Porro

A musical style and dance from the Caribbean region of Colombia. A cumbia rhythm that developed into its own subgenre, porro was originally a folkloric expression from the Sinú River area that evolved into a ballroom dance. It was played mostly by brass bands or orchestras and danced in couples. This genre influenced some of the greatest Latin American bands in the 1960s. The two types of porro are porro palitiao (derived from the way the bombo drum is struck along its rim to produce the sound of a cowbell) and porro tapao (associated with the savannas around Cartagena). 1940s–1970s.