What Makes ‘Ritmo Kombina’ such an unique genre

According to Wikipedia, Ritmo Kombina is a music style originating from Curaçao in the nineties of the 20th century. Ritmo Kombina is a mixture of different Caribbean rhythms, including zouk, cadence, konpas, merengue, kaseko, Salsa Antiyano and plena. Ritmo Kombina Curacao is a popular music genre in Curacao.

It combines traditional Antillean rhythms with modern influences. The genre is known for its energetic and lively performances. The music often features catchy melodies and infectious dance beats.

The first performers of the Ritmo Kombina genre were the groups Explosivos and GIO Fuertisimo (both led by Gibi Doran) and ERA Autentiko. Subsequently, many other groups, also in Aruba and Bonaire, started to play Ritmo Kombina. Since the beginning of the 21st century, Ritmo Kombina has been dominant in popular music, especially in Curaçao. It is the most popular style of music on the ABC islands and also among Antilleans and Arubans in the Netherlands.

Other well-known groups that play Ritmo Kombina are Tune Stret Konstant, Rizam, Meo Mao, EQO (Aruba), and Cache Deluxe (in the Netherlands).

The sound of Ritmo Kombina is a perfect mixture of percussions, trumpets,  congas, and piano as with many other Latin genres.  Although a different version of this popular rhythm is making its way through the charts, its original version is still being played and danced a lot.

Since the 2000s, the new generation has adopted and to some extent even modified this genre and made it commercially even more attractive. Although some people are very strongly opinionated on this subject as they think the genre as it was originally, till this day is incomparable.  During this timeframe,  bands like Cache Deluxe, Champagne, Q-Sign and Guess were starting to get real attention and an even more decent fanbase both on the islands and in the Netherlands.

Years later and still at this time of writing, Ritmo Kombina is also played by One Flavaz, Dolce and Cache Royale.