Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Latin & Electronica
Buenos Aires' young clubbers have embraced the
música tropical
trend that's swept Latin
America in recent years. Many a BA booty is shaken to the lively, Afro-Latin sounds of
salsa, merengue and especially
cumbia
. Originating in Colombia,
cumbia
combines an in-
fectious dance rhythm with lively melodies, often carried by brass. An offshoot is
cumbia
experimental
or
cumbia villera,
a fusion of
cumbia
and gangsta posturing with a punk edge
and reggae overtones. Born of Buenos Aires' shantytowns, its aggressive lyrics deal with
marginalization, poverty, drugs, sex and the Argentine economic crisis.
A forerunner of the movement is Axel Krygier, the king of psychedelic Latin, whose
latest album
Pesebre
(2010) is a brilliant fusion of jazz, rock,
cumbia
, electronica, Argen-
tine folklore and experimental sounds. Kumbia Queers is a female band from Argentina
and Mexico whose version of
cumbia
is known as tropipunk.
Dance music is big in BA, with DJs working the clubs well into the morning. A few ma-
jor electronic names to look out for are Bad Boy Orange (big on drums and bass); Aldo
Haydar (a true veteran of progressive house); local boy made international star Hernán Cat-
taneo (you loved him at Burning Man, remember?); Gustavo Lamas (a blend of ambient
pop and electro house) and Diego Ro-K (also known as the Maradona of Argentine DJs).
One of BA's most `interesting music spectacles is La Bomba del Tiempo, a collective of
drummers that features some of Argentina's leading percussionists. Its explosive perform-
ances are conducted by Santiago Vázquez, who communicates with the musicians through
a language of mysterious signs - the result is an incredible improvisational union that simu-
lates electronic dance music and sounds different every time. During the summer it plays
open-air at Ciudad Cultural Konex (
Click here
) every Monday evening; it's also featured at
various happenings and parties in BA's clubs.
In 2007 electronic musicians from Zizek Records, a homegrown BA label, created 'digital
cumbia
'
by fusing various forms of
cumbia
and Argentine traditional music with reggaeton, dance-hall,
hip-hop and electronic beats.
