The rhumba has been described as a dance that speaks of romance, passion, and subtle flirtation. With its movements from the hip and captivating rhythm, it’s a dance that has enchanted audiences for ...

African music traveled to the New World with slavery, only to return to Africa in the 1930’s and 40’s via 78 rpm phonograph records, broadcast by Radio Congo Belge in Léopoldville (now Kinshasha), ...

The death of Lokassa ya Mbongo has left a deep void in the world of rhumba rhythm guitarists. He was one of the top rhythm guitarists in Congolese rhumba and benga music who could only be rivalled by ...

Congolese Rumba is the glorious musical hybrid of Cuban music fused with African DNA. It started back in the 1950s with a boatload of 78 rpm Cuban records featuring Arsenio Rodriguez, Orquesta Aragón, ...

Towards the end of the 1970s, potent forms of Zairean pop bands posed a threat to the growth of indigenous Kenyan music. Congolese groups were being contracted to perform in Nairobi’s mushrooming ...

Born among black slaves on sugar plantations, Cuba's rumba has since become a national icon almost as renown as its cigars or amateur boxers and two years ago was designated by UNESCO as an intangible ...

Of all the abductions, this one is different.

Chicago-based journalist Catalina Maria Johnson hosts the 15th installment of World Cafe's Latin Roots music series. Johnson writes in Spanish and English for publications such as HOY, Revista ...