Née: Soledad Del Rio, Juan Pablo Escares, Alexis Bugueño, and Rodrigo Mora
Raíces: Santiago de Chile
Sounds like: Somewhere in between La Santa Cecilia and Los Amigos Invisibles.
You should listen to La Guacha because…they got Kevin Johansen to contribute vocals to their latest track. That was all the motivation I needed to give them a try.
As a general rule I have very little tolerance for Latin pop with romantic lyrics, so I was understandably skeptical about this when my editor sent me the assignment. But seeing Kevin Johansen featured as a guest sparked my curiosity and as soon as I heard the first funky guitar licks I was hooked.
La Guacha was formed in 2007 in Santiago de Chile by Soledad del Río, a singer-songwriter with a bolero background, and guitarist Juan Pablo Escares, who had previously experimented with candombe and other South American genres. In 2010 they released their first album, Virgen, where they explored a variety of styles from Colombian cumbia to Mexican ranchera, but with a funky groove and soulful vocals.
“Amor Platónico” is their latest single, which I assume will be included in their upcoming release Fácil. The contrast between her voice and the deep sexiness of the Argentine-Alaskan crooner gives the song a unique texture, while the mid-tempo funky beat keeps me grooving all along to the point where I really don’t mind the cheesy lyrics at all.