ECOS

11 September 2009

By Flor Marenco, Photography by Flor Marenco

Alejandra Rodriguez didn’t know she could sing until she had to. Her high school band Sindrome had broken up when two of the members left to study in the United States, leaving them without a drummer and minus one lead singer. In a last ditch attempt to save the band, Alejandra picked up the mic; the rest is history in the making.

It’s around 9:30 pm on a typical weeknight. The three younger members of the band, now called Ecos, Alejandra (17), bass player Amahruck Arroliga (18) and lead guitarist, Augusto Vaughan (20), each done with classes at their universities for the day, arrive at Pavel Palma’s house as they do three or four nights a week for practice. At 27 years of age, Pavel, nicknamed ‘PaPa,’ (for two obvious reasons) replaced his departed younger brother as the drummer for the band. Despite the large age difference, Papa fits right in with the rest of the group.

“The important thing is that I have a young heart and mind,” he says with a laugh.

Another important thing is that he also lives in a house by himself, with no close neighbors, making it a perfect place for a rock band to practice. With everyone together, the jokes and talking about their days begins, but when the instruments are in hand and practice starts, the casual talk stops and the conversation between songs gets technical “Turn up the guitar!” “Turn down the mic!” It continues this way until they have gone through a set of each of their songs.

Eco’s influences come from a variety of international bands and artists as Gustavo Cerati, Soda Stereo, Pink Floyd; and national groups like CPU, Crisis, Grupo Armado and Perrozompopo. Each member of the group comes from a musical family, so they are proud to continue that legacy and the desire is to make their own sound their own way.

Ecos started to make noise about a year ago, at a time when many new bands were coming up in Managua. In a way it was motivating to see all these new groups, it gave them hope, but at the same time prepared them mentally for the challenge that was ahead. Making it wasn’t going to be easy but they decided to move forward and try. Having the support of cousins, Pavel and Augusto’s aunt, Gaby Baca, helped a lot. An established musician, she provided guidance, introduced them to the music business and showed them a path. Alejandra being the youngest female singer performing around town has also helped them get noticed in a music scene dominated by men, however she insists that while it has attracted attention, the music is what has kept them in the light

“I couldn’t say we have stood out just because there’s a woman in a the band, it would be a lie, it has influenced things, but the main reason we have stood out is because of the music we create.”

The group started out playing shows in bars and events for free, which at the time was fine with them because all they really wanted was to get their music out to the people. The reaction from fans has been overwhelmingly positive and now they are being paid to be part of a show. They didn’t expect to be recognized and accepted so soon the way they have, but Alejandra knows she and the band have a lot to learn and to prove to be taken seriously by everyone. It is a challenge Ecos is ready to face together.

“We want to diversify, not just belong to a specific place and society,” says Papa. “We want to be like the “zompopo,” (one of Nicaragua’s most common insects) where everybody knows us.”

One Response to “ECOS”

1. Enrique Cuadra, New York City says:

   12 September 2009 at 6:47 PM

   Congratulations for a very nice magazine. I enjoy it, especially the article about Ecos; I know that group since the beginning when it was called Sindrome, with two very talented people, Fernanda Granados a very fine lead vocalist and guitar player and Emiliano Guerrero, a fine drummer. Although they left for the US, Pavel replaced the drummer by the way he play all the instruments too (you should see him in the guitar),and Alejandra replaced Fernanda in the singing and guitar they continued growing at a very fast pace. I would like to clarify that Pavel Palma has been the leader and inspiration of the group, a young man, (only in America we hear an old man at 27) (jeje), he is the composer of very original rock music and by the way he is the son of the Real original Nicaraguan Diva del Rock Martha Vaughan, but that should be another article. His father is the legendary rocker Ricardo Palma. Again Ecos is on the way to be a great original rock band, I hope we can see them soon touring in New York, California and other places, or at least when I get back to Nicaragua. Thanks for presenting good articles and a great band.