PACIFIC WONDER
A tribute to life, to the territory and to the ancestral music of the Colombian Pacific.
Pacífico Maravilla is Nidia Góngora's first solo album: eleven songs that blend the sounds of the marimba, cununos, and bass drums with elements of soul, funk, and tropical electronica. Much of the album was recorded in Timbiquí, and it features the voices of both older and younger women, showcasing the generational shift within Pacific music.
The album features guest artists such as Afro-Cuban singer Daymé Arocena, a 2024 Latin Grammy nominee, and Costa Rican poet, activist, and anthropologist Shirley Campbell, recognized for her Afro-descendant poetry that celebrates the identity and resistance of Black women in Latin America.
PACIFICO MARAVILLA, A SYMPHONIC CROWD - 2026
In 2026, Maestro Nidia released her second album, Pacífico Maravilla, a Symphonic Lullaby, with the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia. This project fuses the ancestral rhythms of traditional Afro-Colombian music with a symphonic format, evoking the sounds of nighttime guitar sessions along the banks of the Timbiquí River, the mangroves, the marimba's melody, and the powerful drums and voices.
With thirteen songs, Nidia takes a leap of empowerment in the music industry, writing, directing, and co-producing each track. The album brings together pieces from Canalón de Timbiquí, her own symphonic repertoire, and adaptations of national and international collaborations, including her participation in Canticuentos, winner of the 2025 Latin Grammy.
THE TEAM BEHIND THE SYMPHONIC LULLABIE
The arrangements are by composer Jesús David Caro, a renowned instrumentalist and conductor in Colombia, and are conducted by Tatiana Pérez-Hernández, a cellist and conductor who has performed in more than twenty countries and is currently the principal conductor of the Estudio Polifónico in Medellín. Together, they weave a dialogue between the chonta marimba, drums, cununos, and the voice of the Pacific coast with the sound of the Symphony Orchestra.
