“La Banda Borracha” (PDF) by Alfredo Gutiérrez Y Sus Estrellas from the compilation album The Rough Guide To Cumbia

Thanks to Patreon member tarah for requesting this transcription!

The traditional Colombian music, cumbia, originated from the mixture of indigenous and enslaved African cultures as a result of Spanish colonialism. The practice remained among the folk throughout Colombia’s formal independence and up until the mid-20th century when the development of radio and recording elevated its popularity as a national identity. Rooted deeply in dance characterized by percussion and syncopated melodies, cumbia was a primary influence on the creation of salsa music throughout Latin America.

Among the variants of cumbia is vallenato, a style that utilizes the accordion for more complex melodies than what traditional flutes are able to produce. Alfredo Gutiérrez, a three-time “El Rey del Vallenato Legend Festival,” popularized cumbia in the 1960’s with studio performances of a ballroom-style called porro, notable for the cowbell rhythms played on rim or shell of the drum. His recording of Rafael Sánchez’s “La Banda Borracha” incorporates the porro style and employs radio-drama studio effects to paint a story of musical inebriation.

In similar fashion, the musician or estrella behind this recording’s trombone solo appears to have been lost to time or English documentation. Among its characteristics that would influence salsa trombone are the use of dominant-tonic intervals, stepwise melodic tension, syncopated rhythms, and upper-register chromaticism or arpeggiation. And while the musician’s credit is unknown, we might as well just assume for the solo’s brilliance, grace, and mastery in the mid-range that it was played by Carlos Valderrama. ¡Viva El Pibe!

Recommended reading: Cumbia! Scenes of a Migrant Latin American Music Genre, edited by Héctor Fernández L’Hoeste & Pablo Vila. Published by Duke University Press.