♪♪ [ People singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ My name is Jacob Edgar.

I'm an explorer, but I don't search for lost cities or ancient ruins.

I'm on the quest for a different kind of treasure -- music.

[ Man singing in native language ] ♪♪ Edgar: As an ethnomusicologist and world-music record producer, I travel the globe hunting for the best songs the world has to offer, and I suffer through some of the worst so you don't have to.

[ Man singing in native language ] Edgar: I've got a backstage pass to the world's music, and I won't stop until I've heard it all.

[ Man singing in native language ] ♪♪ Man: ♪ Colombia ♪ [ Singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Edgar: Nestled in a stunning mountain valley blessed with amazing weather, a hub of industry and commerce, and proudly claiming to be home to the most beautiful women in the country, it's hard to believe that not that long ago, Medellín, Colombia was the murder capital of the world.

Even though violent crime and warfare have greatly decreased since those dark days, Medellín in particular, and Colombia in general still have a lot of work to do to live down their reputation.

But the reality is totally different from the perception.

[ Man singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Edgar: The airport is located on a mountain plateau on the other side of the valley, so you arrive to incredible views as you descend into the city.

It's one of Latin America's wealthiest and most modern cities, with impressive roads, universities, public transportation, and other infrastructure.

Yet, like many places in Latin America, there's a great divide between rich and poor, and very close to the bustling, modern city center, are mountainside comunas, urban slums where crime is still rampant and daily life can be dangerous and difficult.

[ Man singing in Spanish ] Edgar: Perhaps it should come as no surprise, then, that one style of music that's made tremendous inroads in Medellín is hip-hop, which has been adopted among the city's youth as a marker of identity and community.

My first stop in Medellín is to meet up with a hip-hop artist who's taken his passion for the art form to the people, founding an education program that invites youth from one of the city's poorest and most violent neighborhoods to study the dance, music, art and deejaying of hip-hop.

The Cuatro Elementos, or "Four Elements" program, has earned accolades for providing a positive, creative outlet for the community.

They charge no tuition and turn no one away, making Henry Arteaga and his partners at Cuatro Elementos local folk heroes.

[ Man singing in Spanish ] Edgar: What's the concept behind the school?

Now, in the U.S., you know, hip-hop, we think of it as an urban genre, kind of as an inner-city expression.

Has it come out of a similar place here in Medellín?

♪♪ ♪♪ How do the kids find out about the school, and what do you think attracts them to it?

Mm-hmm.

[ Laughs ] [ Chuckles ] I'm with J Balvin, and he's one of the most popular hip-hop and reggaeton artists here in Colombia.

Thank you.

And, for the past four months, he's been growing out his hair.

It used to be totally bald, right?

Yes, sir.

But the kids in the classroom, the students in the classroom have no idea.

So we're going to see what they say when he walks in the room.

See if they recognize me, because I don't know.

[ Chuckles ] [ Man singing in Spanish ] [ Cheers, applause, and laughter ] ♪♪ ♪♪ You know, when I get a new haircut, I never get a reaction like that.

[ Man singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ Alright, I'm going to get a little B-boy lesson here, and it's going to be pretty hilarious, I'm sure.

[ Man singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Edgar: Cuatro Elementos has probably had some pretty challenging students over the years, but I think they'll remember me as their most difficult pupil.

♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] That was the only time you're ever going to see that.

[ Man singing in Spanish ] Edgar: After being introduced to the school, we head up to the program's head office and social center in the heart of the gritty comuna.

The center is covered with used graffiti cans and beautiful examples of their artwork.

[ Man singing in Spanish ] Edgar: Henry is part of a collective called Crew Peligrosos, which means the "dangerous crew," although they're anything but.

They're masters at freestyle-rapping, B-boy dancing, deejaying and graffiti art, the four elements of hip-hop from which the Cuatro Elementos program gets its name.

Man: Crew Peligrosos.

Edgar: They give me a sample of their original material, demonstrating a mastery of the hip-hop craft that serves as an inspiration for younger generations.

[ Men rapping in Spanish ] ♪♪ ♪♪ The Music Voyager crew has been carrying around this guitar with us on our trip through Colombia and getting it signed by all the artists that we've been meeting.

We thought it would be a cool idea to have the case covered with graffiti art from the Cuatro Elementos school.

So here's the maestro of the graffiti art program here at the school, and he's going to give it a very special look, kind of giving it the color and music of Colombia.

[ Speaks Spanish ] [ Men rapping in Spanish ] [ Man singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ Edgar: Unfortunately, all of the records on these shelves are off limits to collectors like me, as they are part of one of the most important musical archives in Colombia.

These are the vaults of Discos Fuentes, a legendary record label based in Medellín that has been producing great tropical music since 1934.

One thing I love about visiting the Discos Fuentes headquarters is that it's really old school, from these old mahogany desks to this boom box from whenever, they've got glass masters and all kinds of relics from the past, but you'd never know it from the outside.

It looks like any warehouse in any city anywhere.

So the glamour and the glitz of all the incredible music that you can hear in these walls, you would never be able to know it from the outside.

[ Man singing in Spanish ] Edgar: I'm here with Luis Felipe from Discos Fuentes, who's going to give me a guided tour of the archives, and... Where do we start?

These are the 78s over here.

Sí.

Wow.

That's history right there.

Those are old.

[ Chuckles ] Okay, so now we're moving on to the tapes here.

Salsa and cumbia legends such as Lucho Bermudez, Fruko y sus Tesos, Joe Arroyo, The Latin Brothers, as well as modern tropical music hitmakers, Sonora Carruseles, and countless others, released their best known albums on this influential label.

Alright, this is it.

These are the vaults.

[ People singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ I'm getting all choked up here because here I am in the archives of Discos Fuentes, and these are the original reel-to-reel masters of most of their greatest tracks.

And I'm looking for something in particular.

I've been given the number here, and here it is.

This is it, man.

In my life as a music researcher, this master was very important.

It has the song "Rebelión" by Joe Arroyo.

[ People singing in Spanish ] Really, it's thanks to this track that I do what I do today, and it's just, like, very special for me to hold the original master in my hands.

And you can see the tape poking out of the bottom.

Unreal.

[ People singing in Spanish ] This is -- this is history.

Music history right here.

[ People singing in Spanish ] Yo, I'm chilling at J Balvin's crib, a'ight?

[ Laughs ] [ J Balvin singing in Spanish ] Recently, a uniquely Latino style of hip-hop called reggaeton, a blend of rap, reggae, and Latin grooves, has swept Latin America.

J Balvin is one of the country's biggest-selling reggaeton artists, which has helped him make the leap from the poorhouse to the penthouse.

♪ J Balvin, man ♪ [ Singing in Spanish ] Edgar: He invites me to his deluxe apartment in the sky to hang out, play some video games, and enjoy a roof-deck jam session with his band performing a stripped-down version of "Sin Compromiso" or "No Compromise," one of his biggest hits.

[ Singing in Spanish ] Now, your apartment, you know, when you're standing out on the terrace, you basically have a 360 view of Medellín... Yeah.

...and that's where "Music Voyager" is on this part of our Colombian journey.

What can you tell me about Medellín?

I mean, what's the -- what's kind of summary of this city in your mind?

Well, Medellín, to me, it's like one of the best cities in my country because it has everything.

It has good weather.

You know, the weather is incredible.

The people are so humble, and at the same time, they -- they always want to help you.

[ Singing in Spanish ] Now, how do you know Henry Arteaga, who's the guy who started the school we were visiting this morning?

I met him on a freestyle battle, and he approached to me.

He told me, "Hey, you got talent.

And, look, this is what I'm doing.

I want to -- I want to help the guys from the hood, you know, taking them to, like, a university hip-hop, you know, like a hip-hop university and teach them about -- teach them about the music, about the breakdance, about the freestyle.

[ Singing in Spanish ] I don't necessarily think of reggaeton as the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Colombian music.

What -- What led you in that direction?

I used to live in New York, and I fell in love with -- with the urban music, and when I came back, I started listen to reggaeton straight out from Puerto Rico, and I was like, "This is what I'm looking for.

I'm looking for, like, a hip-hop, but on my language."

Yeah.

And definitely to me, the reggaeton is like the hip-hop for Latino.

♪ J Balvin, man, sin compromiso ♪ I know in a few years we're going to be looking back and saying, "You know, that guy was #1 on the Billboard charts.

Remember when we met him in his apartment in Medellín and he jammed on the roof for us?"

Yeah, I hope so.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Cool, man.

Well, good.

Thanks a lot.

Best of luck with everything.

Thank you, sir.

Yep.

[ Singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Edgar: A man cannot live on music alone.

So J Balvin invites me to El Cielo.

The founder of this, one of Colombia's most celebrated restaurants, is a young, hip, chef and entrepreneur.

Juan Manuel Barrientos, who goes by Juanma for short.

[ Men singing in Spanish ] Juanma is also a huge supporter and patron of the Cuatro Elementos program.

And even though he runs one of Colombia's most upscale restaurants, Juanma is dedicated to providing positive role models for Medellín's inner-city youth.

[ Men singing in Spanish ] So, I have died and gone to heaven.

Well, not literally, and I haven't actually died, but I am in heaven, El Cielo, which is a restaurant in Medellín that is on the cutting edge of culinary experimentation.

[ Men singing in Spanish ] I'm here with my friends J Balvin and Juanma, who is the chef and creator of this restaurant.

And I'm about to have an incredible culinary experience, and you get to watch me have it.

[ Chuckles ] [ Men singing in Spanish ] Edgar: I could tell right away it was going to be a meal like no other, when, to start with, I'm asked to wash my hands with warm, melted chocolate and rinse them in a flower-scented water.

It just gets wilder from there with a series of foams, infusions, and unexpected flavor combinations.

Crab crème brûlée, anyone?

[ Men singing in Spanish ] At one point, the waiter delivers a container with what Juanma tells me is liquefied Trident gum.

I feel like -- I feel like the witch in Snow White, you know?

[ Imitates cackle ] [ J Balvin and Juanma laugh ] Mmm.

"I'll get you with poison gum."

This is great.

[ Men singing in Spanish ] Okay, put it on the table.

Yeah.

I take this.

Ooh.

Mm.

Wow.

Edgar: Both J Balvin and Juanma are self-made overachievers, but they do represent the new positive face of Colombia.

Everybody's young, everybody's very creative, everybody's innovative.

They seem to be looking towards the future and not so much towards the past, while they respect their traditions, at the same time.

I think every Colombian has a story -- almost get killed, almost get kidnapped.

I can tell you hundreds of stories, but I think that now we have passed it.

All young people are working, are studying, are... We're building a new country.

So I think that's very important that people understand that Colombia has a new face.

Cheers.

Cheers.

To Medellín.

To Colombia.

Colombia, the world.

Gracias.

Edgar: The meal's best course was when the graffiti artists from the Cuatro Elementos school showed up with the finished guitar case.

[ Applause ] [ Speaking Spanish ] [ Laughter ] ♪♪ Uno, dos, tres.

Edgar: The Medellín music scene isn't all about hip-hop, however.

Juanes, for example, one of Latin America's biggest pop stars, is a proud Medellín native.

One of the most interesting bands I've discovered from Medellín is Puerto Candelaria, a group made up of incredibly talented young musicians who blend their knowledge of jazz with a tongue-in-cheek take on the bouncy... cumbia sound that was popular in the 1970s.

[ Singing in Spanish ] ♪♪ Edgar: Cumbia is a tropical rhythm that originated on Colombia's Caribbean coast and has since spread across Latin America.

Bouncier, and with a more straightforward beat than salsa, cumbia is probably Colombia's greatest musical export, having become an inseparable part of the musical landscape from Mexico to Chile.

[ Singing in Spanish ] Edgar: Like the band themselves, our session with Puerto Candelaria wasn't as simple as it seemed.

We picked an interesting location near the University of Medellín to film them performing, which seemed like a good idea at the time, but we forgot about one very important thing -- electricity.

Kelly: What we're doing now is we're waiting.

We actually have a flight at, like -- we have to leave at 5:00 in the morning, and it's 9:00 right now, and we have two more scenes to shoot tonight.

On average, our scenes are taking three to five hours.

So that's where we're at.

Edgar: We finally found an outlet and the hundreds of yards of extension cords we needed to reach it, plugged in, and got a taste of their eccentric sound.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ We set up this show at a metro station.

We had it all ready to go, but we couldn't find power, and then we were told we had to move somewhere else, and then we were told we could come back, so we've been running around like crazy.

But you guys were very patient, and you put on a great, great show.

So what is Puerto Candelaria?

Sí.

[ Laughter ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Edgar: My trip to Medellín has taken me from the gritty streets of the comunas to the bling of the celebrity lifestyle.

While I've gotten a taste of the local hip-hop and reggaeton sounds and avant garde, retro cumbia, not to mention some cutting-edge cuisine, I know I've only sampled a small portion of what this city has to offer.

[ Woman singing in Spanish ] With a city as productive and forward-looking as Medellín, I'm sure the next time I come, there will be even more new and exciting developments to discover and explore.

Any subject.

How about music in Colombia?

Can you do that?

[ Beatboxing ] Yeah.

Yeah.

Oh!

Yeah.

What?

[ Rapping in Spanish ] Uh-huh.

[ Rapping in Spanish ] [ Rapping in Spanish ] Yeah.

[ Rapping in Spanish ]