The Scrapbook Ecuadorian: the parallel universe of Polibio Mayorga is one of the cornerstones that raised the artist to the top of andean cumbia, this musical genre mixing futuristic sounds and traditional Andean melodies.
Cumbia, formerly the name of a dance and the music associated with it, finds its origins on the northern coast of Colombia which borders the Caribbean Sea. It combines African influences – notably percussion, Indian – notably flutes, and finally those of the Spanish – arrangement of texts, guitar then later accordion. The name would come from Equatorial Guinea where the “Cumbé” was danced, from which the Cubans would have taken the term “Cumbancha” to designate a popular and spontaneous celebration. What is certain is that this music has spread throughout Latin America or almost, hybridizing at each stopover with local particularities. Thus in the Andes, of which the Equator forms the northern tip, it has taken very specific forms.
Halfway between the past and the future, the andean cumbia conveys the harsh social reality of migrant workers through its lyrics while bringing a spatial atmosphere through its electronic sounds. This new musical genre will spread like wildfire across the country, although criticized by the most fashionable singers at the time. Imbued with the spirit of a decade marked by the space race, and extraterrestrial dreams reflected by synthesizers (notably the moog), this style does not lose its cultural heritage by transfiguring traditional melodies and by dressing them in futuristic colours. The experiment finds its audience among Ecuadorian workers leaving their villages to find work in Quito, and who recognize themselves in the lyrics.
Polibio Mayorga is an emblematic figure of this music loaded with social concerns. He crossed the country from his native village to reach Quito but did not forget the ancestral traditional rhythms that rocked him. He first evolved within the group Los Locos del Ritmo before joining in 1973 the Fabrica de Disco SA (Fadisa) – vinyl pressing factory and record company – of which he later became the musical director. It is accompanied by saxophonist Olmedo Torres that he will compose hits for himself and for others, allowing the fame of Fadisa. Carried by Cosmopolita and Marañon, the main radio stations in Quito, Mayorga’s music with its catchy rhythms has breathed new life into Andean cumbia and its artists. The compilation Ecuadorian: the Parallel Universe of Polibio Mayorga marked the movement with its avant-garde.
With this reissue Analog Africa offers us a journey from the Andean mountains to the confines of hyperspace, and a contribution to perpetuate the musical heritage of Polibio Mayorga. The German label will thus make the compilation available in a digital version on April 7, but the CD will also be available accompanied by a 24-page brochure that tells the great story of this musical movement and of one of its greatest artists, Polibio Mayorga.
Ecuadorian: the parallel universe of Polibio Mayorga , available April 7 via Analog Africa.