Fiesta En La Jungla

Carrying the torch of psychedelic cumbia, with a healthy dose of surf guitar and Amazonian dancefloor flourishes from Peru and Brazil alike, Fiesta en la Jungla by Los Dexter’s de Uchiza is the first LP release from the newly formed London-label Ritmo del Barrio. Originally released in 1982, it captures the finest cumbia being made in Peru at the time, decked out with frenetic surf-rock guitar riffs, rhythms floating on crisp cumbia percussion and occasionally punctuated by carimbó breakdowns native to the Pará region of north-eastern Brazil. The album is filled with energy, a gem that was always intended to animate any dancefloor. Peruvian cumbia came to national attention in the late 60s through the recordings of Juaneco y su Combo, Los Destellos and Los Wembler’s de Iquitos, but it’s had many revivals, and Fiesta en la Jungla arrived when the style was going through a major transition. In 1977, a passenger plane carrying most of the members of Juaneco y su Combo crashed, killing everyone on board. In 1980, Los Destellos retired, and Los Wembler’s released their tenth and final record, they were ready for a break. This left a big void in Peruvian music. Wasting no time, Los Dexter’s Emerson Ruiz Mosquera took the opportunity and gave his band new life, filling the band’s ranks with young and energetic musicians who were hungry for success. He built the new band around a solid base of dexterous guitars, a dynamite rhythm section, and added oodles of percussion and an electric organ, giving them a powerful psychedelic sound that called back to the sounds of the original chicha masters, but added a new sheen. Along with bands like Los Shapis and Los Walkers de Huánuco, Peruvian cumbia was reborn as chicha in the 1980s, and was now the sound of Peru’s barrios up and down the country. Based in the city of Uchiza, on the edges of the Amazon basin, Los Dexter’s were uniquely located in central Peru, closer to the largest urban centres of the country than Amazonian outposts like Pucallpa or Iquitos, and therefore better positioned to travel to the furthest reaches of the country with ease. In a sense, Los Dexter’s were a bridge between the Amazon and the rest of Peru, a bridge over which the sounds of Amazonian cumbia could travel to the rest of the country on their way to becoming one of the most ubiquitous elements of Peru’s musical identity. Los Dexter’s became a fixture of festivals and celebrations in the provinces of San Martin and Huánuco, and from expanded across the country, taking Amazonian cumbia from the Peruvian Amazon, to the heights of the Peruvian sierra, the coastal plains, and the capital city of Lima. Fiesta en la Jungla represents Los Dexter’s in their third iteration. Led by Emerson Ruiz Mosquera, who was just a young boy in 1970 when his older brother founded the group with four of his friends, the ensemble by the time of Fiesta en la Jungla included Orlando Abad on the timbales and lead vocals, Lucho Bendezú on lead guitar, Javier Quiroz as second guitarist, Alejandro Almeira on bass, Rufino Bustamante on keyboard, Ramon Siu on bongos and bells, Ivan Rios on conga, and Emerson as musical director and composer. Remarkably, most of the group’s members helped to write at least one track, Los Dexter’s were a collective endeavour. Reissued on vinyl for the first time by Ritmo del Barrio, this record is essential for any collector of Peruvian cumbia. Showcasing the unique sound of Los Dexter’s, it carries hits like “Fuga en la Selva” and “El Shiringuero”, which are sure to set any dancefloor on fire, combined with slower, carimbó-infused cumbias like “Fiesta en la Jungla,”and “Agua de Cachilde.” Its closing track, “Tragedia en Uchiza'', is a key piece of local history and tells of the flooding of the Chontayacu River in 1982, a mortal tragedy that affected thousands of people. Despite the subject matter, the album maintains a joyful vibe throughout, with high energy riffs and irresistible rhythms, contrasted with terse love ballads, like “A Jhenny.” It is both a piece of musical history, and a sure-fire tool for the dance floor.