Graciela Salgado

Born in San Basilio de Palenque (Bolívar) within a family of drumming tradition in the interior of the Caribbean region. Palenque is the first free town in America, in its central square the statue of Benkos Biohó is erected, breaking the chains, leader of the first groups of people enslaved at the beginning of the 17th century who managed to flee and resist collectively managing themselves.

With a serious face and few words, I sings bullerengue and lumbalú; she proudly named herself the only drummer woman. Lead voice and songwriter of the group The Cheerful Ambulance, made up of her relatives and her singing partner, Maria Dolores Salinas. The lumbalús are funeral rituals typical of the Caribbean palenque, closely linked to African traditions. They present songs of women and men accompanied by drums the women dance around the corpse with movements of the arms and belly.