10a Sessions: Akolá Tambó

Akolá Tambó ignites spaces with the ancestral fire of bullerengue, an Afro-Colombian cultural expression of resistance. Based in London, this group evokes the powerful, hypnotic rhythms of Colombia's Caribbean coast to uplift the spirit and awaken memory.

With each beat of the drum, Akolá Tambó connects with the living memory of bullerengue and transforms spaces into rituals of encounter. This powerhouse collective not only honours an ancestral tradition but seeks to expand it, summoning bodies, voices and memories from all over the world. In just five years, it has sown a bullerengue movement in the British capital where the ancestral technologies of song, dance and drumming open paths of resistance, celebration and deep connection.

The group's name, which in the Palenque language means "remember the drum," is a call to reconnect with the roots: with ourselves, with each other and with the pulse of collective memory. From intimate spaces and community gatherings, to large-scale festivals in the UK and Europe, to the Bullerengue Festival in María la Baja, Colombia, Akolá Tambó unites diverse audiences, transforming each performance into a joyful and profound collective ceremony.