The village of San Basilio de Palenque is a village located in the foothills of Montes de María, 2 hours from Cartagena, near the Caribbean Coast, and founded by fugitive slaves about three hundred years ago. Palenque is a unique corner of Africa in South America and is considered as the very first free place of Latin America.The people from Palenque knew how to preserve their roots and their music trough the years. The Palenqueros speak a language which is a mix of spanish and african languages. In 2005, UNESCO proclaimed Palenque "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity".
To meet the people from Palenque was a dream come true for all of us, an unbelievable human and musical experience. In Palenque we recorded two bands at the same time: "Las Alegres Ambulancias" and "Sexteto Tabalá". They laid down a perfect groove to the track and sang the song all together. Four generations of the Batata's family where playing at the same time. It was just like being in Africa.
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