Charlie Rosario: El Rumbero De La Carátula (The Rumbero of the Album Cover)

Charlie Rosario is a graphic designer, visual artist, drummer and poet of Puerto Rican parentage who was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1950. In the late 1960s he began his career in Latin album cover art with a psychedelic painting for Tito Puente (The King Tito Puente / El Rey Tito Puente, Tico Records, 1969), for which he was paid 95.00 but never given credit. 

Rosario attended high school at the School of Art and Design from 1967 through 1969 where he concentrated in art. From 1970 to ’71 Rosario studied commercial art (illustration, graphic design, film, and photography) at The School of Visual Arts. In the early 1970s he worked for Izzy Sanabria, art director at Fania Records and editor of Latin New York magazine, where he also learned about album design. Striking out on his own as a freelancer, by the late 1970s he had designed album covers for various Latin music record labels including Alegre, Coco, Combo, Fania, Ghetto, Kubaney, Mericana, Salsa, Salsoul, Tico, TR, Vaya and others. 

Rosario’s graphic design work included layout, typography, photography and illustration, as well as something he called “sculpture graphics” which were unique three-dimensional art objects that were then photographed for cover designs. Occasionally he came up with a title for an album, which was often inspired by the artwork he provided for it. Many times he was given sole responsibility to invent a cover concept, so technically he was also art director on many of his jobs for record labels. In the Latin music industry Rosario was known as a designer and illustrator who thought “outside the box” and many label presidents and A&R staff turned to him when they wanted something distinctive or out of the ordinary. 

As an acquaintance or friend of many musicians, promoters, producers and bands, and as the son of Pablo Rosario, Sr., a singer and musician, and a sibling to Pablo Rosario, Jr., a noted percussionist with musicians from Larry Harlow to David Bowie, Charlie Rosario often had an inside connection to the albums he worked on through his personal links to the industry. Rosario also designed concert flyers and posters and did some set design for performances, including for The Tico-Alegre All Stars at Carnegie Hall in 1974 (with his cousin Yogi Rosario)and photography for Larry Harlow’s salsa opera Hommy when it was performed there the same year. 

In the 1980s, after moving to Puerto Rico, Rosario dedicated his artistic endeavors to fine art, producing a large body of colorful paintings and sculptures, many of which were inspired by his love of Mesoamerican, Pre-Colombian Indigenous cultures like those of the Aztec, Taíno, and Incan peoples. 

Rosario also worked with themes around African and Afro-Caribbean drumming as well as social issues affecting black and brown communities at home in Puerto Rico and in New York City. All of this was informed by Rosario’s many experiences growing up in New York with Latin music, having come from a musical family, as well as his many years as a rumbero callejero (street drummer) and spoken word poet. 

Rosario is probably best known for his two iconic album covers done for Eddie Palmieri: The Sun of Latin Music (Coco, 1974) and El Rumbero Del Piano (RMM 1998). 

His work has been featured in several museum and gallery exhibitions (¡Viva La Música!, Exit Art, NY, NY, 2006; American Sabor, Experience Music Project, Seattle, WA, 2007 / The Smithsonian Latino Center, Washington, DC, 2011;Rhythm & Power, The Museum Of The City of New York, NYC, NY, 2017; Visual Clave, various venues including The Jordan Schnitzer Museum Of Art, Eugene, OR, 2019; Drums & Dreams, Bronx Music Heritage Center, Bronx, NY, 2015) as well as in the book Cocinando: 50 Years of Latin Album Cover Art, Princeton Architectural Press, 2005) and as part of the visual presentations during the free Latin dance music concert series ¡Vaya! 63at The Lincoln Center Atrium, NYC, NY (2016 - 2020).

This is Charlie's discography on Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/artist/2766011-Charlie-Rosario-2

 

The true story of Guararey

                Photo of Roberto Baute Sagarra from Casa del Changüí in Guantanamo

The true story of the salsa anthem “El Guararey de Pastora” (the Shepherdess’ Complaint) and changüí, the genre that inspired many bands (from Orquesta Revé to Los Van Van, Ray Barretto to Típica ’73 and Guararé), begins in the poor, mountainous south-western region of Guantánamo, Cuba when the tres guitar player, itinerant troubadour and purveyor of the traditional music form known as the changüí, Roberto Baute Sagarra, composed the piece in relative anonymity in the early part of the 20^th century. Sadly it was not registered or copyrighted, as was often the case in those times, which allowed the work to become part of the repertoire of his countryman Pedro Speck, who was another purveyor and carrier of the tradition of changüí. Speck was leader of the Grupo Changüí that released a record on Cuba’s state label Siboney in 1983, ¡Ahora Sí! (Speck, on vocals and maraca, was 75 at the time or the recording). Interestingly enough, in the midst of this beautiful “traditional” recording of very elemental guitar and percussion music that sounds unchanged from Colonial times, you can hear Speck on this record frequently using the Anglo expression “Yeah, yeah!”—which may come from the influence of the U.S. Naval base at Guantánamo or theBeatles, it’s hard to tell but it’s plainly there. “El Guararey de Pastora” does not feature on that record, though a later CD does have it.

Grupo Changüí Guantánamo at the Festival Nacional de Agrupaciones Folklóricas, La Habana 1962. From left to right: Arturo Latamblé (bongosero y director), José “Nino” Olivares (marímbula), Pedro Speck (cantante y maracas), Carlos Borromeo Planche “Cambrón” (guayo y cantante principal), y Reyes “Chito” Latamblé (tresero). 

(Photo: Archivo Centro Inciarte)

                                  

And so Pedro Speck and Roberto Baute Sagarra both performed the song from the 1940s until the 1970s, and it was never recorded for posterity by local radio or a state label at the time, as sometimes was the case with other rural folk music of the era. That might have been the end of it if the tune had never left the region, but in the 1970s, the story became complicated, when Juan Formell, director of the Havana-based Cuban dance orchestra Los Van Van, took this composition and added it to his “songo” repertoire of the ‘70s, where it acquired immense fame, being recorded in 1974 for the band’s third long play (Areito ‎– LDS-3471). 

Formell has said he learned the song from Pedro Speck, who was passing through Havana in the early’70s; the tune stuck in Formell’s head for a time before he came up with the spare and funky organ/flute arrangement that all Cuban dancers subsequently made their go-to party anthem. Soon after, in 1975, Ray Barretto’s pianist Gil Lopez made his own mutated no-violins charanga arrangement, adding the hard-core Nuyorican touch, becoming a massive hit in it’s own right (Barretto, Fania Records ‎– SLP 00486). Very few if any American Barretto fans had heard the original Van Van, and probably none knew of its rural roots in Guantánamo. Probably learned from a Van Van record acquired while on tour in Venezuela, Barretto made it the lead track on his 7^th LP of the ‘70s. While Rubén Blades, himself of half Cuban ancestry, was one of the two vocalists on the song (the other was Puerto Rico’s Tito Gomez who took the lead), the composer was simply (as was so often the case) listed as some guy named “D. R.” aka Derechos Reservados, or Rights Reserved (ha ha).

                         

Since then of course the tune has traveled the world. And although the composition for a long time was attributed to Pedro Speck, there was eventually a legal suit brought in the Guantanamo Provincial Court in 1976, ruling in favor of its real author Roberto Baute Sagarra. In defense of the creator an exceptional witnesses was brought forth, Petronila Rouseaux, former wife of the musician, and with her testimony authorities learned an unexpected fact: the ‘pastora’ (shepherdess) in the song was none other than Pastora Yuani Sayú, better known to Latin music fans as “Pastorita” (who died in 2013 at the age of 97). The testimony of Petronila Rouseaux, at the time 94 years old, put an end to the dispute over the authorship of the song. But that wasn’t all.

Photo of Pastorita

According to Michelle White on Timba.com, “Pastora had a daughter who had caught the eye of Roberto Baute Sagarra, the  tresero of Changüí Guantánamo. He began a romance with her and Pastora was not happy with his attentions towards her daughter because Roberto, also known as Chito, was already married and 20 years older than the object of his affection. This was the source of Pastora’s guararey (anger) with her friend Chito and the inspiration for the song.”

Pastora Lluany Chauyous aka Yuani Sayú (b. 1916), the lady who inspired this changüí. (photo: Archivo Centro Inciarte).

Throwing a little more light on the subject, Martha Reyes Noa, in a post from Herencias Culturales, mentions that Pastora admitted “that at first, as every mother feels suspicious in these relationships, she suspected” Baute Segarra of having unclean motives “but in the end those” feelings were “dissolved” when she realized her daughter simply loved the changüí and wanted to learn “how to dance at the parties that were ranging” back then, some for “up to a week, from house to house.” Of course, Baute was there at almost all those changüís (a term that means lower class dance party), performing with his tres guitar and giving dance lessons, so Pastorita soon realized nothing more than that was going on.

Contradicting Noa’s telling slightly, White goes on to relate:

“At the time the song was written, Pedro Speck was the director of Changüí Guantánamo and he registered the rights to the song under his name. It wasn't until the popularity of Van Van's version that the subject of authorship became an issue. In June 1976 the court ruled in favor of Roberto Baute when Pastorita herself testified on his behalf. [Noa says it was Baute’s widow, Rouseaux]

Previously attributed to Speck or simply listed as DR, the song is now correctly attributed to Roberto Baute, although it was not officially registered with ACDAM under his name until 21 April 1981. However, I was told in Guantanamo that neither Speck nor Baute ever received any income from the recording or performances of other versions of the song.”

So many countless “traditional” authorless “folk” songs from “Wimoweh” (“The Lion Sleeps Tonight”) to “Guantanamera” turn out to have real composers (Solomon Linda and Joseíto Fernández respectively) who were inspired by real events. The story behind “El Guararey de Pastora” and its author, Roberto Baute Sagarra, puts a face and name to the song that has inspired countless dancers, singers and musicians over the decades.

By Pablo E. Yglesias with help from Martha Reyes Noa and Michelle White, as well as the article "DEL CHANGÜÍ A LA SALSA Y MUCHO MÁS. GUANTÁNAMO EN LA ORBITA MUSICAL DEL CARIBE" by José Cuenca Sosa from Herencia Latina.

Elio Revé Matos, leader of Orquesta Revé (from which Formell "graduated to create Van Van),the man who converted the 'toques' (beats/hits) of the 'bongó changüisero' to the timbales (pailas). (photo: Archivo Centro Inciarte).

Birthday Tribute To Celia Cruz, La Guarachera Del Mundo

(FREE Music Concert!) 
On October 21, from 7:00 – 9:00 P.M. at The David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, 61 W 62nd St, New York, New York 10023 3 talented female vocalists from Colombia, Cuba, and Japan (Nayibe, Anissa, & Yoko) join the high-octane, vibrant New York salseros of The Palladium Mambo All-Stars to celebrate the life and the global legacy ofCelia Cruz on what would have been the Queen of Salsa’s 91st birthday. DJ Brian kicks of the night at 7:00 pm and plays between and after the band’s two sets. Visual presentation by DJ Bongohead. More info here:  Presented in collaboration with the NYU Music and Social Change Lab. Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. 

GRATIS Artistas de Colombia, Cuba y Japón se unen con los musicos latinos del Palladium Mambo All-Stars de Nueva York, para celebrar la vida y el legado global de la guarachera de America para celebrar lo que seria el cumpleaños numero 91 de Celia Cruz. Presentado en colaboración con el NYU Music and Social Change Lab. Capacidad es limitada, se sugiere llegar temprano.

CECILIA NOEL - REIMAGINING 80S CLASSICS THROUGH A CUBAN LENS

Havana Rocks Cecilia Noël - 140 g. VINYL EDITION 

Compass Records, 2015 (revue)

Lima, Perú-born, L.A.-based Renaissance woman Cecilia Noël continues to push boundaries and delight fans with her original and ground-breaking take on Cuban-derived Latin dance music. On her latest release, Havana Rocks, she brings authentic, made-in-Havana instrumentation and arrangements to her own refreshing reading of classic 70s/80s rock, New Wave and pop tunes. However, unlike some Latin pop salsa romántica with English lyrics, Ms. Noël’s interpretation of how to cover gringo rock tunes differs from your Ricky Martins and J-Los in that Havana Rocks does just that: it rocks out! And way down in its soul, the record’s still resolutely Cuban too. Noël describes her style as “hard-core salsa” and feels she is more of a “punk salsa singer” so it’s quite fitting that she revisits the punk and New Eave era for this outing.

With Havana Rocks Noël and her fun-loving band make truly hybrid music that feels honest, real, and playful at the same time. At first glance, skeptics might balk at AC/DC done as salsa – is this some sort of hipster exercise in irony, a corny nostalgic gimmick to cash in on Buena Vista’s coattails, or just an embarrassing continuation of the Yankee Imperialist project to dilute “pure” Cuban music? One listen will silence critics as they start to move to the familiar melodies buoyed along by the infectious tropical grooves. The amazing thing is Ms. Noël fully integrates the contrasting elements of Latin and rock in a bi-cultural, organic union that is both pleasingly danceable and satisfyingly confident, where similarities and affinities are highlighted to cunning effect (it helps that the tunes are bi-lingual and that snippets of equally classic Cuban songs are melded seamlessly onto the Anglo tunes). A case in point is her imaginative re-working of Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back In Town” that fits her hard-core son cubano treatment like a leather glove. Yet the question of cultural imperialism with Havana Rocks, if there is any, is more around an interesting reversal of sorts – the viewpoint is resolutely looking outward from the island at the larger “90 miles” world beyond the “Mango Curtain,” where the rock element is merely a jumping off point for something deeper (literally in the instance of her brilliant version of Van Halen’s “Jump”). When Brit synth-pop icon Gary Numan’s originally ennui-infused “Here In My Car” is done within the context of Cuban history, it takes on a whole other meaning, enriching the album with sociological layers that belie the notion that salsa is only for the feet. Perhaps it is Noël’s own outsider immigrant perspective that facilitates this richness. Whatever the case, her special blend goes together like Havana Club rum and Coca-Cola.

In a time of ever-warming relations between Cuba and the US, this release is indeed timely and hopefully is a harbinger of our putting a more positive, collaborative spin on our shared past history and future destinies. As a vinyl fan and DJ who only plays wax, my own desires were answered when Noël’s label heeded the public’s petitions and came out with this vinyl edition in October, 2015. In a way it’s only fitting since the tunes covered on the album originally came out in that very same timeless format. (Hey label folks, any chance Cecilia’s 2009 release, ¡A Gozár! will be reissued on vinyl?!?). My advice is snap Havana Rocks up while you can and shake all night long, or as we say in Cuba, ¡Sacúdanse toda la noche!

—DJ Bongohead

Listen to song samples here:

Havana Rocks song samples

Gettin' ready to rock tha house at New City Brewery's After Work Vinyl Hang, Easthampton, MA

From Compass Records' press release: 

“If you’ve ever wanted to hear a boogaloo version of “Whip It”,” a timba chart of “You Shook Me All Night Long,” or salsa-dance to “Cars,” then Havana Rocks is definitely the album for you. Seriously, this is more fun than should be legal.” –WRIR’s Global A Go-Go

(Nashville, TN) October 21, 2015 — CECILIA NOËL's newest album, HAVANA ROCKS, is now availble on vinyl LP. Havana Rocks is a Latin-infused collection of pop/rock classics recorded in Havana, Cuba which recently won the 2015 Cubadisco International Award (the first American album to win this award). Together, Noël and crew combine elements of salsa, soul, jazz, funk, and Afro-cuban music to deliver infectious Latin takes on MTV-era mega-hits. The album includes covers of Devo’s “Whip It,” Gary Numan’s “Cars” andACDC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long,” along with hits from her husband Colin Hay's 90's hit machine Men At Work, Thin Lizzy, David Bowie, Van Halen and more–all propelled by deep percussive grooves and Noël’s rich and appealing alto vocals. Originally from Lima, Perú, Noël was discovered by Stan Getz and moved to New York City where she briefly performed as a dancer with Jo Jo’s Dance Factory and Menudo. In 1989, she relocated to Los Angeles and became involved in the local music scene. She formed Cecilia Noël and The Wild Clams, a James Brown meets Pérez Prado type band, which received frequent bookings at the House of Blues and the Playboy Jazz Festival and instant acclaim for their explosive live shows. In 2009 Noël released A Gozár! (Compass Records), an infectious set of playful ‘salsoul’ grooves for which Noël is known and which earned Noël a spot on Putumayo’s critically-acclaimed Latin Party release in 2010. In addition to her band, Noël also performs and records with husband and former Men At Work front man Colin Hay and has produced Los Chapillacs. She is currently finishing production on Cuban tres master San Miguel Perez's first solo album.

VISUAL CLAVE - Latin Album Cover Art Show Comes To SUAG

VISUAL CLAVE

 The Evolution Of Salsa Graphics And 

The Expression Of Latino Identity 

Through Album Cover Art

Student Union Art Gallery, in the Student Union Building, UMass Amherst Campus, Amherst MA

Opening Thursday, February 27, 2014 
5:00 PM -7:30 PM

(feturing DJs spinning vintage Latin vinyl)

Dance Party with Jesús Pagán and his Conjunto Barrio 8:00 PM Cape Cod Lounge (next to the art gallery) All events: FREE, open to the public 
(bring your family!)

Visual Clave proposes that the album cover is not only an invitation to dance but is also fine art worthy of serious consideration. The exhibition’s premise is that the record jacket is not just an ephemeral mass-produced object to be relegated to the trash heap of a bygone era, but rather a unique 12 by 12 inch window onto a culture's soul.

Through the premise of this proposal, Visual Clave explores the evolution of Latin music album cover art over the last 50 years, paying critical attention to issues of identity and aesthetics, with an emphasis on historical context and the unsung artists who helped present Latin music — and its attendant socio-cultural themes — to the world. The concept of “clave” is essential to understanding Afro-Antillean popular music forms and the dance culture that surrounds it; it is the 2-3 or 3-2 beat used in all genres from the Cuban son to the Dominican merengue. It is this fundamental cultural essence, with its roots in Afro-Caribbean culture, that Visual Clave picks up on, offering a unique way of studying the evolution of attitudes and notions of culture, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality through the graphic presentation of Latin music in both domestic and international markets. Themes of transnationalism, social justice, immigration, civil rights, sexism, and racism will raised through the presentation of album covers specifically chosen to inspire debate and reflection. Some well-loved examples of Latin LP jacket design will be sure to inspire feelings of nostalgia in older viewers who might have collected or danced to the music 'back in the day", but other covers will speak to universal concerns that require no cultural allegiance or prior knowledge of Latin music. In addition, examples of covers chosen purely based on the merit of their design aesthetics alone.

A gallery of rare 1940s and 1950s 78 RPM and 10 inch LP 
album jackets featured in the show

Many of the album covers on display have fascinating stories behind their creation. Taking inspiration from Pablo Yglesias’ book Cocinando, 50 Years of Latin Album Cover Art, this exhibition aims to tell these stories through the display of multiple album covers that trace the history from 1930s and 40s 78 RPM album jackets through the “golden era” of the 1960s and 70s vinyl LP cover to today's digital era where even Latin CD covers can be innovative, and vinyl is experiencing a new vogue. There will also be a unique opportunity to see original artwork that was used for some of the most well-known and beloved salsa albums of the 1970s, ranging from paintings and illustrations to photography and sculpture. 

Once the Latin music industry in New York was taken over and run largely by Latinos in the 1960s and 70s, the visual presentation of salsa became more of a "Latin thing" and that is when the level of design really began to reflect some of the themes mentioned above. The viewer will become familiar with the mainly New York-based designers from this era, and will learn the names of the graphic artists who labored largely behind the scenes or in obscurity: Chico Alvarez, Ely Besalel, Warren Flagler, Pam Lessero, Ron Levine, Lee Marshall, Abel Navarro, Charlie Rosario, Yogui Rosario, Izzy Sanabria, Manny Vega, Jorge Vargas, Angelo Velázquez, Walter Velez, and others. The show will include actual original work by some of these pioneers of salsa graphics.

Student Union Building, UMass Amherst

Gallery programming is made possible by generous funding from The Student Government Association (SGA) and the Graduate Student Senate (GSS), and through UMass Arts Council grants and an ECSA (Engage, Connect, Serve, Achieve) grant. ECSA Grants are funded by the CSD and the Division of Student Affairs & Campus Life. Also, with generous help from WMUA and station advisor Glenn Siegel.

Psychedelic Latin Dance Party with Chicha Libre & DJ Bongohead

Hey everybody, I want to hip you to a very special live show coming to the area next month:

CHICHA LIBRE LIVE IN CONCERT, FEB. 9, MASSMOCA!!

It's gonna be a blast. Feel free to send around the e-flier art I made for this post! 

Let me say first and foremost: ¡yo amo esta banda - I love this band - been following them from the start and I've had the opportunity to DJ a concert of theirs a couple of years ago, as well as license a few tracks for my compilations. As some of you out there may know, I work a quite a bit with the type of music the contemporary Brooklyn-based band Chicha Libre pays tribute to (Peruvian psychedelic cumbia and tropical sounds, like mambo and boogaloo, also from the Andean nation) as I have put together a few compilations of this type of music, working with various labels like World Music Network, Nascente, Vampisoul, and Masstropicas. So it's really exciting to DJ their upscoming show in North Adams.

 

At the start of the evening, and between sets and at the end of the live show, I will be spinning lots of rare tropical dance music from Peru - some of it available on Olivier Conan's compilations on Barbés Records, a few from Vampisoul, and of course, some of it on Mike P's various releases on Masstropicas, but also a fair amount of material that is not available anywhere around here, taken from out of print, rare vinyl from Peru. I will also play some French pop psychedelia from the 60s, for good measure, to help prepare people for some of Chicha Libre's "ye-ye" and Paris pop-lounge influenced numbers. I do hope you'll come and enjoy an evening of spicy psych-a-tropi-delic sounds! Should warm up the frigid new England February night of Saturday, the 9th!
For a little background, let's start at the beginning. As some of you may know, "chicha" is a name of a fermented drink (sometimes alcoholic) found in South America, of indigenous origin, and over the years has been used to describe a particular sort of sub-genre of Peruvian cumbia as well. I do not claim to be an expert in Peruvian tropical music, merely a fan. I have never been to Peru, though my family members have been and one of my friends is a musical artist from Lima so I feel a closeness and affinity without having actually experienced the place itself.

Chicha Libre's Paris-born leader Olivier Conan travelled to Peru and fell in love with the scene and history of chicha music (let me repeat, he's put out several compilations on Barbés Records, collections of actual cumbia from down there, which I've learned from to be sure). So that covers why the term "Chicha" kicks off the band's name...  And in my opinion, the use of the word "Libre" (free) as the second part of the band's moniker is just as appropriate because the multi-talented members of this organization take a liberal and non-reverential approach to interpreting the genre, freely mixing in other sorts of strains and textures to concoct a mind-altering brew - several years on, Chicha Libre's sound is now highly original, not just an imitation or homage, the way it might have seemed in the early days.

They also do some super-dope cover versions that will blow your mind (wait - was that Wagner  coming through those tropical waves of sound? Did i hear a re-imagined Satie? a spot-on classic song from Arthur Lee's Love??! The Clash!? AY Caramba! No wonder Matt Groening is a fan! Kind of like tasting something slightly familiar and finding it to be also enticingly strange at the same time, like a jungle scene seen through rose-colored glasses....like dude, that's not chicken you're eating, it's Guinea Pig!

Anyway, not to get too nerdy or over-done in explanations, I will just add that in the 70s/80s in Peru the term "chicha" was used by some in the media (perhaps derogatorially) to describe the tropical cumbia music that was popular among the mostly poor, working class indigenous and mestizo (mixed Indian, Black and Spanish) population. it was indeed a mongrel breed, mixing all sorts of influences, from psychedelic rock and twangy surf guitar to Colombian cumbia and Cuban son, with Indian melodies drawn from native traditions (like the huyano) just to bring it to the next level and put a personal stamp on things. Sadly, in the mainstream urban consciousness of the 70s and 80s, the music - like the drink - was seen as something worthless and immoral enjoyed only by the brown masses, with lyrical themes that could only come from that marginalized world and a perceived simplicity of musical composition that many critics deemed as impoverished as its fans. For many years the elite - i.e. whites - considered it uncouth and dirty music (though it is certainly more universally popular & accepted today), same as it was early on in its country of origin Colombia, as well as at first in Venezuela, Ecuador, and Argentina. In those countries, it was seen not only as lower class but as being 'cosa de negros' (a black thing), sort of beyond the pale for pal faces to enjoy. It was not really until later, in the 70s, that Colombian governmental and cultural pundits promoted the cumbia on as a symbol of national pride, recognizing it as a national music and symbol of 'mestizaje' (racial/cultural mixing), a concept in vogue at the time.

Though cumbia had been played in Peru since the 50s and 60s, it really took off in the 80s. Unlike in some other countries, Peruvian cumbia has regional variations, and is mostly guitar or electric keyboard based, heavily influenced by European and American pop music, as well as traditional Peruvian "criollo" guitar music. In the 60s and early 70s, Peruvian cumbia's "go-go" guitars and "beat" organs seemed mostly influenced by surf instrumentals and heavy Latin rock groups like Santana and El Chicano. Whereas in Colombia (and places like Mexico) you're more likely to hear brass & accordions, clarinets, flutes, the guacharaca (scraper) and folkloric drumming, and even Mariachi instrumentation when listening to classic cumbia, there seems to be a paucity of brass in Peru's approach to the instrumentation of the same genre. Of course in the 80s, with the advent of newer and more affordable technology, and the spread of cassettes, Peruvian cumbia proliferated and mutated, becoming awash in synthesizers and drum machines, cheap echo and flange effects, frosted with slick salsa stylings imported from Cali and New York, with tacky videos and the bands wearing matching outfits and sexy dancing ladies for eye candy. And to me, that's when chicha really came into its own. Though most Peruvian chicha and cumbia musicians are Indian or Mestizo, several bands had Chinese or Japanese members, and you cannot forget the Afro-Peruvian presence - very important (one of my favorite vocalists in tropical music from Lima is the Afro-Peruvian genius, Felix Martinez). Almost every popular band in the 60s & 70s had at last one black Peruvian member, something that is not openly acknowledged even today. The unique and innovative way Olivier Conan and his right hand man Joshua Camp approach these Peruvain traditions is really cool. Instead of playing an electric guitar, Olivier plays the small South-American acoustic guitar called a cuatro (not to be confused with the Puerto Rican guitar of the same name popularized by the late Yomo Toro), which he rhythmically strums through a pick-up (and amp) while crooning in French, Spanish, and English. Mr. Camp plays various freaky keyboard and guitar sounds through his Hohner Electravox, a totally cool chest-mounted squeeze-box thang that helps him get alarmingly diverse sounds for all the band's other melodic needs (it's not really a conventional accordion, more like a spirit-medium in the guise of an accordion). Filling out the group's kaleidoscopically tropical palette is Karina Colis on timbales, bass player Nicholas Cudahy, and Vincent Douglas handles the electric guitar duties (you KNOW there has to be electric guitar in their magical brew!), and multi-percussionist Neil Ocha rounds out the lineup with some very tight beats.

One thing I can say, for those of you not yet exposed, is chicha - and Peruvian cumbia in general (there's a variant from the jungle sometimes called 'cumbia amazonica') - sure ain't that "Andean flute music" you hear on every subway platform in New York, LOL! And Chicha Libre ain't your typical chicha band, neither. And I like it like that!

For those of you in the area, I urge you and your families to come on over the mountains to see Chicha Libre at MassMOCA this month as it will be very fun and it's a great place to hear and dance to the band!

For any potential people thinking of coming out, it may be a bit tricky to describe the band's sound in detail, but I guess you could say Chicha Libre has touches of humor, soundtrack modalities, and jungle kitsch, but with the funky tropical beats of cumbia and salsa making it highly danceable, with a shimmering dose of psychedelia thrown in for good measure. Here's what I wrote about Chicha Libre in one of my recent compilations (The Rough Guide to Latin Psychedelia, to be released in April of this year):

Ending this trip through the land of Latin Psychedelia with Chicha Libre as our guide seems wholly appropriate. Though steeped in the wild Amazonian cumbia and chicha genres of 60s - 80s Peru, this Brooklyn-based sextet led by intrepid French adventurer Olivier Conan has an equally contemporary vibe. Much of the band’s music is as inspired by spiritual ayahuasca journeys through the jungle as it is by loopy humor or ethnomusicology, which may lead one to conclude: so that’s why there is such a rich vein of psychedelic music in Peru!

On the prevalence of the electric guitar in Peruvian tropical music, I wrote:

In Peru, guitarists like Enrique Delgado and his combo Los Destellos (The Sparkles), El Opio, and Los Pakines were taking in influences as disparate as California surf instrumentals, Jimi Hendrix freakouts, the ubiquitous Santana, bubble-gum pop, indigenous “criollo” and Andean traditions, as well as the usual tropical and Cuban strains that remained popular from previous generations.

What the good folks at MassMOCA wrote:
Combining Latin rhythms, surf music, and psychedelic pop inspired by Peruvian music from Lima and the Amazon, Chicha Libre is a party waiting to erupt wherever they play. The Brooklyn-based band mixes up covers of forgotten Chicha classics with French-tinged originals, reinterpretations of 70s pop gems, and wild cumbia versions of songs you thought you'd never hear on the dance floor. 

From the band's web site:

Chicha Libre plays a mixture of Latin rhythms, surf  and psychedelic pop inspired by Peruvian music from Lima and the Amazon. The Brooklyn collective is made up of French, American, Venezuelan and Mexican musicians who mix up covers of Peruvian Chicha with original compositions in French, Spanish and English, re-interpretation of 70’s pop classics as well as cumbia versions of pieces by likes of Satie, Love and Wagner.Chicha is originally the name of a corn-based liquor favored by the Incas in pre-colombian days. Chicha is also the name of Peru’s particular brand of cumbia first made popular in the late 60′s by bands such as Los Destellos, Manzanita, Los Mirlos and Juaneco y su Combo.  While loosely inspired by Colombian accordion-driven cumbias, chicha incorporated the distinctive pentatonic scales of Andean melodies, some Cuban son, and the sounds of surf guitars, farfisa organs and moog synthesizers; an oddly post-modern combination of western psychedelia, Cuban and Colombian rhythms, national melodies and idiosyncratic inventions which were close in spirit to the Congolese rumba of Franco or the pop syncretism of Os Mutantes.While Chicha Libre’s repertoire has evolved somewhat from the Peruvian canon, the sound and approach are completely indebted to the Peruvian bands it originally emulated. Like them, they use surf guitar, organ sounds and latin percussion to play a mixture of borrowed and homegrown sounds. The borrowings are somewhat different – classical music and pop debris from 3 continents in Chicha Libre’s case – but the latin rhythms that form the basis of the music are both as close and as foreign to them as they were to the Shipibo Indians who first took up the electric guitar.Chicha Libre has performed around the world, including Turkey, The UK, Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Denmark, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil,  the US, Canada and, of course, Peru. They have showcased at WOMEX, in Copenhagen, and Globalfest, in NYC. They have played in Los angeles with guitarist Jose Carballo, of Chacalon y la Nueva Crema fame, in Lima with Los Shapis and in Berlin with Ranil, the legendary cumbiero from Iquitos. They have toured with cambodian psych-band Dengue Fever and shared the stage with bands as varied as Brazilian Girls, The Skatalites, Frente Cumbiero and the Orchestre Poly-rythmo de Cotonou.

Chicha Libre’s music has been featured in the TV show Weeds and a Simpsons 20th anniversary special in which they were asked to play the Simpsons theme “chicha” style alongside the likes of Red Hot Chili Pepper and ZZ Top. They have also scored a Vaclav Havel play which was performed at Colombia’s Miller theater in the author’s presence and two Charlie Chaplin films which they performed at NY’s prestigious Merkin Hall.  Their first CD, Sonido Amazonico, is available from Barbès Records in North America, Crammed Disc in Europe and Random Records in South America. Their follow up Album, Canibalismo, is due May 8, 2012 on Crammed Discs/Barbès Records.