Time to rumba. Photo web-empresa.com.co.

Out of beautiful places to visit in Colombia, one of those things that a foreign visitor must not avoid is what we Colombians called  “Rumba“. In Cuba, Rumba is a typical dance that was developed in the island during the Spaniard colony from ancient African traditions. But in Colombia it has another meaning – though it keeps its relation. Rumba is a cultural element of enjoyment, a moment almost so near to a philosophical style of life. Rumba is carnival, but also fair and parties, going to disco and meeting in the beach at the side of a picó.

Aspect of the "Water Fire" (Aguardiente) in one of the many trade marks.

Any Colombian city is good for rumba. Any world city with a considerable number of Colombians, has surely an experience of rumba.

It has to see with nightlife especially. If you come to Colombia, you should spare hours of the day on your bed, because you can not lost the opportunity to enjoy the Colombian discos, zona rosas, beaches, rumba avenues, town plazas, dance stages and many other spaces for music and dance of any city during the night. From the tropical coastline cities to the cool Andean towns of Colombia, rumba is present in our lives.

Zona rosa (literally in English “Pink Zone”), is not yet a fully concluded concept in Latin American Spanish. For many, it is related to gay areas. However, that is not completely true, since zona rosas are spaces for anybody ready to enjoy nightlife. I can define zona rosa, at least in Colombia, as the space for rumba or city nightlife. In Colombia the zona rosa is a place with nice shopping malls, good restaurants, discos, movie houses, parks and boulevards. You can ask to any for the zona rosa and you will get surely good information from your hotel.

The Colombian beaches – in the Caribbean Sea or in the Pacific – are natural rumba spaces. Our beaches are not properly a silent place. Near to the sea waves there must be a tropical song inviting to stand up and move the hips.

Rumba can be done in any space with a great disco with enough room for dance. It is not necessary to join any zona rosa, but to look for one is a good idea. However, the cities offers many other places out of zona rosas. The insistence in ZRs is that those places are often safe and easy to identify if you are new in the city.

In Bogotá, the main spaces for nightlife are traditionally located at Chapinero, northeastern of the city, with several malls, restaurants and discos. At the beginning of the 20th century, the area was just a small town, well known because it had the hacienda of the 19th century Colombian poet José Asunción Silva. The 1917 Bogotá’s earthquake made that many inhabitants of the city moved to the area and El Bogotazo of 1948 changed the traditional big town of Bogotá to become a growing city during the next decades. Chapinero, that was a rural area of the surroundings, became soon one of the most commercial and important districts of Bogotá. Today you cannot come to the capital of Colombia omitting that sector, especially to have a beautiful night of rumba with your Colombian friends.

In Medellín the zona rosa is located in El Poblado, at southeast of the city, especially in Parque Lleras. The sector is one of the most exclusive places of Medellín, excellent service of transportation, restaurants, malls, movie houses and discos. But the Paisa rumba is particularly present in any corner. The rural towns of Antioquia or the Coffe Axe are very traditional in rumba. The towns are lively places, especially around the plazas, with people coming and going, sit down in exteriors and having a very familiar atmosphere in the middle of nice mountain views. Rionegro, La Ceja, Caldas, Santa Fe, are good places for the most Andean rumba of your life.

In Cali we can say that everything is rumba. Actually, it can be praised as the Capital of the Colombian Rumba as it is also the World Capital of Salsa. It is not difficult to look for spaces with good restaurants, discos, malls and rumba in the a city with a tropical weather and so joyful people. The north of Cali and its 6th Avenue is famous for its night clubs and discos, malls and parks. It is also a city among the Andes, but very near to the Pacific seacoast with rumba-city of Buenaventura, that keeps the Afro-Colombian traditions and happiness of its people.

In Cartagena de Indias and Santa Marta the beaches are the zona rosa. The historical downtown of Cartagena is ideal to have the experience of a Colombian rumba and you will not forget it. But the northern region of Colombia is a place of joy and fun. The coastal people know how to make a rumba at any time and it is real.

The rumba is celebrated normally at the weekends, but in a month like December, all Colombia is a rumba. It can be the nights of Fridays and Sundays, but some skillful rumberos are able to celebrate between Thursday and Sunday.

Get a good dinner and look for a good group of friends to visit any well known disco in the place you are.  Choosing a disco depends on references and fame. There are many kind of them: those for young people and those for those who are not so young; those for romantics, for Vallenato lovers, Salsa and other kind of music and artists.

Inside the disco you have to taste the national drink of Colombia: Aguardiente, that in English could be translated as “Fire Water”. It is a strong drink, transparent and delicious that is drunk in a small cup. Populary, it is also known as Guaro. Normally you do not drink it slowly, but you consume the entire cup in a single time. If you are afraid to get drunk so quickly, there is the solution and it is the second part of the rumba: You have to dance all the night. It is the best way to avoid to get drunk easily.

A good rumba includes singing together with the musicians. Especially those discos with live artists are the best, a norm for most of the discos of cities like Medellín and Cartagena.

Just prepare your best shoes for dancing if you intend to visit Colombia this time. Look on the Internet for the best and most recommended discos to enjoy the cities nightlife of Colombia. You will not forget it.