Kombilesa Mi and Palenquero

Kombilesa Mi recently released a special song and video!

This group’s music switches between Spanish and Palenquero; a Spanish-based creole mixed with African languages, mainly the Kikongo language. At least 300 words of African origin have been identified. It is thought that Palenquero also includes elements from Indigenous languages local to present day Colombia.

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Kombilesa Mi doesn’t use computer-generated beats on their tracks: all of the music is played and recorded live. It is also played on traditional instruments, like the tambor alegre drum and marimbula. Members often wear traditional clothing and hairstyles, even “complicated hair braids, a nod to their enslaved ancestors, who used hair-braiding to create maps to help guide them and their fellow slaves to freedom”.

During shows, Kombilesa Mi often introduces their songs with a brief Palenquero lesson!! This is such a neat idea that not only helps the audience understand the words and grammar, but also conveys the deep importance language has in life and culture.

In 1992, local educational systems started reintroducing Palenquero into the curriculum. This happened from preschool levels to advancing grades. Parents and grandparents were encouraged to use the language at home, and classes were opened for adults. A fully equipped cultural centre was constructed to promote the language and culture. These steps may have helped make a pathway for Kombilesa Mi to be proudly creating and sharing their music and language today.

** Information was found by searching the internet and sources like Wikipedia.

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The song's YouTube description summarized & translated:

"This video was recorded on the streets of Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa. It connects us with our first trip to the African continent. It is a tribute to our Afro heritage thanks to Benkos Biohó, an African who was enslaved and founder of Palenque, a symbol of Freedom.

The song's video was made in the largest country in the south of the African continent. It was filmed in the streets of the iconic neighbourhood "Soweto", right in front of the house of the great Nelson Mandela, first president of free South Africa, in 1994.

The song 'Africa Diverse Continent' is a tribute to the ancestral territory of this character and to the legacy we have inherited as descendants of Africa, from its history, its people, and its fight against racial discrimination, racism, and inequality. It is a tribute to our beliefs and traditions. It is for traditional percussion, marímbula, and handmade metal drums of our own design."

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Song: Kombilesa Mí Africa Diverso Continente