DOCUMENTARY
FROM THE ALPS TO THE CESAR RIVER
DE LOS ALPES AL RÍO CESAR
INFO
SYNOPSIS:
In the nineteenth century, a musical instrument with a traveling soul was born in the German
Alps. It was the accordion; a portable piano that has enlivened Bavarian parties for more than
two centuries, bringing its joy to every corner of Europe, and sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to
the American continent. It was through the ports of La Guajira that the Alpine accordion made
its appearance in Colombian territory. It arrived to settle down. Guajiran poets, from Cesar and
Magdalena got to know the instrument and adopted it, replacing the guitar in cumbias; and so
the famous vallenato came to be. Colombians learned from Europeans to play it, but then they
made it their own. Since then, vallenato has become the voice of the Colombian coast and the
heart of our folk.
The documentary “Polka Vallenata From the Alps to the Cesar River” is a fresh, laid back and
very musical look at the vital importance of the accordion in Colombian and European music
since the first one was manufactured. Is it possible that there are similarities between the
German Volksmusik (folk music) and vallenato? Can a German musician and a vallenato
musician understand and enjoy the music that the other creates? Different performers from
both sides give their opinion and dare to play the foreign notes of other rhythms and distant
destinations.
TECHNICAL DATA SHEET
Genre: Documentary
Running time: 70 minutes
Language: Spanish and German
Country of production: Colombia/Germany
Shooting year: 2025
Estimated release: 2026
Phase: production