Descarga Chicha

In my earlier post about Los Destellos I stopped shy of classifying them as a chicha group. From how I see it, their entire image wasn’t as rooted in the Amerindian experience and I will go as far as saying that their sound wasn’t as “low brow” either. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to demean a class of music or a class of people. And when I say “low brow”, it can still be some of the best music around in my opinion. Take for example this compilation record, it has Peruvian chicha written all over it. Some of the more tell-tale signs are independent record labels (Virrey), cheap electric instrumentation (most likely 60’s/70’s super inexpensive Japanese knock offs), minimal garage type sounds, bands/groups that rarely appear on more than one record, and hookers with wigs on the front cover (just kidding). Also, Chicha versions of cumbias, descaragas and guarachas (rapid tempo cumbias, a bit different from the Cuban form of guaracha) are probably the most popular genres played from these third-rate musicians. Yeah, maybe not the best musicians out there, but definitely first-rate sounds. Enjoy!