influenced by European, African, and Andean characteristics. Like so many Latin American styles that have risen to national and international prominence, cumbia began as a folk dance among the Black, native, and mixed populations of the Caribbean coast. Porro's origins and relationship to cumbia are unclear, as some maintain that porro is merely a faster version of cumbia, while others claim it developed as an independent style.
