ChocQuibTown brings flair to Memorial Hall

Hip-hop’s bold beats meet Colombian patriotism in a performance Friday that is sure to have audience members dancing the night away.

Latin Grammy-winning hip-hop group ChocQuibTown will bring its unique style and energy to the stage at Memorial Hall as a part of Carolina Performing Arts’ season.

“I started hearing about them around four years ago,” said Stephanie Zayed, sophomore international student from Colombia. “They stand out because they’re not the typical Colombian band — they mix genres, and they’re just fun.”

ChocQuibTown is primarily a group of three members, Tostao, Goyo and Slow, who have known each other since they were young. They perform a style of music they call Afro-Colombian hip-hop funk.

Tostao and Goyo said their mission was to make accessible the styles of Latin American and, specifically, Afro-Colombian people.

“Slow always says, ‘We try to play music that will make people dance,’” Goyo said, with the help of a translator.

Tostao said ChocQuibTown wanted to represent Colombia and Afro-Colombian culture, while still making music everyone could relate to about universal themes.

“It’s like food,” he said through a translator. “There are these ingredients that we all use, but we have a distinct flavor because of the hands that we use to make it.”

Many of the group’s songs explore the situations of the less wealthy, Colombian patriotism and just having fun. In preserving the culture of their region, ChocQuibTown creates upbeat and contemporary music that people of all ages enjoy.

“Their music is a fusion of different cultures and works well with the mission of our work to promote awareness and richness of cultures,” said Josmell Perez, coordinator of the Carolina Latina/o Collaborative.

A club night Thursday, featuring two local disc jockeys, reflected the dance party vibe ChocQuibTown produces, while the performance Friday will be a more traditional musical show.

“I hope that people will walk away with an appreciation of the vividness of their style and how the artists really celebrate and infuse it in their music,” Perez said.

CPA Marketing Manager Joe Florence said CPA decided to bring ChocQuibTown to UNC because of the group’s accessibility and infectious energy.

“This performance in particular allows us to reach out to different audiences, whether that is Latino people or young people or people who like salsa or hip-hop,” Florence said.

ChocQuibTown has experienced great success in South America and for several reasons. Though its energy is infectious, the band’s loyalty to Colombian traditions and identity is what makes it especially popular, Zayed said.

“They have that Colombian spark. I’m excited to be identified with them since they have that patriotism,” she said.

Tostao said the group has performed a few times in the United States, and it was important to do so to bring Colombian culture to America like America brings its culture to other parts of the world.

“We actually have a really big fan base in Wilmington, North Carolina. We played there in 2006, and they sung along to all of our songs in Spanish,” he said.

ChocQuibTown represents Latin American culture, the fusion of genres and a wish to connect with people from the United States to Australia to India.

“It’s cool that we’re here because in one of our songs, ‘Los Tenis,’ we mention North Carolina blue. It’s in the rap,” Tostao said.

“We’re really excited to be here and bring Afro-Colombian and Latin American style to this campus and just make everyone dance.”

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