The Dominican Republic, one of the few places in hispanophone Latin America that managed to remain immune to the cumbia fever. Well, not for too long. Nelson García, a Dominican indie legend recently premiered the first track of his upcoming solo project and, you guessed it, it’s a cumbia! A very pop cumbia with an indie sensibility actually, one that could potentially help the genre spread through the island’s underground.
Nelson García, besides being the super influential founder of one of the first Dominican netlabels and owner of a bar that hosted a who-is-who the DR’s avant guard, has in the past performed along different bands, evolving from his punk rock roots into brit pop and beyond. Going for cumbia in his next project could be a risky move but those who are familiar with this artists know very well he enjoys reinventing himself and is not afraid of risk-taking. Besides, it’s only one song, we don’t really know if the rest of the album will be influenced by Afro-Colombian rhythms or he has even more crazy surprises under his sleeve. Either way, welcome Dominican Republic to the cumbia fever!