María José’s work is rooted in the musical traditions of Colombia’s Caribbean coast, where drums, gaitas, maracas, voices, and memory intertwine Afro-descendant and Indigenous legacies. Through rhythms such as cumbia, mapalé, bullerengue, vallenato, and porro, these traditions carry histories of celebration, resilience, and collective memory while continually evolving through new forms of creation and experimentation. María José is a founding member, percussionist, and gaita player of Curupira, and a percussionist with the iconic Colombian rock band 1280 Almas. Since 2009, she has dedicated herself to teaching and researching ensemble performance, musical practice, and percussion.
Since 2017, she has served as a professor and researcher in the Master’s Program in Colombian Music at El Bosque University, where her work focuses on Caribbean sound systems. She contributed to seven audiovisual works for the Latin Grammy Foundation–funded project Immersion Internships: A Journey Through the Diversity of the Colombian Caribbean. She currently leads (2026–2028) the transdisciplinary research project Weaving Trajectories: The Living Memory of Tambora in the Momposina Depression, which explores the living histories, practices, and cultural significance of tambora traditions in the Colombian Caribbean.
