A musical and cultural fusion of Native Colombians, slaves from Africa, and the Spanish during colonial times. It began as a courtship dance which was then mixed with Amerindian steps and European instruments. The beat of the music is believed to be evolved from the Guinean music called cumbé and well as the music Yoruba and other music traditions in West Africa. It started what is now the northern coast of Colombia. Spaniards used this area to import African slaves during the colonization of the America. There were people from surrounding tribes who contributed their traditional instruments. The guitar was added much later by the Spanish. German immigrants introduced the accordion (some believe that the instrument was discovered after a German cargo ship sank). Until the twentieth century, it was believed to be an inappropriate dance since it was usually done by the lower class.