Gladys Fuentes | November 20, 2021
Traditions and culture have to be preserved or they run the risk of disappearing forever. though there are some that no longer serve humanity and luckily have fallen out of fashion, folk music is not in that category.
Son Rompe Pera, from Naucalpan, Mexico are doing their part to keep traditional music and the use of the marimba alive while pushing musical boundaries as they mix their traditional influences with more modern sounds attracting younger audiences.
“In Mexico, the marimba is a folk instrument that usually older people like”, explains Kacho Gama, one of three brothers who formed the band in 2017. Brothers Kacho, Kilo, and Mongo, formed the band and later added their two friends Richi Lopez and Raul Albarran on drums and bass.
“For young people, it’s too boring for them. It doesn’t call their attention so we are breaking those paradigms. the truth is we are very happy with everything that has happened and that the kids, young people and adults all like it too so we are rescuing the instrument because it has been lost a bit.”
Kacho and his brothers learned to play and appreciate the marimba and folk music from a young age. Their father – known as “Batuco” – who they named their 2018 album after, was a percussionist and played the marimba.
He taught them to play and encouraged them to find audiences on the streets of their neighborhood as well as experiment with new sounds from the start. Kacho describes how in the past the neighborhood was a place filled with venues where musicians could earn a living and always with a marimba in the band.
photo by Marco Torres
“In all of Mexico City there are marimbas but we always had our own style because Mongo and I, from a young age liked punk, ska, and all of those genres so we were punk rock kids who played traditional marimba,” explains Kacho, who also names rockabilly, psychobilly, and psych rock as some of their influences.
the strong musical roots that they carry in their blood and psyche are felt in every note the band plays transforming familiar songs into an original expression that not only carries the energy of the past, but also of the future.
“We do this because our dad also had his vibe when he played, his style” explains Kacho. “He also helped us to be doing all of this. Usually the marimba is played very orderly, calm, and like serious so we break with all of that because we like to dance and sing.” their father was not only the one who showed his sons how to play and tune the powerful instrument but he also encouraged them to sing and he named the band.
The name comes from Son – a type of Cuban music that their father like, Rompe – a reference to their mother’s heavy-handed method of discipline, and Pera – in honor of their mother, Esperanza, called Pera for short.
“Our father is the fundamental part of Son Rompe Pera. It has been beautiful to share all of this and represent what we like to do with the marimba and our father’s energy. Everytime I play the marimba, I feel his energy and it is something that I will have with me until the day I die,” says Kacho.
After the band collaborated with Aldo “Macho” Ansejo of the chilean group, Chico Trujillo in 2017, the band traveled to Chile to record their first album and sign with ZZK Records/AYA Records.
“We had never recorded an album,” says Kacho. “We had no idea nor the discipline so what came out were songs that our father liked and an original song we did with Chico Trujillo.”
“It’s a good album,” says Kacho of Batuco, “but the truth is that we tried to honor our father. We are currently working on next album and we hope it reflects where our sound has evolved.”
The marimba is an instrument seen in Central and South America but it changes from place to place as each community has a different style and sound. Though it is a traditional instrument, it is by no means common.
“I think that every marimba has its own particular sound and ours is unique. It vibrates a lot and sounds very strong. The truth is with the microphones and other effects we add to it draws attention.”
Son Rompe Pera are on tour now and finishing their U.S. run with a stop at Houston’s Continental Club on Tuesday, November 23rd. It will be their first time in Texas and some of their final dates on the tour. “The truth is they have a great vibe,” says Kacho of audiences in the United States. “They want to buy your drinks and invite you to their house. It’s another vibe we don’t have in Mexico City. We are very happy to play Houston and anywhere where there are Latinos because the truth is it’s an unforgettable party.”
Son Rompe Pera with Pachuco Boogie Sound System
the Continental Club – Tuesday, November 23, 2021
click on poster below for advance tickets:
