Whether it is love or hate, the very name of cumbia villera seems to evoke strong sentiments in Buenos Aires. Often characterised by the language and everyday realities of the city’s poorest neighbourhoods, cumbia villera represents a window between social classes.
The exploding popularity the subgenre enjoyed in the early years of the decade drew the attention of wealthy and middle class porteños to the plight of the city’s poorest residents, but the fame also brought criticism against the controversial themes that characterise many of the songs.
Cumbia was developed in Colombia by African slaves at least 200 years ago as a mixture between Guinean cumbé music and sounds adopted from indigenous groups along the Caribbean coast such as the Kogui and Kuna. Over the latter half of the 20th century, the genre spread across much of Latin America, becoming popular especially amongst the lower classes. Cumbia arrived in Argentina in the late 1980s riding a wave of popularity and immigration across the border from Peru and Bolivia.
Cumbia villera is a subgenre that first appeared in the final years of the 20th century as Argentina’s economy began to falter. Characterised by low-quality recordings and a heavy use of synthesizers, some of the first cumbia villera groups were Flor de Piedra, Guachín and Yerba Brava. The music stood out for describing many of the realities of day to day life in the shantytowns (‘villas’).
Due to the often-controversial topics of the lyrics, producers were initially reluctant to record the music. As a result, the groups took mix tapes and homemade CDs to radio stations and nightclub DJs. The resounding popularity of the songs attracted record labels and the music took off.
Violence
“The early groups never made an apology for delinquency,” claims Lucho Rombolá, a cumbia DJ for radio station La Tribu. “They were just describing the situations around them.” Songs like ‘Gatillo Fácil’ by Flor de Piedra protest against crooked police and politicians while ‘El Pibe Chorro’ illustrates the plight of a refugee cardboard collector on the streets.
Once the record labels became interested in cumbia villera, the focus began to change. As the companies scrambled to catch up with the trend, they began to fabricate groups to curtail to the popular market. Groups were given stylistic makeovers to fall inline with the rougher, urban look of the original groups. The Pibes Chorros – one of the best known of the genre – shifted their focus from traditional, romantic songs to sex and drugs.
“It was actually the recording companies that began promoting the glorification of violence,” Lucho says. Considering the political turbulence of the nation during the 2001 economic crash, some of the violent lyrics appealed to the frustrations of many Argentines who had lost their jobs or life savings.
Drugs
“I don’t like the language, or what the music represents,” says Rosario, a hostel receptionist in San Telmo. Indeed, one of the biggest criticisms of cumbia villera is the glorification of drug use. Band names like Yerba Brava and Flor de Piedra are slang terms for marijuana while one of the latter’s most popular songs, ‘La Jarra Loca’, refers to an alcohol and narcotics cocktail.
“The lyrical content is no different from a lot of rock music,” Lucho notes, however. Carolina Serrano, an employee in a CD store near Once station agrees. “Personally I don’t like the music, but many genres glorify sex and drugs. Cumbia villera comes from a marginalised sector. It may talk about bad things but it is their way of expressing the things they experience in their lives.”
Sex
The sexual lyrics can be the most provoking aspects of cumbia villera. Songs such as Pibes Chorros’ ‘Andrea’ and Damas Gratis ‘Se Te Ve La Tanga’ are used by many people as an example of the negative influence the subgenre has on its younger audience. The lyrics are often degrading, adopting chauvinistic attitudes towards females. The Federal Commission of Radio Diffusion (COMFER) even passed a series of laws regarding the emission of lyrical content in an effort to curb profanity. The groups only made a mockery of the fines imposed against the use of vulgar words by creating new slang terms and metaphors.
Lucho claims it is radio and club DJs that are responsible for popularising songs with sexual lyrics. “It’s what moves the dance floors,” he says. “Nobody wants to listen to the more intelligent songs when they are out dancing with their friends.” The same people who criticise the music go crazy when the songs play in the clubs. “It’s one thing when you are out drinking with your friends,” Carolina says.
Dead or Alive?
Today, most of the original cumbia villera groups have either disappeared from the music scene or changed their focus. Yerba Brava has switched to romantic cumbia, forsaking their football jerseys and baseball hats in favour of matching suits while Flor de Piedra broke up years ago. Much like rock, disco and even hip-hop in recent years, many people are quick to declare that the time of cumbia villera has come and gone.
Carolina’s colleague Giselle Biele says: “We don’t sell much cumbia villera anymore,” though Carolina is quick to note “But the recording label that owns this store makes us play El Perro now and it’s terrible.”
“Every CD is worse than the last one,” complains Giselle. “The lyrics bother me, especially since I have to listen to them everyday at work.”
Perhaps the best gauge of the continuing popularity of the subgenre, pirated CD stalls around Retiro report older groups like Flor de Piedra and Damas Gratis still sell. “Damas Gratis is the best,” states Cynthia, a 24-year-old CD vendor. “A lot of people still buy the old CDs, and now there are newer groups like El Perro.”
“Cumbia villera may be dead,” Lucho explains, “but there are still groups out there with intelligent, political messages. I’m always on the lookout for new talent.” He also claims immigration is continuing to affect the music as bands and new styles travel across the borders of Latin America. “There are some bands mixing cumbia and reggaeton while clubs like Radio Studio or Mágica Bailables often play groups from Paraguay and Bolivia. Immigration enriches the music.”
In many ways the incendiary reign of cumbia villera continues on a national level. At a free concert celebrating the first patriotic government of Argentina near the Obeslisk on 9 de Julio, Damas Gratis joined such groups as Bajofondo and Patricia Sosa on stage. On a recent home appliance advertisement, football star Carlos Tevez, who doubles as lead singer of his band Vago Piola when time allows, can be seen dancing his signature cumbia steps. While some may proclaim cumbia villera dead, its legacy continues to affect the national consciousness.
You can listen to Lucho Rombolá’s weekly cumbia show ‘Cumbia de la Pura’ at La Tribu every Saturday at midnight. Check his website at www.cumbiadelapura.blogspot.com for more information.
Too Cool.