Combo Ginebra is a Chilean musical ensemble of the
New Chilean Cumbia
The New Chilean Cumbia also known as New Chilean Cumbia Rock (Spanish: ''Nueva cumbia chilena'', ''Nueva cumbia rock chilena'') is a subgenre of cumbia music that originated in Chile in the early 2000s and that largely surfaced in mainstream me ...
style. The band emerged in 2004 as a traditional
gypsy music duo featuring Álvaro Pacheco and Juan Pablo Cabello. The duo soon began incorporating
cumbia
Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, enslaved Africans during colonial times, and Europeans. Examples include:
...
rhythms into their repertoire and were joined by other instrumentalists to form a cumbia ensemble band.
Combo Ginebra is currently one of the mainstays of
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, who ...
’s cumbia music scene and they regularly perform to lively crowds at venues such as the
Galpón Víctor Jara
Galpón Víctor Jara (“Víctor Jara Warehouse”) is a cultural center located in Santiago, Chile, in Barrio Brasil, an area of the city known for its strong artistic and cultural scene. Managed by the Víctor Jara Foundation, the center is name ...
(
Victor Jara
The name Victor or Viktor may refer to:
* Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname
Arts and entertainment
Film
* ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film
* ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
“Warehouse”) and the
Fonda Permanente.
History
The band originally formed in 2004 as a traditional
gypsy music project featuring Álvaro “Pachuko” Pacheco on the violin and Juan Pablo “Gipsy” Cabello on guitar. Using the same instruments, the duo began to incorporate cumbia into their sound, attracting more musicians to the ensemble.
By 2006, Combo Ginebra exclusively dedicated themselves to the cumbia. Their song ''Pasto Seco'' was included in a Chilean cumbia compilation, ''Santiago caliente'', in 2008, compiled by Aldo “Macha” Asenjo of the band
Chico Trujillo
Chico Trujillo are a New cumbia band merging cumbia, ska, reggae and rock, among other styles.
The band formed in 1999 in Villa Alemana, Zona Central, Chile, following a tour that lead singer – known as "Macha" – undertook with his then ...
. Combo Ginebra released their first album, ''Cumbias de Sangre y Oro'' (“Cumbias of Blood and Gold”) independently in 2009. Their second album, ''El Vacilón'', was released in mid-2012 through the Oveja Negra label.
Musical style and influence
A mainstay of the
New Chilean Cumbia
The New Chilean Cumbia also known as New Chilean Cumbia Rock (Spanish: ''Nueva cumbia chilena'', ''Nueva cumbia rock chilena'') is a subgenre of cumbia music that originated in Chile in the early 2000s and that largely surfaced in mainstream me ...
musical scene, Combo Ginebra’s musical style blends lively cumbia rhythms with emotive, theatrical and at times humorous lyrics and a touch of social commentary.
The band’s 2012 album ''El Vacilón'' - a Spanish term meaning “great party” - incorporates Latin rhythms such as the
salsa
Salsa most often refers to:
* Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments
* Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music
* Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music
Salsa or SALSA may also refer to:
A ...
and
Peruvian cumbia
Peruvian cumbia is a subgenre of chicha (Andean tropical music) that became popular in the coastal cities of Peru, mainly in Lima in the 1960s through the fusion of local versions of the original Colombian genre, traditional highland huayno, an ...
, with diverse influences including
flamenco
Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura an ...
, gypsy music and
punk rock. Band member Cristián Jara has described the album as an invitation for “ladies, children, everyone, to dance. It should be about people wanting to have a good time, because we don’t party alone, we need the people to be a part of this ''vacilón''.”
The band has also been quoted as saying “people love the cumbia these days because it was maintained for a long time. It’s a part of our culture and the best thing that can happen is for it to keep being played everywhere.”
Combo Ginebra lanza su segundo disco con gira europea
. La Cuarta. 15 June 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
Discography
Albums
*2009 - ''Cumbias de Sangre y Oro'' (self-produced)
*2012 - ''El Vacilón'' (Oveja Negra)
References
{{Reflist
External links
Combo Ginebra Myspace
* ww.comboginebra.cl Official website
Chilean musical groups
Chilean cumbia