Concert Review: Bomba Estereo at the Wonder Ballroom on September 13

It’s 9:30 on a Tuesday night and the crowd listlessly dances to the pre-show dubstep playlist. Folks in fluffy feather jackets and long black braids file in from the smoking patio, expecting the show to have started 10 minutes ago. The sound crew gets a massive applause each time they come out to check the mics.

Finally, a bodiless voice bellows out “Listos?!” The crowd cheers wildly, rhythmically chanting, “Bomba Estereo!” The drummer, Keke Egurrola, comes out first, taking his seat and immediately striking the rhythm to “Somos Dos.”

Then the guitar comes in with Julian Salazar at the wheel; the sweet melody of the guitar combined with the beat of the drums infuses the crowd with a newfound energy — we are ready for this show. Lead singer Liliana Samuet seems to approach the opener as if she is a sassy egg cracking onto a hot frying pan to be enjoyed by a hungry audience.

From coastal Columbia, Bomba Estereo combines latin rhythm and beats with poppy undertones for a unique sound that causes listeners to simultaneously crave a pina colada on the beach and a dance club in Bogota.

The crowd goes wild with the second tune of the show, Soy Yo, for which Bomba Estereo recently released a music video. Everyone dances and smiles as Samuet waves her hands and paces the stage.

Amongst the dancing and generally convivial attitude of the hall lies the spirit of Colombian national pride. The crowd, majority Latin-x even in an overwhelmingly white city like Portland, chants “Co-lom-bia!” between songs and by the middle of the show, Samuet is wrapped in a Colombian flag which was thrown on stage by a fan.

The energy pulsing through the Wonder Ballroom never fades, and the crowd dances to the last song just as hard as we did to the first song. The combination of Colombian spirit, dance hall moxie, and good musicianship made the concert unforgettable.