Bomba Estereo brings some Carnaval flavor to Taste of Chicago

In Colombia, there’s Carnaval of Barranquilla.

It’s the second largest festival in the world, and a historic Colombian celebration. For more than a century, the four-day festival right before Ash Wednesday has filled the coastal city’s streets with thousands of people in vibrant colors, dancing to upbeat tempos and folkloric parades.

In Chicago, there’s summer. For the short (usually) warm and sunny months, layers are off and city streets are filled with overflowing music and food festival choices.

So it only makes sense that Colombia’s Bomba Estereo is visiting for a taste. The electro-cumbia musicians will perform with Puerto Rican reggae group Cultura Profética at Taste of Chicago on July 11, and they’re bringing the Carnaval rhythms with them.

The duo’s newly released single with Systema Solar — “Carnavalera” — says it all.

“Yo traigo alegría pa’ mi corazón/Pa’ tu corazón, pa’ los corazones,” sings Bomba’s singer Li Saumet. It translates to “I bring joy to my heart, to your heart, to all hearts.”

Bomba Estereo and Systema Solar both experiment with Caribbean beats to create modern electro-tropical songs. The title character of “Carnavalera” is a woman always ready to party, “always has her folk dress ready.” It’s a festival song, a tribute to Carnaval of Barranquilla.

“Carnaval is the consummation of all of our culture in Latin America and Colombia. It’s a mixture of powerful roots that intermingle among the enjoyment of a shared musical experience without social, sexual or racial labels,” Bomba Estereo founder Simon Mejía said of the song. “This is how the world should be all the time.”

Bomba Estereo, whose name translates to “stereo bomb,” has been bringing joy with psychedelic electro-cumbia since the band got started in 2005.

“It began as a project to mix traditional Colombian folkloric music with electronic music,” Mejía said in Spanish. “It’s an experiment — very Colombian, very Caribbean.”

Since vocalist Liliana Saumet joined forces with Mejía, the duo has moved to the United States and risen from there, eventually earning several Grammy nominations.

Saumet especially brings Colombia’s coastal Carnaval energy, such as appearing on stage with rainbow feathers or other vibrant clothing.

Saumet, who grew up on the Atlantic coastal city of Santa Marta, knows cumbia as a daily part of life and the music’s roots on the coast. The historic drumbeat evolved from African slaves and indigenous Colombians in the 17th century; African rhythms and indigenous flute blends made the original cumbia music.

As cumbia became globally popular, Saumet sees how it has evolved over time and travel.

”I think it’s good,” she said in an interview with WBUR. “Me gusta. But I think that the feeling is different.”

The Bogota-based duo is getting ready to stop in cities in the U.S. and Spain. Mejía says they fondly remember their stops in Chicago, most recently at two sold-out Thalia Hall shows last December.

“It was so good, so beautiful, spending two nights there — two fun shows,” Mejía said. “Chicago especially is a place that we’ve grown over the years.”

It will be a different city when they come out to perform at a summer festival.

“I love festivals, how they let you discover,” Mejía said. “We hope to try different food, hear music. That’s the best part of festivals, discovering what you don’t expect. And I love to eat.”

The band also released another cumbia summer hit with New York-based Sofi Tukker, a duo whose music fits as a counterpart to Bomba Estereo. The song “Playa Grande” or “Large Beach” invites the listener to dance, sing and celebrate in three languages — English, Spanish and Portuguese.

“We’re gonna have a party, I’m gonna dance until my shoes ask me to stop,” Sofi Tukker’s Sophie Hawley-Weld sings as she switches to English.

The video for the song, shot near Saumet’s hometown of Santa Marta, is filled with palm trees, the ocean and horses, transporting viewers to a seaside paradise. As Hawley-Weld rises out of a bath full of flower petals, she lands into the palm of Saumet, a goddess elegantly decorated with papaya jewelry. As night comes, the group and their horses celebrate around a bonfire.

It’s a trippy beach party, and the planetary visuals and hot flowery colors declare the song as an unmistakable summer dance anthem.

“It was really fun to make. We talked for a while about collaborating, we like their music and they like ours,” Mejía said. “It’s really a summer party song.”

Bomba Estereo wants us to have a beach day. And Chicago, we deserve one.

Alexandra Arriaga is a local freelance writer.