Celebration of San Juanes in Cotacachi, province of Imbabura, Ecuador on July 1, 2024. The Cumbia Andina is a combination of Indigenous rhythms from the north of the nation, resembling San Juanitos, performed and danced to throughout the celebrations, and Colombian cumbia.
Karla Gachet
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That is a part of a particular sequence, Cumbia Throughout Latin America, a visible report throughout six nations developed over a number of years, overlaying the folks, locations and cultures that maintain this music style alive.
The primary cumbia recorded in Ecuador on the finish of the Nineteen Sixties had just one verse. It was referred to as “Cumbia Triste” and was written by Polibio Mayorga. This musician from Ambato, Ecuador, tropicalized the nationwide music of the Ecuadorian highlands, which had lengthy been stigmatized for its Indigenous roots and the unhappy melodies usually related to them. Mayorga mixed the rhythms of the San Juanito — conventional Andean music — with rural Colombian cumbia, which arrived in Ecuador by way of the report business, already processed and whitewashed. The end result marked a brand new id for a lot of provincial migrants who got here to populate the nation’s city facilities.
A view of the Tungurahua volcano in Equador’s Imbabura province on July 2, 2024.
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Dancers on the celebration of San Juanes in Cotacachi, Imbabura, Ecuador, on June 30, 2024.
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The celebration of San Juanes in Cotacachi, Imbabura, Ecuador, on July 1, 2024.
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Folks get collectively at a park in Lican, Chimborazo, Ecuador, on Jan. 1, 2024, for a Los Cumbancheros live performance in honor of the Divino Niño, or child Jesus. Fashionable devotion to the Divino Niño originated in Bogotá, Colombia, within the early twentieth century — one other instance of Colombian affect within the area.
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Whereas Polibio Mayorga laid the groundwork for an Ecuadorian cumbia sound, it was musicians like Medardo Luzuriaga who reworked the style right into a nationwide sensation. His son Manuel Luzuriaga performs for the cumbia orchestra Los Cumbancheros and when he talks about his father, his eyes shine. Medardo was Manuel’s instructor and one of the revered musicians within the historical past of cumbia orchestras in Ecuador. On the finish of the ’60s, Medardo created the orchestra Don Medardo y sus Gamers. Medardo recorded greater than 100 albums, and his emblematic cumbias, together with “Cumbia Chonera” and “La Novia,” nonetheless dwell within the collective conscience of the whole nation. Lots of his kids and grandchildren created a number of orchestras after his demise, all nonetheless taking part in his golden repertoire.
Geovanni Vivas, a trombonist, and Bryan Torres, a bassist within the Los Cumbancheros orchestra, put together to carry out a New Yr’s Eve present within the Andean city of Quero, Ecuador, on Dec. 31, 2023. The live performance occurred within the city’s central plaza.
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Manuel Luzuriaga, also called Garabito, sits on a bus together with his band, Los Cumhancheros, on Dec. 31, 2023. Luzuriaga is the son of Medardo Luzuriaga and was a part of the unique Don Medardo y sus Gamers orchestra earlier than he broke away to begin his personal together with his nephew.
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Ricardo Luzuriaga, the supervisor of Los Cumbancheros and one in every of Medardo Luzuriaga’s grandsons, prepares because the band will get able to carry out a New Yr’s Eve present within the Andean city of Quero, Ecuador, on Dec. 31, 2023.
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The Cumbia orchestra Los Cumbancheros carry out close to town of Riobamba within the Andes of Ecuador on Jan. 1, 2024.
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Folks from the city of Tiwintza, a district in Ecuador’s Morona Santiago province, dance to the rhythm of the Los Cumbancheros orchestra on Oct. 24, 2023.
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Estafanny Guerrero has wished to be a “Canelita” since she was 5 years previous. Standing together with her boots and crimson hair extensions on the desk, she sang the songs of Tierra Canela, a feminine tecnocumbia group that hires younger ladies from all around the nation. Hundreds participated within the newest callout to seek out new members. Some musicians and spectators criticize the group, saying they’re simply fairly faces and horny our bodies, however they spend lengthy hours in singing and dancing lessons, and may hearth up any viewers. Tecnocumbia, a product of mass consumption, mixes Indigenous rhythms from Ecuador and Peru to make them danceable.
Members of Tierra Canela store earlier than performing close to Ambato on Dec. 8, 2023.
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Estefanny Guerrero and Johanna Quistial attempt on their new outfits with the assistance of their supervisor on Dec. 22, 2023. Members of Tierra Canela put on brightly coloured, regionally made outfits and high-heeled boots.
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Elizabeth Nuñez and Guerrero journey in a minibus in Ecuador on Dec. 9, 2023. The bus doubles as a dressing room, eating room and mattress for members of Tierra Canela.
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Tierra Canela performs at an LGTBQ bar in Quito, Ecuador, on Dec. 9, 2023.
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Guerrero finally made it to Tierra Canela and nonetheless wears crimson hair extensions. The 31-year-old says that she plans to withdraw from the group quickly — to keep away from being kicked out for being “too old.” The group’s managers favor its members, who are sometimes supporting their households, conceal their actual ages and never disclose whether or not they’re moms or if they’ve boyfriends in interviews.
Tierra Canela carry out for workers at Hospital Básico San Miguel in Ambato, Ecuador, on Dec. 10, 2023. The viewers chanted their songs of affection and heartbreak, and their technocumbia steps have gone viral throughout Ecuador.
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Fabiana Buenaire Vilche, one in every of Tierra Canela’s former members, is embraced by a crowd of followers throughout a live performance on Dec. 9, 2023, close to Ambato, Ecuador.
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Vilche lays on the bottom, exhausted after a protracted day of labor, with Sharit Hernandez, the daughter of one other member of the group, on Dec. 27, 2023.
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This protection was made with the assist of the Nationwide Geographic Society Explorer program.
Karla Gachet is a photojournalist based mostly in Los Angeles. You possibly can see extra of Karla’s work on her web site, KarlaGachet.com, or on Instagram at @kchete77.
