Learn the songs and the dancing gets easier, because your body starts anticipating the breaks and the choruses. These twenty tracks cover the cumbia canon from Colombian classics to the songs that fill Las Vegas dance floors today. Queue them in order and you have a ready-made practice playlist.
The Colombian classics
- La Pollera Colorá, Pedro Salcedo y Su Orquesta. Arguably the cumbia anthem.
- Cumbia Sampuesana, Aniceto Molina. His signature tune.
- La Piragua, José Barros
- Colombia Tierra Querida, Lucho Bermúdez
- Cumbia del Caribe, Edmundo Arias y Su Orquesta
The Mexican cumbia canon
- Cómo Te Voy a Olvidar, Los Ángeles Azules. The modern wedding essential.
- 17 Años, Los Ángeles Azules
- Mi Cucu, La Sonora Dinamita
- Que Nadie Sepa Mi Sufrir, La Sonora Dinamita
- Cumbia Sobre el Río, Celso Piña. The Monterrey rebel classic.
- Amor a Primera Vista, Los Ángeles Azules and Belinda. A guest-vocal collaboration that keeps the group's signature organ and accordion sound over a straightforward beat.
The Selena era
- Baila Esta Cumbia, Selena. If only one cumbia song exists for you, it's this one.
- Como La Flor, Selena
- La Carcacha, Selena
Modern floor-fillers
- Nunca Es Suficiente, Los Ángeles Azules and Natalia Lafourcade
- Mi Niña Traviesa, Luis Coronel. A slower, sung-through cumbia that gives beginners room to find the back-break.
- Cumbia Buena, Grupo La Cumbia
- Oye Mujer, Raymix. Electrocumbia's breakout.
- La Boda del Huitlacoche (live), Carín León. A live recording, so the tempo breathes more than a studio cut and the crowd carries part of the chorus.
- El Listón de Tu Pelo, Los Ángeles Azules
How to practice with this list
Start with the slower Los Ángeles Azules tracks to drill your basic step, then work up to the brighter Colombian classics as your vuelta gets smooth. Then stop practicing alone. These exact songs run through the cumbia sets at our Latin social nights, and the weekly cumbia class teaches the steps that fit them. First class is free.