“Bumaranga” is a word used by African slaves brought to Colombia to designate certain forms of music. It was only natural for Juan Sebastian Quiros to choose this name to designate his Afro-Colombian musical fusion project.
Bumaranga is a project offering a blend of typically Colombian percussions and flutes with a modern touch of electric instruments.
The result is a fusion of sounds from the roots of Afro-Colombian music and its essence along with the African and indigenous influence marked by penetrating and highly rhythmic beats. A rich musical form flows from this, with authentic sounds, with attractive rhythms from traditional drums such as the tambora and the tambor alegre standing out.
With beats such as cumbia, puya, tambora and mapalé, each of the group’s presentations is an invitation to discover and appreciate Colombia’s modern musical flavours.
Bumaranga aims to preserve Afro-Colombian music in Canada, sharing the cultural wealth of Afro-blended music from South America and contributing to Canada’s musical diversity.
The group won first prize in the 7th Syli d’Or of World Music in 2013 at the Club Balattou in Montréal as well as the CIBL Radio-Montréal award and the Coup de Cœur award at the Francofolies Festival in 2013 in the blended musical styles showcase. The 2013 Vivacité Montréal grant awarded by the Conseil des Arts et Lettres du Québec helped Bumaranga produce its first album, named Cumbia Electrizante.