Cumbia de Nueva Orleans Los Guiros brings the beat

BY MICHAEL ALLEN ZELL

Los Guiros is a psychedelic cumbia band whose time has come for New Orleans. Their core sound spans at least the last 200 years with respect for the traditional but is also of the now with electronics and effects. Like three of the best restaurants in our city— Fritai, Queen Trini Lisa, and Bratz Y’all—they fill a gap, are of a uniquely particular region, and have a New Orleans-centric quality.

Corina Hernández is the vocalist for Los Guiros. She also adds güiro and electronics to the mix. We sat down at the Bywater’s Orange Couch to get the word.

Hernández began, “We had a band with the same members of Los Guiros called Forró Nola. We played a music which I like to describe as Brazilian two-stepping. Got a lot of love with that band, but Galaxie was having their one-year anniversary, and they asked us if we wouldn’t mind playing but doing cumbia. We learned a bunch of cumbias for that gig.”

It was a great surprise for the band to find people so receptive to cumbia, also that other bands and venues reached out to them for double billing or more gigs, respectively. “It’s really sweet and overwhelming how much love this band is getting,” said Hernández who added, “We also have a really nice Latin community that comes out to the regular gigs every second Tuesday of the month at Saturn Bar and every last Thursday of the month at St. Roch Tavern. Clearly the band is eclectic. In fact, they also have a twicemonthly Salsa Saturday night gig at 30/90 as Mofongo Latin Band.

The güiro is an oblong percussion instrument with carved parallel edges on one side played with a scraper. It’s the core of the cumbia rhythm that goes—one and a two and a three and a four and a. It makes sense for the band to name itself after the instrument itself, but there’s more. “It’s so hard to name a band nowadays, because you just put the name in Google and find one band in New Zealand with three followers. I really like the name of the instrument, and plus, no hay güiro is an expression that means ‘everything’s chill, there’s no problem,’” said Hernández.

“Cumbia Mezcal” was Los Guiros’ first single. It’s catchy, a perfect introduction, and based on the Mexican saying, “Si va to mal, Mezcal (If everything is going bad, drink Mezcal). Si va to bien, también (If everything is going good, the same).” Hernández explained, “It’s the first time I have written an original song for any of my bands and recorded it. Some of our songs are about community and others are dance songs about drinking and having fun.”

Los Guiros have recorded five other originals (they’re expecting at least three of them will be released by Jazz Fest time), and Hernández has written another four. The rest of the band includes Juan Coyote on cuatro puertorriqueño, Simon Moshabeck on accordion and synth, Todd Burdick on tuba, Gabriel Case on timbales, Howe Pearson on percussion and electric drums, and Miguel Cruz on congas. This is fitting, as cumbia traditionally has three percussionists.

Cumbia music is often referred to as the musical backbone of Latin America. “My first introduction to cumbia was Totó La Momposina, who is the queen of traditional sound in Colombia. Her ensemble is, I think, 12 pieces, and it’s so driving and beautiful. I also love chicha, which is a subgenre of cumbia started in Peru. It’s from the ’70s where they started introducing a lot of electronics. We love to incorporate those electronic elements too,” said Hernández. Even though their originals are expanding, they like to do covers from a range of artists, including icons Celso Piña and Selena. There are divergent schools of thought as to whether cumbia originated in Cartagena as an Afro-Caribbean hybrid based on the Bantu root word “kumbe,” meaning “to dance,” or if it was of solely indigenous origin in the more rural areas of Colombia. Either way, this is music that anyone can move to. Hernández said, “It is so much easier for people here in New Orleans to just jump on, because they don’t feel like there is a specific dance or steps to follow like in salsa or bachata or

merengue. It’s very freeform.”

Speaking of dancing, the New Orleans aspect of the band comes from a key added instrument. “We really love the fact that we have a tuba. That puts the NOLA in Los Guiros. I always feel like if you wanna party, just add a tuba,” said Hernández. Otherwise, the band is adding a visual component in time for festival season involving embroidery and more. Los Guiros played Bonnaroo in 2022 and will be a welcome presence to New Orleans festivals. Look for them to go on the road, perhaps in California as opportunities arise. In the meantime, the band is actively playing fundraisers for associations they support such as ISLA, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, and others.

Hernández is clearly pleased, yet modest, with the organic groundswell of support, especially having chosen New Orleans as home. She was born in Germany, moved to Spain, worked in India, Yemen, Norway, Turkey, Poland, Brazil and other places. Her first job in music was as a 29-year-old on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean. She’s a self-described late bloomer when it comes to music, though it’s always been very important to her. “My husband and I came down here from New York on our honeymoon—he’s also a musician—and we just fell in love with New Orleans. I have never experienced anywhere else in the world the amount of appreciation and opportunities that musicians have in this city. It really is amazing,” she said, adding, “The community is incredibly open. From the first week here I felt comfortable to sit in with bands at Maison and Spotted Cat.”

A Los Guiros show is filled with the energy and spirit of its members. The band has found it humbling to not only see people that have never heard the music, love it, and start following them around, but also that the Latin people who live here are grateful to be brought back home. Hernández noted, “A friend of ours brought his mother who is 78 to a show, and she danced for at least an hour. He told me he’d never seen his mother dance. That really made my day. You can dance with a partner, but it’s also totally okay just by yourself and feel like part of the crowd.” O