Drums from Africa, gaitas and maracas from the Cunas and Koguis people. Cumbia! the origins. This series takes on popular music and sound systems as it’s main theme. You cannot talk about Latin America without addressing it’s ambience: street sounds, deafening cumbia and microphone shout-outs. When we talk about cumbia, we talk about Simon Bolivara’s dream, the unification of Latin America through sound. Cumbia has been one of the most influential genres throughout the continent, from Colombia to almost every country in the region, each adopting and reinventing it.