Friday, February 28, 2025

Redwood City dances to cumbia rhythms

Photo: Irma Gallo P360P

Every Friday during the summer, Redwood City hosts the Music On the Square festival in the city's main square. This July 8th it was the turn of SF PeopleThe event, which was held at the esplanade of the San Mateo County Museum of History, brought out the cumbia rhythm to those who gathered there.

With a fusion of reggae, salsa, hip-hop, reggaeton and, of course, cumbia, the Bay Area-born group immediately set the mood. Despite temperatures reaching 80 degrees Fahrenheit — or perhaps because of it — the passion with which they performed their music inspired people to dance without fear of embarrassment. 

Not only Latinos or people of Hispanic origin, but many of those who identify as white—because in the United States everything has to do with race—danced the cumbia and salsa of La Gente SF as if the music could make them forget that since July 1st in California the price of gasoline is more than six dollars a gallon, which has caused an increase in the prices of all products. 

cumbia rhythm
Musical group «La Gente SF» Photo: Irma Gallo P360P

Fridays at Music On The Square are a party: groups of friends, couples and entire families —including pets— arrived at 3 pm with their chairs, tables, coolers and tablecloths to set up their picnic and enjoy the concert with all kinds of food: from guacamole and tacos to pizza, and of course, a good selection of cheeses, seeds and fruits.

Although glass bottles are banned, alcoholic beverages such as beer and wine are allowed. And although local vendors offer wine in plastic cups, many managed to sneak in a nice Pinot Noir or Chardonnay, because, of course, it would be sacrilege not to accompany good music with some of the delicious wines produced in California. 

The concert ended at 8pm. Although almost all the restaurants and shops near the square were already closed, no one seemed to care; La Gente SF's cumbia had achieved a miracle: it made everyone dance as if nothing else mattered in the world.

You may be interested in: Gastronomic diversity grows in the U.S. thanks to immigrant communities

Irma Gallo
Irma Gallo
She is a reporter and writer. In addition to Península 360 Press, she has collaborated with Letras Libres, the University of Mexico Magazine, Lee Más Gandhi Magazine, Gatopardo, Este País Magazine, Sin Embargo, El Universal, and Newsweek in Spanish. Her most recent book is When the Sky Turns Orange. Being a Woman in Mexico (UANL/VF Agencia Literaria, 2020).

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