El Selecta de Popayán

One of my enduring music memories of my travels in latin America (Alan Whicker voice) is a small unassuming town bar in a backstreet of a quiet city in Southern Colombia called Popayán. That bar is called El Sotareño.




This bar is super friendy and kind of reminded me of a British pub in some ways. What makes it extra awesome is the landlord, Augustin or as he's known Don Gucho.




Apart from landlord duties, Don Gucho is the resident DJ with a massive collection of records that he plays from behind the bar inbetween pouring Aguardiente shots and popping Poker beers for the locals. On the two consecutive nights that I went there, I remember Don Gucho dropping the most awesome cumbias, tangos and colombian folk jams I'm probably ever likely to hear. Behind the bar he DJs from his amazing collection of vinyl, cassettes and cds piled high.

Bar El Sotareño has a Facebook group where I found these photos.

This is one of my favourite ever Vallenato cumbias which is from a great album on Smithsonian Folkways called ¡Ayombe! The Heart of Colombia’s Música Vallenata (buyable)

Reynaldo "El Papi" Díaz and band - Fidelina