Santa Ana’s Monthly Cumbia DJ Spinfest Brings Dancers and Memories

Cynthia Rebolledo
8 hours ago
5 min read

Since 2021, Ritmo Santanero has taken over an alley in Santa Ana for its residency with Mission Bar on the first Saturday of every month.

Dancers enjoy the music at Ritmo Santanero in Santa Ana. Photo courtesy of Federico Medina

It’s Saturday night in downtown Santa Ana and a cascading, swirling rhythm echoes out from the alley and onto the street from the crackling sounds of a 45-rpm record of peruano grupo Los Demonios de Copacabana.

In the alleyway, a thick crowd dances to the chik-chika-chik-chika-chik of the guacharaca, a hollow ribbed tube scraped with a metal fork. A flash of pink, green and blue lights bounce off the walls of the historic West Coast Theater on Third and Main streets rising up beyond the steel firescape of a nearby building.

A circle forms – at the center, Anthony Ramirez Guerrero, twirls his dance partner with his left hand, steps back with one foot, shifts his weight and returns to the center in time with each buoyant oscillation of the organ.

“When I'm dancing and listening to music it brings out the best in me,” says Ramirez Guerrero, who drove six hours from San Jose to dance at Ritmo Santanero Cumbias en la Calle (cumbias in the street). “This baile is different from all the other bailes (dances) that I’ve been to. It doesn't matter if you know how to dance or not – here it's about building a community.”

Since 2021, Ritmo Santanero, a DJ collective founded by Rigo Rivera (DJ Rigo Suave) and Gary Ventura and rounded out with member Kevin Hernandez (DJ El Kevin), has taken over the alley for its monthly residency with Mission Bar on the first Saturday of every month. The event coincides with the monthly art walk in the Santa Ana Artists Village nearby.

Ritmo Santanero Cumbias en la Calle (cumbias in the street) gathers in the alleyway near the West Coast theater and Mission Bar near Main and 3rd streets in Santa Ana. Photo courtesy of Federico Medina

The all-vinyl collective has joined a cultural movement to preserve and amplify the rhythms of cumbia. Rooted in 19th-century African and Indigenous musical traditions from Colombia, the genre has since evolved into numerous distinct styles across the Americas. But unlike traditional sonideros (DJs and orators), the Ritmo crew spins non-stop vinyl music without saludos (shout-outs).

“At first, it was mostly young locals and chipsters (Chicano hipsters) that were coming to check us out,” Rivera says. “Everyone was vibing and dancing in their own style. There's no wrong way, you know? But then we started getting the señoras and señores passing by, the youngsters started bringing their parents and eventually just word of mouth spread.

“Now, we have professional dancers coming,” he said, “and it looks like ‘Dancing with the Stars’ at times.”

The crew takes turns dropping rare and vintage tracks that span Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico. People watch from the stairwells and balconies. On a bridge overlooking the party, a young guy with perfectly coiffed hair is hunched down low. He takes slow, deliberate steps, moving his arms and swaying his hips side-to-side, matching each heavy beat of the bass.

“Ta chido, me pongo bien felipe (It’s dope, I get really hyped),” says Joker714, a 21-year-old immigrant from the Mexican state of Guerrero. He’s dancing cumbia rebajada (cumbia slowed down) that involves pitching Colombian records down. “Pues lo hace ver más así como el barrio de allá en los callejones (They make it feel like the barrio back home where everyone gets together and dances in the alleys).”

Dancers of all ages come out to enjoy the music at the Ritmo Santanero Cumbias en la Calle. Photos courtesy of Federico Medina

As the focus on immigration enforcement and the federal show of force continues, Ritmo Santanero serves as a safe space – cultivating celebratory, familial and multi-generational social identity rooted in comunidad.

“I had just put on a song called “Te Lo Creo” (“I Believe It”), an old-school song from La Sonora Barranquilla and this señor started walking straight towards me,” says 36-year-old Ventura. “He pointed to the record and said, ‘Me hiciste recordar mi infancia. Esa canción la escuchaba cuando era niño. Me recuerda mucho a mi familia en México (You made me remember my childhood. I heard this song when I was a little boy. It reminds me a lot of my family in Mexico.).’”

Ventura has built a vinyl collection that's taken years of digging and countless ebay bids. “I’ve spent a lot of money on records,” he says with a chuckle. But knowing that he can tap into someone's nostalgia with a single song makes it all worth it. “It makes me feel connected to my raza and keeps me going as a collector.”

Frequent attendee Griselda Arce says it was an Instagram post shared by a friend that made her want to check out the event.

“I really enjoy coming to Ritmo Santanero because the environment reminds me of what I grew up with going to sonideros in Puebla, Mexico where my family is from,” says the 30-year-old from El Monte, who was taking a breather from dancing. “You see older and younger generations dancing together and having a good time. Then you have the more experienced dancers that are always willing to teach people that want to learn cumbia how to dance cumbias.”

Rivera emphasizes that a lot of work goes into organizing the outdoor event – from pulling permits and lugging equipment to early setup and breakdown – and it's a collective undertaking.

“We’re required to pull permits for our event every month and Vanessa (Pozzobon) always manages to make it happen,” he says, referring to the chingona owner of Mission Bar. “We’re really grateful for the opportunity and support she’s given us.”

Although Hernandez didn’t have any prior DJ experience before joining the Ritmo collective in 2023, he wasn’t new to vinyl. The 25-year-old owns Innovation Records with his father, Jose, an online independent record shop focusing on cumbia sonidera and Latin vinyl records. Jose started selling records on Facebook in 2007 to make extra money. When Kevin graduated from high school, the side hustle put him through college.

From left, DJ El Kevin (Kevin Hernandez), Ritmo Santanero co-founders DJ Rigo Suave (Rigo Rivera) and Gary Ventura. Photos courtesy of Federico Medina

“DJing didn’t happen overnight,” Hernandez admits. “Rigo really encouraged me to get on the tables and would let me open up for him at little gigs here and there.” Through trial and error, Hernandez honed his skills and sound.

He says the widespread community that Ritmo draws doesn’t feel forced.

“We get so many different ethnicities of people at Ritmo,” Hernandez explains. “Not everyone understands the lyrics but they can feel the rhythm. Knowing I can be true to myself and play the music I love and share it with others is really amazing.”

Rivera hopes to keep Ritmo going long enough to pass it on to his son, Charlie.

“I’ll bring him out while we set up and even though he’s only 8, he can see what we’re building,” the 41-year-old says, flipping through a crate of records between sets. “I always tell him one day it's going to be you mijo. All these records and everything you see here, it's all yours.”

The dance floor full of people is shining and Rivera is up. He walks up to the deck and puts his record down. “Ritmo was born and raised in SanTana. I wasn't born and raised SanTana, but my event was, and it's gonna stay here,” Rivera says, dropping the needle, then “Rosita En La Quebra” by Morgan Blanco starts playing.