●Cumbia is a local music that originated in Cartagena, a Caribbean coastal city in Colombia, South America. Its easy-to-dance-to duple-meter rhythm caught on and spread throughout Latin America, taking root as popular entertainment music from Latino communities in the U.S.A. in the north all the way down to Argentina in the south. Today, [cumbia] is rapidly drawing attention in club scenes worldwide, with DJs everywhere starting to spin it.
●The sound coming from Henry Ortiz and his group is acoustic, centered on accordion and vocals. Hear these hand-played, swinging rhythms and you'll realize just how formidable the real thing is. And on top of that, they nonchalantly incorporate recent cumbia trends like programmed beats, scratching, and electro.
●In addition to his local activities, Henry Ortiz is an artist attracting attention from around the world—he took part in the Colombian recording sessions for Cesária Évora's new album "Nha Sentimento" and participated fully in "Cumbia Muffin," the new album by Europe-based Latin maverick Sergent Garcia.