La Cuneta Son Machín, also known as La Cuneta, is a Grammy-nominated musical group from

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. The original group consisted of Carlos Luis Mejía, Augusto Mejía (both sons of famous Nicaraguan singer

Carlos Mejía Godoy Carlos Mejía Godoy (born June 27, 1943) is a Nicaraguan musician, composer and singer-songwriter and one of the main representatives of the testimonial song or new song of his country. He grew up in a family related to popular music, folklore ...

), Carlos Guillén Mejía (Frijol), Fabio Buitrago, Omar Suazo, and Cesar Rodriguez.

History

La Cuneta Son Machín formed in 2009 while the members (who are friends and cousins) spontaneously joined the Santo Domingo Festival parade in

Managua Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1, ...

. Their name comes from "La Cuneta" (the

sidewalk A sidewalk (North American English), pavement (British English, South African English), or footpath (Hiberno-English, Irish English, Indian English, Australian English, New Zealand English) is a path along the side of a road. Usually constr ...

) and "Son Machín", from the English phrase "sound machine." Every year, they play a free concert to celebrate the beginnings of their group. La Cuneta's third album ''Mondongo'' (2015) produced by

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

-based Greg Landau, was nominated for Best Latin Rock Urban or Alternative Album in the 58th Annual Grammys. They are the first Nicaraguan band to be nominated for a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

. The group has toured in Europe and the United States, including at the

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

festival in 2018 and 2023. In 2018 ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' named them an "act that stood out", noting their "frisky cumbias and high-velocity polkas" and lyrics describing "food, love, drinking and dancing — especially food."

Musical style

La Cuneta incorporates Nicaraguan regional slang extensively in their music. The group's music blends

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, Europeans, and Africans during colonial times. Cumbia is said to have com ...

and rock with traditional Nicaraguan music. The instruments also blend Nicaraguan tradition with the new: accordion and marimba with electric guitar. The group has been noted as an important part of Nicaragua's cultural scene by both Nicaraguans and visitors.

Line-up

For their album ''Mondogo'', the group members are: * Carlos Luis "La Bujilla" Mejía (marimba, timbales) * Carlos "Frijol" Guillen (lead singer) * Ernesto "Matute" López (drums, backup vocals) * Omar "El Profesor" Suazo (guitars) * César "El Puma" Rodriguez (keyboards) * Augusto "El Negro" Mejía (bass, backup vocals) * Christian Pepin (percussion) * Camilo Landau (guitar) * Fabio Buitrago

Discography

Albums

*''El Zafarrancho'' (2010) *''Mondongo'' (2015) *''Cañambuco'' (2017) *''Amor Fritanguero'' (2019)

Singles

*''La Argolla'' (2021) ft. Deuce Eclipse

References

{{reflist Latin music groups Nicaraguan musical groups Cumbia musical groups Ska groups