The pattern
95 BPM · 4/4 · 16 step
| Instrument | Beat 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Beat 2 | Step 6 | Step 7 | Step 8 | Beat 3 | Step 10 | Step 11 | Step 12 | Beat 4 | Step 14 | Step 15 | Step 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kick | hit | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest |
| Rim shot | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest |
| Shaker | hit | rest | hit | rest | hit | rest | hit | rest | hit | rest | hit | rest | hit | rest | hit | rest |
| High conga | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | rest | hit | rest | hit | rest |
| Güiro | hit | rest | hit | hit | hit | rest | hit | hit | hit | rest | hit | hit | hit | rest | hit | hit |
How to play it and where it comes from
Cumbia (Colombia, later spread to Mexico, Peru and Argentina) is felt "in two": the bombo/tambora marks 1 and 3, while the llamador (here rim) answers on 2 and 4, the offbeats of the half-note pulse. The identity is the guacharaca (or the güiro in Mexico): one long eighth and two short sixteenths ("chaa-chiki"), repeated every beat. Maracas/shaker in eighths, the conga (alegre) with a slap on 2 and open tones on 4 and the "and" of 4. Tempo 80–120 (sonidera cumbia slower, cumbia villera and digital faster). Variants: improvising alegre, cowbell in Peruvian cumbia, electronic kick on the quarter notes in modern cumbia.