12 January 2010
(Interview by Jonathan Jackson, Photography Flor Marenco)
La Cuneta Son Machín was one of the biggest surprises on the Nicaraguan music scene in 2009. With the group’s ear-catching fusion of traditional chinamera music with rock & roll and a relentless schedule of gigs, the Cuneta sound was everywhere last year.
As 2010 begins, I took some time to catch up with bass player, tattoo enthusiast and hater of shirts, Augusto Mejía, to ask him about the group’s evolution, their portrayal of chinamera culture and plans for the new year – which include hitting the studio, more shows outside of Managua and a possible collaboration with…“El Rey del Chinamo,” Gustavo Leyton!?
Jonathan Jackson: How has the band evolved since you began last year?
Augusto Mejía: The band has evolved very nicely. Our repertoire has grown and the concepts and ideas of what La Cuneta Son Machín started out to do has matured a great deal. We have a keyboard player now, a great addition to our band, it allows us to integrate new colors, rhythms, and sounds into our music.
We are very happy because we have been able to make a name for ourselves with younger listeners who usually listen to and enjoy the young Nicaraguan music. We have even noticed that in certain occasions we have been able to capture the attention of the national music scene, people who never would have been interested in listening to Nicaraguan music, to us that has been very encouraging news.
JJ: The band recently played with Perrozompopo in Costa Rica. What was the response like?
AM: The response at Jazz Café, San Pedro (San Jose, Costa Rica) was impressive. We didn’t go there with any expectations. We wanted to take advantage of the space that Perrozompopo was giving us in the middle of three concerts in that same location, and to our surprise they received us with very well, with a lot of admiration, respect, and joy. The critics and comments were very positive and we left a good image of the effort Nicaraguan musicians are making in our country to promote and maintain the young music scene.
JJ: How would you respond to a person who says that La Cuneta Son Machín is a mockery of “chinamera” culture?
AM: Just take the time to observe how the members of the band enjoy the music that we play, or to notice how positive we are about making chinamera music, how we try to take the music and bring it to places where it would never be heard. Just listen to the respectful way we speak about our work and the cultural roots on which we rely, and you can understand clearly that what we do could never be a “mockery,” but rather our intention is to provoke and encourage Nicaraguan channels of communication and the evolution of our folk roots, music and culture.
We are very proud of being influenced musically by all the popular trends that enrich the work of La Cuneta (the Nica rhythm, the chicheros, the rhythm of the bull, the mazurka, polka, bolero, Cuban rhythms, the chachachá, cumbia, etc.). That’s why the main idea behind La Cuneta has always been to create a celebration of our roots, and use the opportunity to produce a fusion between traditional culture and contemporary trends.
JJ: As a band, what are your goals and plans for this new year?
AM: The goal for La Cuneta this year is to continue providing entertainment in areas of Nicaragua, preferably outside of Managua. Usually Nicaraguan cultural movements are based in our capital, and that is something La Cuneta wants to work on, offering the youth and people of other cities the opportunity to enjoy our music, like that of other national bands.
We also want to perform concerts with special guests. The first one will be on January 30th, at Bar Fussion, with the singer/song writer Carlos Mejia Godoy. The idea is to create a generational and musical fusion to increase awareness about keeping alive the cultural and traditional ties between the younger and older generations.
We would also like to collaborate with artists such as Gustavo Leyton, Otto de la Rocha, Juan Solorzano, Katia Cardenal, Tuntun, Luis Enrique Mejia Godoy, Las Nenas, Mario Montenegro and more.
We are thinking of recording some of our songs in a professional studio soon and possibly making a music video to help us to get our name out even more. We are also working on the construction of our web page, as well as the production of t-shirts, stickers, and caps.
But most importantly, we want to continue working to spark an interest in the young people and keep the youth interested in our cultural, musical, and folk roots, from not only a Nicaraguan point of view but also a Central American and Latin-American one.
- HECHO
[...] from: La Cuneta “Hype” Machín: 2010 « Hecho Magazine Share and [...]
Jajajajajajaja…. genial! por que no tocan con gustavo leyton… jajajaja…
Felizidades muchachos me gusta que jovenes como ustedes hayan tomado la inisiativa de reproducir este tipo de musica que no ha quedadao en el olvido de su parte, nuevamente felizidades.
Monterrey Mexico. un Nica de corazon.