Combo Tezeta

Cumbia Christmas

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ABOUT THIS SHOW

For this very special holiday performance, the East Bay based Combo Tezeta plays a seasonal blend of instrumental cumbias, chichas and musica tropical that turns up the heat for a program called Cumbia Christmas. 

Combo Tezeta was founded collectively by the six original members, and singer/guitarist Cesar Flores joined in 2021. Honored with a Best of the Bay 2026 Editors’ Pick by 48Hills, this seven-piece group built their sound on the psychedelic cumbia of 1960s and '70s Peru, layering reverb-soaked surf guitar over congas, timbales, bongos, and güiro until the room feels like it's floating somewhere between the Andes and the Pacific. 

With a band as committed to its singular aesthetic, you can expect no forced jingle-bell schtick — instead, the band leans into what they already do best: a hypnotic, danceable approach drawn from the Afro-Latin diaspora that blends the warmth of the season with heat of their infectious, body-moving rhythms. 

Building a rabid following with performances all over the Bay Area and beyond, these seven musicians who've spent over a decade honing this sound together easily turn a chilly winter night into something communal and alive. By the time the last song fades, the holiday party has become a celebration of a different kind: of rhythm, of the Bay Area's restless musical cross-pollination, and of a band that keeps rising.