10 Great Colombian Musicians You Should Know

Beyond reggaeton

Photo by Flavia Carpio on Unsplash

Whenever I think about Hispanic music, it’s predominantly Colombian artists that come to mind. That’s no coincidence: According to a friend from Bogotá, Colombia and especially the second-biggest Colombian city of Medellín has become the “music capital” of Latin America! Also, I consider the Colombian accent in Spanish the most beautiful.

Although the pandemic canceled my plan of living in the capital Bogotá for half a year, I hope to eventually visit Colombia and experience the place where all this amazing music was born. I got to know about most of the following artists through Colombian friends, some of whom have been my “language tandem partners” (meaning that we practiced Spanish and German together).

I must admit that I’m not the biggest fan of reggaeton, so if you’re looking for that genre, check out the brief list at the end of this article. The following is a compilation of my favorite artists from Colombia — in random order.

1. Bomba Estéreo
2. Lido Pimienta
3. Shakira
4. Systema Solar
5. ChocQuibTown
6. Juanes
7. Alvinsch
8. Carlos Vives
9. Totó La Mombosina