Esmeraldas is the heart of Afro-Ecuadorian culture, and the strongest expression of it is the music: bamboo marimbas played in pairs, bombos and cununos (the drums brought from the African coast), and the call-and-response chants of arrullos and currulaos. The tradition descends from enslaved Africans who arrived on this coast in 1553 — a Spanish slave ship wrecked off the coast and the survivors established free Maroon communities in the forest.
The musicians, grupos de marimba, perform at cultural centres around the city and at festivals through the year. The Centro Cultural Afroecuatoriano in Esmeraldas runs regular rehearsals and shows that are open to visitors. Outside Esmeraldas, the small town of San Lorenzo further north is the other main centre of the tradition.