DIANA NYAD, host:

Music is such an integral part of traveling, and that's why we bring in our main music man here on the show every couple of weeks, Bob Duskis. I know you know Bob by now. He comes to us from San Francisco, where he formed his own label, Six Degrees Records.

Bob, welcome back to the SAVVY TRAVELER.

Mr. BOB DUSKIS: Thanks, Diana. Good to be here, as always.

NYAD: Well, thanks. Take us traveling again today.

Mr. DUSKIS: Well, Diana, today we're going to look at two South American countries and how the African diaspora has affected their music. And, you know, we talk a lot about music traveling...

NYAD: Wait, wait, Bob, before we even go on, I--I have to get a definition on that. That's a new word for me, diaspora. What is that?

Mr. DUSKIS: Well, I think diaspora generally means when a culture moves across the world and travels and takes its traditions with it.

NYAD: Aha.

Mr. DUSKIS: So, you know, we talk a lot on this program about music literally traveling across the world. And today, the first thing we're going to look at is a new hybrid form of music, relatively new, since the '70s, called champeta music. And champeta music has been described as what happens when West Africa gets re-introduced to the once upon a slave trade Caribbean coastline of Colombia.

NYAD: Aha.

Mr. DUSKIS: And basically what happened, Diana, is, in the late '70s, West African sailors went to the African port cities of Cartagena and Baranquilla in Colombia and they brought with them their music, their records, their soukous, their highlife, their Afrobeat. And this African sound, as music so often does, sort of met and merged with the Latin sounds of, you know, cumbia and merengue and the hybrid is called champeta music. And we're looking at a compilation called "Champeta Criolla Volume 2" that sort of documents what happens when these musical worlds come together. And it's pretty fun, as you can imagine.

(Clip of song)

NYAD: Wow. This is upbeat, almost zealous, I'd call it.

Mr. DUSKIS: Well, this is definitely fun dance music. And, interestingly enough, there is a very political element to it, Diana, because champeta is described as defiantly black music. And I guess the Colombia government is not that interested in embracing its black roots, and so it's actually very underground music at the moment. And, in fact, in Baranquilla, dancing to champeta music, it's--it's outlawed, you can't do it in a public place.

NYAD: No kidding?

Mr. DUSKIS: So this has sort of been forced into the underground and certain specialized clubs, which has even given it a little bit more of a vibe, and I think really sort of made the scene even a little bit more edgy and vital.

NYAD: Now, are the lyrics underground as well?

Mr. DUSKIS: You know, sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't. Sometimes it can be as simple as, hey, let's dance and have a good time. And--and sometimes they overtly address this issue of, you know, getting back in touch with your roots that are being denied by your own government.

(Clip of song)

NYAD: Very nice. Very upbeat.

Mr. DUSKIS: Well, next, Diana, we're going to move to Peru. And we have a similar situation, only with some interesting variations. And we're going to look at the ensemble Peru Negro, which also celebrates the African influence and the African traditions that came to Peru, unfortunately, via the slave trade. And Peru Negro has been an ensemble that's been around for 30 years. And they sort of have become the standard of African music mixed with Peruvian tradition. They travel the world. They started as 12 people and now they've blossomed to over 30 people. And the ensemble, Diana, includes musicians, vocalists and dancers. And, from what I understand, I haven't had the good fortune of seeing them live, but, from what I understand, what you really have to imagine when you listen to this music is the--the whole picture which includes music and the dance. And, in many case, the dance is sort of acting out a story, the story often is about oppression and having your traditions curtailed by an oppressor.

(Clip of song)

NYAD: Now, here, Bob, at least compared to the champeta, you really hear the Latin. I mean, I can almost hear music I've heard before in Cuba, other parts of Central America. Very, very much that Latin syncopated beat.

Mr. DUSKIS: Absolutely. The--the Latin and the Peruvian element in this music is definitely there. And, interestingly enough, Diana, when you hear them playing drums, these are not traditional drums, these are wooden crates called the cajon, which have come about, unfortunately, from the slave days where it was illegal to play traditional instruments. And so the slaves got wooden boxes and made their music on them. And that has continued to this day as an integral part of the ensemble.

(Clip of song)

NYAD: Now, we just switched tunes. We're still with Peru Negro, but what did we go to now, Bob?

Mr. DUSKIS: We're listening to a track now called "Villa Chico Negro" and, once again, Diana, you can hear the sort of melding together of a sound that is traditional for Peru, but also with an African drumming tradition. And this ensemble will be coming to America and will be touring. And, from what I understand, it is a very, very colorful, amazing show, and we'll definitely put some of the--the American dates that start in February on the Web site.

NYAD: Fantastic. Yeah. Well, it sounds like they're very entertaining on stage. And, as you say, they start touring quite a bit in the States in February. And we'll post that up on savvytraveler.org.

Bob, thank you so much. We had Peru Negro from Peru, obviously, and the champeta music from Colombia. Both African-influenced.

Bob Duskis, co-founder of Six Degrees Records up in San Francisco. Thanks so much, Bob, for the tour today. And we'll talk to you in a couple of weeks.

Mr. DUSKIS: Great. It's always a pleasure.