Abuelita!

I’ve been listening to a lot of cumbia sonidera in the early days of 2023. It’s a style of music from Mexico, where the listeners and dancers want their cumbia played hard and slow: 80 to 90 beats per minute.

The genre got started when DJs accidentally or intentionally slowed down cumbia recordings from Colombia, Peru and other parts of South America. The first Mexico City band to play cumbia sonidera live was called Super Grupo Colombia (SGC), which featured several members of the Pedraza family of San Juan de Aragón, a small town that’s now part of Mexico’s sprawling Distrito Federal.

Ángel Pedraza, the son and nephew of SGC’s founders, has his own band called Grupo Kual? (yes, the question mark is part of their name) who have a new album out now. You’ll hear a track from it this week on Global A Go-Go, plus some more examples of cumbia sonidera.

Also this week (Sunday January 29, 1:00-3:00 PM on WRIR, for two weeks afterwards at wrir.org/listen, check your local listings for airing on other radio stations, and any old time at my podcast site): three new reggae singles; more chicha from the Peruvian jungle; a tribute to Zimbabwean feminist pioneer Stella Chiweshe, who passed away on January 20; Afrobeat with a political bent; and some blazing Malian Wassoulou rock.

Podcast: radio4all.net/program/114600
All the podcasts: radio4all.net/series/Global%20A%20Go-Go

Show Archive

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Playlist:

Oliver Lake, “Separation”

from Matador Of 1st & 1st

Passin Thru - 1996

USA

Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros, “Global a Go-Go”

from Global a Go-Go

BMG Rights Management (US) LLC - 2001

England UK

Don Letts, “Outta Sync”

from Outta Sync

Cooking Vinyl - 2023

England UK

Tarrus Riley, “Desperate Lover”

from Desperate Lover - Single

VP Records - 2023

Jamaica-USA

Dionne Reid, “Boom”

from Boom - Single

Doz & Dizzie - 2022

England UK

Grupo Kual?, “One More Time (feat Lila Downs & Akil Ammar)”

from Konexiones

Discos Rolas - 2022

México

Los Dinners, “Sampuesana”

from Saturno 2000: La Rebajada De Los Sonideros 1962-1983

Analog Africa - 2022

Costa Rica, 1965

Héctor Guerra, “La Cumbia Callejera (feat. Alberto Pedraza)”

from Desde el Infierno

Kasba Music - 2017

Bolivia-Spain-México

Grupo Kual?, “La Kumbia En La Playa”

from Un Saludo! Mexican Soundsystem Cumbia In LA

Dutty Artz / Songs From Home - 2008

México

Money Chicha, “Lamento en la Selva”

from Echo en México

Vampisoul - 2016

USA

La Mermelada, “Fatalidad”

from La Rica Mermelada

Discos Horóscopo - 1981

Perú

Chacalón Y La Nueva Crema, “Soy Provinciano”

from Chicha Popular: Love & Social Political Songs From Discos Horóscopo 1977-1987

Rebel Up - 2022

Perú, 1979

Los Zheros, “Selva Virgen”

from Perú Selvático - Sonic Expedition into the Peruvian Amazon 1972 - 1986 (Analog Africa No.36)

Analog Africa - 2022

Perú, 1975

Los Invasores De Progreso, “Selva Mía”

from Selva Mía

Discos Fantástico - 2022

Perú, 1984

Stella Chiweshe, “Chachimurenga (Greatest Hits Version 2006)”

from Ambuya

Piranha - 1987

Zimbabwe

Stella Chiweshe, “Ndikafa (Remastered)”

from Ambuya! (Remastered)

Piranha - 2020

Zimbabwe, 1988

Migmafrica, “Run Buffalo Run”

from Run Buffalo Run - Single

Nikamo Musik / Disques Passeport - 2023

Canada-Senegal

Ireke, “Petit à Petit (feat Agnès Hélène)”

from Petit à Petit (feat Agnès Hélène) - Single

Underdog - 2023

France

Eparapo, “Who Invented Black and White? (feat. Dele Sosimi)”

from Black Lives Matter (feat. Dele Sosimi) - Single

Wah Wah 45s - 2020

England UK-Nigeria