It doesn’t matter who we are, we are going to have a personal preference when it comes to something we enjoy doing. For some people, there’s nothing quite like going out on the town and hitting some nightclubs. At the same time, however, there are going to be others who enjoy staying home and reading a nice book. In all of our differences, we all tend to agree on how much fun a festival can be to attend. It just seems as if it brings out the best in all of us.
Since people enjoy getting together for a festival, a South American band is capitalizing on that fact. They are bringing people together for a very unique reason. They want to “create spaces in which everyone is accepted, regardless of the differences that make us unique.” When AAINJAA shows up in town, people flood the streets to enjoy the makeshift festival that is created.
Most musical ensembles will only be a few members at most but AAINJAA is doing something quite different. They are based in Bogotá, Colombia but they’ve gone far beyond the few members of most other musical groups and have over 100 members. Something else that is incredible about this group is the amount of talent they have at their disposal. It doesn’t matter if they are using drums, tambourines or Shakers, they all have the ability to infuse joy into the crowd.
When the video was uploaded to YouTube last summer, it went viral immediately. It just seemed as if everyone loved the energy that was flowing, even over the Internet. Since the time it was uploaded it has more than 20 million views and is still going. The style of music that they are playing is batucada, a fast-paced style of percussion instruments that has influences from both Brazil and Africa.
It isn’t only music they are playing, they also infuse dance into it as well. As they continue to play with their instruments the crowd gets worked up into a frenzy over everything they see happening in front of them. Some people even climb up onto their friend’s shoulders together better look at what is going on.
AAINJAA is translated from the indigenous Wuayuunaiki language in the area to mean: “to do, to elaborate, to manufacture, and to build.” this unique band was founded by Homero Cortez and he wanted them to live up to their name. They have been performing under that name since 2013.
The band has approximately 100 members between the areas of Bogota and Medellin and it is his goal to bring some smiles to the world and it seems as if those smiles are spreading. You can watch this delightfully viral video here: